TITLE:
Personalities and health in older cat and dog owners: A HUNT-study
AUTHORS:
Ingela Enmarker, Ove Hellzén, Knut Ekker, Anne-Grethe T. Berg
KEYWORDS:
Pet Ownership; Cats and Dogs; Health; Personality; Old Age; Population Study
JOURNAL NAME:
Health,
Vol.5 No.9,
September
13,
2013
ABSTRACT:
The aim of this
population study was to identify personality traits among older (>65 years)
male and female owners of cats and dogs and to compare their general health
status in relation to their personality. Further, the aim was to examine
whether current cat and dog ownership could be predicted by the owners’ personality
and health. Data were collected from the North-Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT) in Norway. Included were a total of 1897 cat or dog owners between the ages of 65 years and
101 years. The results showed that there were a higher proportion of
introverted male cat owners than extraverted ones. Moreover, a majority of
women with cats reported that their health was not good. Furthermore, female cat owners who displayed higher scores on neurotic traits experienced
significantly poorer health compared to those female cat owners that
experienced good health. The same was true for female cat owners who considered themselves to be introverted. Neither personality nor health could predict pet-ownership, but it was more likely
for older individuals (80-101 years) to own a cat than a dog. This study has
shown that human personality is associated
with cat and dog ownership, but there are other factors connected with pet ownership
as well.