IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/soinre/v80y2007i2p297-311.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Pets and Human Health in Germany and Australia: National Longitudinal Results

Author

Listed:
  • Bruce Headey
  • Markus Grabka

Abstract

The German and Australian longitudinal surveys analysed here are the first national representative surveys to show that (1) people who continuously own a pet are the healthiest group and (2) people who cease to have a pet or never had one are less healthy. Most previous studies which have claimed that pets confer health benefits were cross-sectional. So they were open to the objection that owners may have been healthier in the first place, rather than becoming healthier due to owning a pet. In both countries the data show that pet owners make about 15% fewer annual doctor visits than non-owners. The relationship remains statistically significant after controlling for gender, age, marital status, income and other variables associated with health. The German data come from the German Socio-Economic Panel in which respondents have been interviewed every year since 1984 (N = 9723). Australian data come from the Australian National Social Science Survey 2001 (N = 1246).
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Suggested Citation

  • Bruce Headey & Markus Grabka, 2007. "Pets and Human Health in Germany and Australia: National Longitudinal Results," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 80(2), pages 297-311, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:80:y:2007:i:2:p:297-311
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-005-5072-z
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s11205-005-5072-z
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11205-005-5072-z?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wood, Lisa & Giles-Corti, Billie & Bulsara, Max, 2005. "The pet connection: Pets as a conduit for social capital?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 61(6), pages 1159-1173, September.
    2. Elke Holst & Dean R. Lillard & Thomas A. DiPrete, 2001. "Proceedings of the 2000 Fourth International Conference of German Socio-Economic Panel Study Users (GSOEP 2000): Editorial Introduction," Vierteljahrshefte zur Wirtschaftsforschung / Quarterly Journal of Economic Research, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, vol. 70(1), pages 5-6.
    3. SOEP Group, 2001. "The German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) after More than 15 Years: Overview," Vierteljahrshefte zur Wirtschaftsforschung / Quarterly Journal of Economic Research, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, vol. 70(1), pages 7-14.
    4. Johannes Schwarze & Hanfried H. Andersen & Silke Anger, 2000. "Self-Rated Health and Changes in Self-Rated Health as Predictors of Mortality: First Evidence from German Panel Data," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 203, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    5. Bruce Headey, 1999. "Health Benefits and Health Cost Savings Due to Pets: Preliminary Estimates from an Australian National Survey," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 47(2), pages 233-243, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Bruce Headey & Fu Na & Richard Zheng, 2008. "Pet Dogs Benefit Owners’ Health: A ‘Natural Experiment’ in China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 87(3), pages 481-493, July.
    2. Paul W.C. Wong & Rose W.M. Yu & Joe T.K. Ngai, 2019. "Companion Animal Ownership and Human Well-Being in a Metropolis—The Case of Hong Kong," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-14, May.
    3. Lara S. Franco & Danielle F. Shanahan & Richard A. Fuller, 2017. "A Review of the Benefits of Nature Experiences: More Than Meets the Eye," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-29, August.
    4. Eloise C.J. Carr & Jean E. Wallace & Rianne Pater & Douglas P. Gross, 2019. "Evaluating the Relationship between Well-Being and Living with a Dog for People with Chronic Low Back Pain: A Feasibility Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-16, April.
    5. Rikako Sato & Takeo Fujiwara & Shiho Kino & Nobutoshi Nawa & Ichiro Kawachi, 2019. "Pet Ownership and Children’s Emotional Expression: Propensity Score-Matched Analysis of Longitudinal Data from Japan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-12, March.
    6. Svenja Damberg & Lena Frömbling, 2022. "“Furry tales”: pet ownership’s influence on subjective well-being during Covid-19 times," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 56(5), pages 3645-3664, October.
    7. Ferran Marsa-Sambola & Janine Muldoon & Joanne Williams & Alistair Lawrence & Melanie Connor & Candace Currie, 2016. "The Short Attachment to Pets Scale (SAPS) for Children and Young People: Development, Psychometric Qualities and Demographic and Health Associations," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 9(1), pages 111-131, March.
