Characteristics of pet ownership in older adults
Of the 1657 participants in our subsample, the majority were female (58.6%), and age ranged from 50 to 101 years (
M = 67.29,
SD = 10.44); 935 participants were 50–69 years old (67.6% of the weighted sample), 625 were 70–84 years old (27.6% of the weighted sample), and 97 were 85 years or older (4.8% of the weighted sample). Table
1 presents percentages of the weighted sample, separated by gender, within the three age groups. Across the sample, there were no significant gender differences in rates of pet ownership (
F [1,1606] = 0.25,
p = 0.62). However, age category was a significant predictor of pet ownership (
F [2,1605] = 25.53,
p < 0.001), with adults ages 50–69 (OR = 4.97; 95% CI [2.88, 8.58]) and 70–84 (OR = 2.53; 95% CI [1.46, 4.39]) significantly more likely to own a pet than those 85 years or older. As indicated, most males across age groups tended to be married and own their own homes, with no significant differences across age groups in marital status (
F [2623] = 1.93,
p = 0.15) or home ownership (
F [2623] = 2.50,
p = 0.08). For females, age was a significant predictor of being married (
F [2980] = 23.54,
p < 0
.001), with 50 to 69 year olds being 9.03 times as likely (95% CI [4.56, 17.91]) and 70 to 84 year olds being 4.73 times as likely (95% CI [2.37, 9.44]) to be married compared to the 85 and older age group. Similarly, age was a significant predictor of owning a home for females (
F [2980] = 5.07,
p = 0
.006), with 50 to 69 year olds being 2.55 times as likely (95% CI [1.43, 4.56]) and 70 to 84 year olds being 2.29 times as likely (95% CI [1.27, 4.13]) to own a house compared to the 85 and older age group.
Table 1
Health and demographics, by age and gender (weighted)
Pet Owners (%) | 57.2% | 58.3% | 37.3% | 43.9% | 19.0% | 22.5% |
Married (%) | 66.8%1 | 61.9%2 | 75.0%1 | 45.9%2 | 62.0%1 | 15.2%2 |
Own Home (%) | 79.8%3 | 79.2%4 | 85.4%3 | 77.0%4 | 65.0%3 | 59.6%4 |
Health Status (M, SD) | 2.56 (1.00) | 2.57 (1.06) | 2.84 (1.06) | 2.84 (1.05) | 3.17 (1.10) | 2.98 (0.99) |
Ever Depressed (%) | 17.3% | 32.1% | 9.7% | 20.6% | 3.5% | 11.9% |
Depressed in last week (%) | 13.1% | 13.2% | 4.2% | 13.0% | 2.8% | 9.4% |
Mild Physical Activity (% every day or once a week) | 75.7% | 83.6% | 67.4% | 76.2% | 54.9% | 73.6% |
Moderate Physical Activity (% every day or once a week) | 69.1% | 65.0% | 60.7% | 56.6% | 61.7% | 24.4% |
Vigorous Physical Activity (% every day or once a week) | 50.9% | 36.1% | 38.8% | 28.5% | 4.1% | 20.8% |
In total, 51.5% of respondents reported being pet owners; the majority of these owned dogs (68.4%) and/or cats (45.6%), in addition to the 5.3% who owned birds, 6.1% owned fish, 1.0% owned small mammals, and 0.7% had reptiles. Most participants (75.2%) reported having only one animal, although total number of pets ranged from 1 to 50 (
M = 2.98,
SD = 5.19). Many participants were long-term pet owners, with 33.8% reporting having pets for 10 or more years. See Table
2 for pet ownership characteristics by age group. Pet owners were also significantly more likely to own a home (
N = 583; 75.8%), as compared to non-pet owners (
N = 562; 61.0%),
F (1, 1400) = 9.98,
p = 0.002.
Table 2
Descriptive characteristics (weighted) of pet ownership in older adult pet owners (n = 757), by age
50–69 years old | 3.09 (5.46) | 69.7% | 44.8% | 11.35 (1.20) |
70–84 years old | 2.79 (4.36) | 65.4% | 49.4% | 11.55 (0.88) |
85 + years old | 1.15 (0.36) | 51.7% | 36.1% | 11.02 (1.85) |
Total sample | 2.98 (5.19) | 35.2% | 23.5% | 11.39 (1.15) |
Table
3 presents weighted percentages of pet owners, separated by gender and age grouping. Within this group of pet owners, the percentage of males owning dogs did not differ across the three age groups (
F [2275] = 0.25,
p = 0.78), nor did the percentage of females (
F [2457] = 1.56,
p = 0.21). The percentages for cat ownership are similar across age categories for females (
F [2457] = 0.03,
p = 0.97), but there is a significant effect of age on cat ownership in males (
F [2276] = 7307.89,
p < 0
.001), with cat ownership dropping to zero in the oldest age category for males. When comparing both genders and age categories, percentage of bird ownership is highest among males in the 85+ age group.
Table 3
Type of pet ownership in older adult pet owners, by age and gender (weighted)
All Pet Owners | 41.9% | 58.1% | 37.9% | 62.1% | 22.3% | 77.7% |
Dogs | 71.8%1 | 68.2%2 | 67.2%1 | 64.2%2 | 75.9%1 | 44.8%2 |
Cats | 38.1%3 | 49.6%4 | 48.1%3 | 50.2%4 | 0.0%3 | 46.5%4 |
Birds | 7.6% | 3.7% | 7.1% | 3.8% | 24.1% | 0.0% |
Fish | 10.2% | 4.7% | 2.2% | 3.4% | 0.0% | 8.8% |
Small Mammals | 1.6% | 1.0% | 0.0% | 0.4% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Reptiles | 0.3% | 1.2% | 0.0% | 0.3% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Older adult pet owners indicated engaging positively with their companion animals in several ways. They reported being highly attached to their pets; 88.3% considered their pet a friend, 96.1% reported talking to their pet on a regular basis, 92.8% felt that their pet adds to their overall happiness, 88.1% regularly talk to others about their pet, 83.6% reported playing with their pet, and 81.4% thought their pet knows how they feel. Overall, attachment was high (M = 11.39, Mdn = 12.00, SD = 1.15, range 6 to 12). In addition, of dog owners, 63.3% regularly walk their dogs (M = 1.61 times per day, SD = 1.48).
Pet ownership and health outcomes
Regression analyses indicated no significant differences between pet owners and non-pet owners on general health status, B = 0.01, t(1605) = 0.12, p = 0.90. Pet ownership was significantly associated with the likelihood of ever having had depression F(1, 1596) = 16.75, p < 0.001, with pet owners 1.89 times more likely to have experienced depression than non-pet owners 95% CI [1.39, 2.57]. However, there were no differences between pet owners and non-pet owners on recent depression (having experienced depression within the last week), F(1, 1605) = 2.33, p = 0.13.