Pet Dogs and Childrens Health: Opportunities for Chronic Disease

Prevention?
Introduction
Little research has been conducted on the benefits of pet dogs for children, even
though positive outcomes have been associated between having a pet dog and adult
health. Researchers chose this subject because of its absence. Research has been
done on adult health and its correlation to pet dogs but not to young children. Pet dogs
have been linked to various mental and physical health benefits for adults. Some
countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia, promote walking and active play
with a dog as an effective strategy to increase physical activity in children 1. The USPHS
currently encourages pet dogs for improving adult physical and mental health
(Gadomski, 2015). Scientists did this research to gain evidence, they want to show and
prove that pet dogs do in fact help younger age groups as well. This study investigated
the hypothesis that pet dogs are positively associated with healthy weight and mental
health among children (Gadomski, 2015).
This topic is of value because if having a pet dog(s) is beneficial to our health, we can
help many people using this research. Dogs can be very helpful and assist us in many
ways. If we can prove that dogs do in fact help children, we can train dogs and keep
looking for more ways to use them in life and in health. If health benefits are evident

1 (Anne M. Gadomski, Melissa B. Scribani, Krupa, Paul Jenkins, Zsolt Nagykaldi, &

Ardis L. Olson, 2015)

from the study, pet dogs may be used to help younger patients in clinical settings,
psychiatric hospitals, in the home, and much more.
Materials and Methods
The researchers conducted a cross-sectional study at a general pediatric clinic in
New York. The sample size of the study consisted of 643 children. They asked parents
of children aged 4 to 10 years of age to complete a DartScreen during the time of their
annual check-up. The DartScreen is a web-based health risk scanners run using an
electronic tablet. The questionnaire asked things such as the childs physical activity,
screen time, mental health, nutrition, anxiety, general health, and pet-related questions.
The parents could answer questions, some were answered by ranking. After they
completed the test, a series of statistical analysis was performed, such as Multivariate
Analysis, Univariate Analysis, and the SCARED screening tool.
Results
Among the 643 subjects, 370 had a pet dog and 273 did not. There was no
difference between the Body to Mass ratio (BMI), screen time, or physical activity. In
Univariate analysis, the SCARED-5 score was significantly lower among children with a
pet dog. The study results suggest that children who have a pet dog in the home have a
lower anxiety screening score than children who do not. Although the researchers were
looking for other factors, anxiety does fall into mental health, so I would say that this
was not far from their expectations.
Discussion

The results indicate that children who have pet dogs have lower anxiety than
those who do not have pet dogs. Pet dogs could decrease childhood anxiety,
particularly separation and social anxiety. Because anxiety disorders often begin in
childhood, it would be good to do more research on how we could prevent anxiety or
reduce anxiety with dog therapy or dogs being part of the home. Because this is a
correlational study, no cause and effect can be concluded.
They did prove their hypothesis in the extent on mental health. Pet dogs do help
children with mental health. They resolved that anxiety levels were smaller among
children who had dogs.As far as physical activity, the results did not show evidence but
it would seem to help kids stay active if they walked their dogs and played with them.
More research is necessary.
Some problems that I would address is the populations sample size and bias.
The population was small. A bigger sample would give accurate data. Another limitation
is that the parents could lie about their answers. Although the test did take that into
account, it is still a factor that should be considered in the study.

Bibliography
Gadomski, A. M., Scribani, M. B., Krupa, Jenkins, P., Nagykaldi, Z., & Olson, A. L.
(2015, November 25). Pet Dogs and Childrens Health: Opportunities for Chronic
Disease Prevention? Retrieved April 06, 2016, from
http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2015/15_0204.htm