Researchers affirm that pet ownership can positively impact the mental and emotional health of infants during the first years of interaction with animals.
VALENCIA, Nov. 12. (EUROPA PRESS).- A research team for the project INMA (Childhood and Environment)in which, among others, the University of Valencia and the Fisabio Foundation of the Generalitatanalyzed how the possession of pets during the first years of life can be related to aspects of emotional and behavioral well-being in the childhood.
The results, based on data from 1,893 families of Valencia, Sabadell, Asturias y Gipuzkoasuggest that the type of animal and time of coexistence can influence differently the child emotional development.
The INMA project, coordinated by the Networked Biomedical Research Center for Epidemiology and Public Health (Ciberesp), is a Spanish multicenter cohort created to study environmental effects (air, water, diet, environment) on child development.
In the study, published in the journal World Journal of Pediatricsthe presence of different types of animals, such as dogs, cats, birds and “other animals” such as rodents, fish or reptiles, was examined in homes when children were one and between four and five years old, and their possible relationship with emotional or “internalizing” problems (such as anxiety, depression or somatization) and behavioral or “externalizing” problems (such as rule breaking or hyperactivity) was evaluated at seven or eight years of age.
a team #CIBERESP of the #INMAProject has analyzed how the possession of #pets during the first years of life can be related to aspects of emotional and behavioral well-being in the #childhood 🧒🐶
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— CIBER ISCIII (@CIBER_ISCIII) November 12, 2025
Analyzes revealed that continued ownership of “other animals” (such as fish, turtles or hamsters) was associated with a protective effect against emotional problems, while having cats only at four or five years of age showed a slight association with more emotional or behavioral symptoms. No significant differences were observed for dogs or birds, as well as for the joint variable of having any type of pet.
The relationship between owning a cat at four or five years old and increased risk of emotional or behavioral symptoms in middle childhood is an association that should be interpreted with caution, according to the research team.
“There could be biases due to family selection (families with certain characteristics could be more likely to have cats, for example), changes in cohabitation or pet care, or differences in how parents perceive child behavior,” explains Marisa Estarlich, researcher at the UV Department of Nursing, co-author of the work and researcher at Fisabio and Ciberesp.
“It must be taken into account that these findings do not necessarily imply causality and that there are also unmeasured factors, such as real attachment to the pet, the possible death of animals (and the grief that this could imply), the conditions of the living environment or differences in upbringing, which could influence,” explained Llúcia González, researcher at Ciberesp in Fisabio and first signatory of the article.
The Biomedical Research Center for Epidemiology and Public Health Network, the University of Oviedo, the University of the Basque Country (EHU), the Universitat Jaume I of Castelló, the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) and the IIS Biogipuzkoa also participated in the study.
Psychological well-being
On the other hand, the apparently protective effect of “other animals” (rodents, fish, reptiles, etc.) suggests that these animals, less demanding in terms of human interaction, could favor a stable relationship, which could increase children’s psychological well-being.
“Incorporating animals of this type into children’s daily routines could contribute to the acquisition of responsibilities in an environment in which affection and empathy are put into action,” says Ainara Andiarena, researcher at the BEHRG Group at the EHU.
Another author of the work and Ciberesp researcher, Blanca Sarzo, concludes that “in any case, in order to reinforce these findings, it would be interesting to replicate the study with a larger sample and age range, and thus be able to assess these effects in the longer term.”