Mokos Judit, Kubinyi Eniko, Ujfalussy Dorottya J, Iotchev Ivaylo B, Paksi Borbála, Demetrovics Zsolt, Urbán Róbert, Miklósi Ádám
MTA-ELTE Lendület "Momentum" Companion Animal Research Group, Budapest, Hungary.
Department of Ethology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary.
Sci Rep. 2025 Jul 1;15(1):20267. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-06987-7.
Research on the impact of pet ownership on well-being has produced mixed results, often influenced by a focus on pet enthusiasts. To address this bias, we conducted a longitudinal study in Hungary using a stratified random sample based on gender, age, education, and settlement type. Unlike previous studies, our participants were not particularly devoted to pets and were not necessarily the primary caretakers, offering a more balanced perspective on how pet acquisition affects well-being. Among the 2783 respondents who participated three times in data collection, 65 acquired a pet, and 75 lost a pet during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pet acquisition initially increased cheerfulness, but this effect was short-lived, lasting only 1-4 months. Over a longer period (up to 6 months), pet acquisition-particularly dog acquisition-was linked to declines in calmness, activity, cheerfulness, and life satisfaction. Importantly, neither mental nor physical well-being was linked to future pet acquisition, and losing a pet had no significant effect on well-being. These findings challenge the widely held belief that pet acquisition leads to lasting improvements in well-being, suggesting instead that the demands of pet care-especially for dogs-can outweigh initial benefits. Moreover, the results underscore the context-dependent nature of the human-animal bond. The stress and uncertainty of a global crisis may alter the typical emotional and psychological benefits of pet ownership.
关于养宠物对幸福感影响的研究结果不一，这往往受到对宠物爱好者关注的影响。为了纠正这种偏差，我们在匈牙利进行了一项纵向研究，采用了基于性别、年龄、教育程度和居住类型的分层随机抽样。与以往的研究不同，我们的参与者并非特别热衷于宠物，也不一定是主要照顾者，这为宠物饲养如何影响幸福感提供了更平衡的视角。在2783名参与了三次数据收集的受访者中，65人在新冠疫情期间养了宠物，75人失去了宠物。养宠物最初会增加愉悦感，但这种效果是短暂的，仅持续1至4个月。在更长的时间内（长达6个月），养宠物——尤其是养狗——与平静感、活动量、愉悦感和生活满意度的下降有关。重要的是，幸福感的心理和生理方面都与未来是否养宠物无关，失去宠物对幸福感也没有显著影响。这些发现挑战了一种广泛持有的观点，即养宠物会持久提升幸福感，相反表明养宠物的需求——尤其是养狗——可能超过最初的益处。此外，研究结果强调了人宠关系的情境依赖性。全球危机带来的压力和不确定性可能会改变养宠物通常带来的情感和心理益处。
