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BERITA BAHASA INDONESIA
TOK PISIN
By Georgia Loney
ABC North Qld
Topic:Cats
In a new study cat owners demonstrated higher tendency towards anxiety than dog owners. (ABC News)
Cat owners demonstrated higher tendency towards anxiety than dog owners in a study by James Cook University.
Dog owners were shown to be more resilient in a survey of 321 people
Researchers are cautioning against the purchase of a pet as a quick fix for mental health.
Australian researchers say cat owners are more likely to be neurotic than dog owners, while dog lovers are less likely to be lonely than their cat-owning counterparts.
James Cook University psychology researchers Leah Baines and Jessica Oliva analysed 321 people's responses between June and August 2023 to an online survey about their personality traits, with the study published last month in journal Anthrozoös.
Dog owners were found to be more resilient, while cat owners were more neurotic, or more susceptible to the negative impacts of stress.
But researchers cautioned against the study's finding being used to reinforce stereotypes, saying it's a snapshot in a period of time.
Dr Oliva said during the pandemic one in five Australian families acquired a new cat or dog. (ABC Riverland: Sophie Holder)
Dr Oliva said she was prompted to research the personalities of pet owners after noting in research dog owners were less likely to be lonely during COVID lockdowns.
During the pandemic one in five Australian families acquired a new cat or dog, she noted.
Dr Oliva said, previously, the lower loneliness rates among dog owners was thought to be because of social activities associated with dogs, such as taking dogs on walks.
But limited evidence to back this prompted an investigation into personality of people who owned dogs, rather than cats.
Dog owners are reportedly less lonely than cat owners. (ABC North Qld: Chloe Chomicki)
"There must be something about being somebody who likes to own dogs that makes them more resilient in times of social stress," she said.
Self-selected study participants were quizzed about what were considered the five most significant personality traits — extraversion, openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism.
"We found that the dog owners were more resilient, and cat owners were significantly higher in neuroticism," she said.
But Dr Oliva cautioned against any suggestion the research could be used to back up stereotypes of a "crazy cat lady".
"These are just general findings," she said.
James Cook University's Dr Jessica Oliva. (ABC News: Georgia Loney)
"We looked at this at one point in time so we are making the assumption here that people who like to own dogs are more resilient, while people who like to own cats are more susceptible to stress.
"It could be, alternatively, that through owning a dog, or the challenges of owning a dog, one becomes more resilient over time, perhaps through owning a cat one becomes more neurotic over time."
Dr Oliva said it was not possible to know if neuroticism caused people to own cats, or whether cat ownership made people more neurotic.
"Really interestingly, there is a possible link between neuroticism and toxoplasmosis, which is caused by a parasite which can be passed by cats to humans, so it's not out of the realm of possibility," she said.
Queensland Feline Association secretary Marie Mahoney said she had never noticed any significant differences between the owners of cats and dogs.
It's not known if more neurotic people own cats, or if having a cat makes you more neurotic. (Supplied: Unsplash/Caleb Woods)
She said she felt pet ownership generally could be a boost for mental health.
Ms Mahoney said the cat breeding community was generally not bothered by the crazy cat lady label.
"Oh they just shrug it off, I don't think they take too much notice of it really," she said.
"But they can be fanatical about their cats, and their particular breeds."
Dr Oliva said the research, Unleashing the Personality Divide: Resilience in Dog Owners, Neuroticism in Cat Owners, had implications about what was known about the impact of pet ownership on mental health.
"I think what this research shows is there's not necessarily a benefit to your mental health from owning a dog or a cat, to the extent that people should be making quick decisions, to adopt them for a quick fix."
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