Researchers from James Cook University say a new study shows dog owners are likely to be more resilient than cat owners and less neurotic – and the contrast may be down to personality differences inherent between the two groups of people.
JCU psychology lecturer Jessica Oliva, co-author of the study, said personality differences have been consistently shown between 'dog people' and 'cat people'.
"Dog ownership has been associated with reduced loneliness in people living alone during periods of prolonged isolation, such as during covid lockdowns, suggestive of higher levels of resilience in dog owners.
"So our research investigated the predictive power of dog versus cat ownership on personality traits and resilience," said Dr Oliva.
The researchers surveyed and interviewed 321 people who were dog or cat owners or neither.
Dr Oliva said, as expected, dog owners demonstrated higher levels of resilience and cat owners demonstrated higher levels of neuroticism, after controlling for age and gender.
"Interestingly, there is evidence to support the idea that genes guide ownership of a particular species. It may be that influences on ownership are linked with genetically-derived personality traits, so both the personality trait and propensity to own a particular animal are inherited.
"Simply put, people who are naturally predisposed to being resilient may like dogs more, rather than the dog causing people to be resilient. Though it's also possible the responsibilities and potential challenges associated with owning a dog may also build resilience over time, or it may be a mix of the two," said Dr Oliva.
She said similarly it's not possible to know if neuroticism drives people to own cats or whether cat ownership causes people to become more neurotic.
"The higher resilience of dog owners may be why they were found to be less lonely than non-dog owners during lockdown," said Dr Oliva.
She said despite pet ownership rising over the lockdown period from 61% in 2019 to an estimated 69% in 2021, there is no strong evidence to support acquiring a pet to assist with dealing with social isolation or loneliness.
"It seems owner personality, in particular levels of resilience, are likely to be more important.
"It further emphasises that the decision to acquire a pet at any time should always be well thought out, with a commitment to care for the animal for the duration of its lifetime and with the animal's welfare at the forefront of the decision."
Link to paper here.
