Wilson Claire, Ballantyne Carrie, Hawkins Roxanne D
Division of Psychology and Social Work, School of Education and Social Sciences, University of the West of Scotland, Paisley PA1 2BE, UK.
Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, School of Health in Social Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9AG, UK.
Behav Sci (Basel). 2025 Mar 25;15(4):419. doi: 10.3390/bs15040419.
Evidence suggests that autistic children spend less time engaging in social interactions than their neurotypical peers which can negatively impact their wellbeing. Researchers, educators, and parents must consider how we address this. A possible facilitator of autistic children's social skills and a protective factor for their psychological health is the role of pets and the human-pet bond. The study examined parental reports of autistic children's attachment to their pet (dog or cat), positive and negative behaviours with that pet, and how this relates to prosocial behaviour, peer problems, and psychological health (emotional difficulties, conduct problems, hyperactivity/inattention). Sixty-five parents with an autistic child completed quantitative measures to assess these variables. Participants also completed qualitative questions aimed at understanding their perceptions of the impact of pets on their child. A regression analysis showed that children's positive behaviour towards the pet predicted their prosocial behaviour ( = 0.40 = 0.006). No other regression models were statistically significant. A thematic analysis of the qualitative responses highlighted four themes in relation to parents' perceptions of the positive impacts of pets on their child. These were (1) ; (2) ; (3) ; and (4) . One theme was identified in relation to the negative impact of pets: (5) . The findings have implications which can inform guidelines to help parents make decisions about pet ownership and how to foster meaningful relationships between autistic children and their pets.
有证据表明，与神经发育正常的同龄人相比，自闭症儿童参与社交互动的时间较少，这可能会对他们的幸福感产生负面影响。研究人员、教育工作者和家长必须思考我们该如何应对这一问题。宠物的作用以及人与宠物之间的亲密关系可能是自闭症儿童社交技能的促进因素，也是其心理健康的保护因素。该研究调查了家长关于自闭症儿童与其宠物（狗或猫）的依恋关系、与该宠物的积极和消极行为的报告，以及这与亲社会行为、同伴问题和心理健康（情绪困扰、行为问题、多动/注意力不集中）之间的关系。65位有自闭症孩子的家长完成了定量测量以评估这些变量。参与者还完成了旨在了解他们对宠物对孩子影响的看法的定性问题。回归分析表明，孩子对宠物的积极行为可预测其亲社会行为（β = 0.40，p = 0.006）。没有其他回归模型具有统计学意义。对定性回答的主题分析突出了与家长对宠物对孩子的积极影响的看法相关的四个主题。这些主题分别是：（1）；（2）；（3）；以及（4）。还确定了一个与宠物负面影响相关的主题：（5）。这些研究结果具有启示意义，可为指导方针提供参考，以帮助家长决定是否养宠物以及如何培养自闭症儿童与其宠物之间有意义的关系。
