Human-animal bonds and mental health: Examining the roles of bond strength, interactions, and attachment security
Open accessAbstract
This study examines how human-animal bonds and interactions impact human mental health. We hypothesized that stronger and more secure human-pet bonds and more frequent interactions would improve mental health, and that more frequent human-pet interactions would correlate with stronger and more secure human-pet bonds. We conducted a secondary analysis of data from 1028 US adults with pets who completed questionnaires assessing bond strength, pet interactions, and depression symptoms. Our results indicated that higher pet attachment anxiety was the only significant predictor of prevalent depression symptoms. Additionally, more frequent interactions with pets (e.g., affection, play) were linked to stronger and more secure bonds. Participants owning both cats and dogs reported more depression symptoms than those who owned cats or dogs only but pet type did not influence bond strength, security, or interaction frequency. These findings highlight attachment anxiety as a key characteristic of human-pet relationships that underlie their impact on mental health. Future research should explore whether fostering a more secure human-pet bond by increasing the frequency of pleasant human-pet interactions and whether human mental health can be improved by fostering a more secure bond with pets.
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- Authors
- Orlando, E. M., & Chin, B. N.
- Affiliations
- Trinity College (US)
- Corresponding author
- Orlando, Elizabeth M.
- Chin, Brian N.
- ORCID
- Chin, Brian N.
- Venue
- Human-Animal Interactions
- Publisher
- CABI Publishing
- Published
- 2025-02-10
- ISSN
- 2957-9538 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4407293593
- Cited by
- 12
- References
- 58
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 6
- FWCI
- 7.89
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- Human-Animal Interactions (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- This work was supported by institutional funding provided to BNC from Trinity College.
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Animal Science and Zoology › Human-Animal Interaction Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Animal Science and Zoology › Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies
- Keywords
- human-animal bond, human-pet relationship, attachment security, bond strength, human-pet interaction, depressive symptoms, mental health, pet ownership, cats, dogs
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