Psychology Experts Confirm: Owning a Pet Reduces Perception of Physical and Emotional Pain

Psychology experts confirm that owning a pet can lessen the perception of both physical and emotional pain, echoing Oscar Wilde's sentiment that time spent with animals can lead to personal improvement.

For millennia, animals have played a central role in human life, initially in the wild and later in agriculture for food and transport, as well as in cultural and religious practices. While pet ownership might seem like a modern luxury, its history is deep and widespread. Archaeological findings in Israel and Northern Europe suggest dogs were domesticated between 11,000 and 14,000 years ago. Native Americans may have kept dogs as pets over 8,000 years ago, evidenced by burials in North America. Cats, believed to have been domesticated in ancient Egypt around 4,000 years ago, have accompanied humans for at least 9,500 years, according to evidence from Cyprus. Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, China, and Japan also show a strong history of pet ownership.

James A. Serpell, a professor emeritus of Animal Ethics and Welfare at the University of Pennsylvania and an anthrozoologist since 1979, describes the study of human-animal interactions (HAI) as a "productive adolescence" supported by increasing research. However, establishing empirical evidence for the benefits of pet ownership or animal-assisted interventions using traditional methods is difficult due to the challenge of proving causality in cross-sectional studies comparing pet owners with non-owners.

Despite these research hurdles, a collaboration between Waltham and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in the U.S. is beginning to yield results. The article notes that families with children under 18 constitute about 40 percent of U.S. pet owners, and animals are prevalent in children's media. Cats, in particular, are highlighted for their calm attributes, which can be beneficial for children.