Understanding Links Between College Students’ Childhood Pet Ownership, Attachment, and Separation Anxiety During the Transition to College

Abstract

ABSTRACT Despite evidence that youth develop close relationships with their childhood pets, virtually nothing is known about how pet attachment and behavioral involvement with pets may shape students’ pet-separation anxiety during the transition to college. Given that separation may constitute a potential risk factor for developing mental health issues, we explored these associations. A month before arrival on campus, a randomly selected sample of incoming first-year students (n = 2,000) reported on pet ownership (n = 145), pet attachment (Johnson et al., 1992) and pet-related behavioral involvement. A month later, 2 weeks into the semester, students reported on the severity of pet-related separation anxiety, with 25.5% of students reporting experiencing moderate to severe pet-related separation anxiety. Regression analyses modeled contributions of students’ pet attachment, behavioral involvement, and student characteristics (e.g., first generation, mental health history) on pet-related separation anxiety. Results showed that people substituting-related pet attachment (β = 0.19, p = 0.015), spending more time with pets compared with other pet owners (β = 0.24, p = 0.002), talking to pets (β = 0.19, p = 0.009), nights per week of pet-co-sleeping (β = 0.16, p = 0.027), significantly predicted separation anxiety while students’ history of anxiety (β = 0.18, p = 0.012) and self-harm (β = 0.14, p = 0.046) were controlled. Findings show that students whose pets played a large role in their lives experienced separation anxiety during the transition to college, which may compromise academic success. Students’ indicators related to pet ownership should be considered as potential risk factors beyond traditional mental health considerations.