    8. Mieke Rijken & Sandra Beek, 2011. "About Cats and Dogs … Reconsidering the Relationship Between Pet Ownership and Health Related Outcomes in Community-Dwelling Elderly," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 102(3), pages 373-388, July.
    9. Jessica Saunders & Layla Parast & Susan H Babey & Jeremy V Miles, 2017. "Exploring the differences between pet and non-pet owners: Implications for human-animal interaction research and policy," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(6), pages 1-15, June.
    10. Rebecca Utz, 2014. "Walking the Dog: The Effect of Pet Ownership on Human Health and Health Behaviors," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 116(2), pages 327-339, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bruce Headey & Markus M. Grabka, 2004. "The Relationship between Pet Ownership and Health Outcomes: German Longitudinal Evidence," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 434, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    2. Bruce Headey & Fu Na & Richard Zheng, 2008. "Pet Dogs Benefit Owners’ Health: A ‘Natural Experiment’ in China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 87(3), pages 481-493, July.
    3. Clément Meier & Jürgen Maurer, 2022. "Buddy or burden? Patterns, perceptions, and experiences of pet ownership among older adults in Switzerland," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 1201-1212, December.
    4. Sarah Holly & Alwine Mohnen, 2012. "Impact of Working Hours on Work-Life Balance," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 465, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    5. Joachim R. Frick & Markus M. Grabka & Olaf Groh-Samberg, 2007. "Economic Gains from Publicly Provided Education in Germany," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 28, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    6. Constant, Amelie F. & Gataullina, Liliya & Zimmermann, Klaus F., 2009. "Ethnosizing immigrants," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 69(3), pages 274-287, March.
    7. Robert Orlowski & Regina T. Riphahn, 2008. "The East German Wage Structure after Transition," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 148, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    8. Jennifer Hunt, 2004. "Are migrants more skilled than non-migrants? Repeat, return, and same-employer migrants," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 37(4), pages 830-849, November.
    9. Amelie Constant & Klaus Zimmermann, 2011. "Circular and Repeat Migration: Counts of Exits and Years Away from the Host Country," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 30(4), pages 495-515, August.
    10. Fuchs-Schündeln, Nicola, 2009. "On preferences for being self-employed," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 71(2), pages 162-171, August.
    11. Monika Sander, 2008. "Changes in Immigrants' Body Mass Index with Their Duration of Residence in Germany," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 122, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    12. Rebecca Utz, 2014. "Walking the Dog: The Effect of Pet Ownership on Human Health and Health Behaviors," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 116(2), pages 327-339, April.
    13. Elke Holst, 2006. "Women in Managerial Positions in Europe: Focus on Germany," management revue - Socio-Economic Studies, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 17(2), pages 122-142.
    14. Elke Holst & Mechthild Schrooten, 2006. "Migration and Money - What Determines Remittances?: Evidence from Germany," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 566, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    15. Bohringer, Christoph & Boeters, Stefan & Feil, Michael, 2005. "Taxation and unemployment: an applied general equilibrium approach," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 81-108, January.
    16. A. Zaiceva, 2007. "East-West migration and gender: Is there a "double disadvantage" vis- -vis stayers?," Working Papers 608, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
    17. Nicola Fuchs-Schündeln, 2008. "The Response of Household Saving to the Large Shock of German Reunification," Working Papers, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College wp2008-21, Center for Retirement Research, revised Dec 2008.
    18. Markus Jochmann & Roberto León‐González, 2004. "Estimating the demand for health care with panel data: a semiparametric Bayesian approach," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 13(10), pages 1003-1014, October.
    19. Zimmermann, Klaus F. & Constant, Amelie, 2007. "Circular Migration: Counts of Exits and Years Away from the Host Country," CEPR Discussion Papers 6438, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    20. Monika Sander, 2008. "Is There Migration-Related Inequity in Access to or in the Utilisation of Health Care in Germany?," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 147, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:80:y:2007:i:2:p:297-311. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.