One of the family? Measuring young adolescents' relationships with pets and siblings

Adolescents and Pets

“…Physical changes in early adolescents include growth spurts, developing secondary sex characteristics and facial hair, among many others (Arnett, 2006;Cassels et al, 2017;Choate, 2014;Malone, 2016;Munsey, 2006;Sturman & Moghaddam, 2011;Tanner & Arnett, 2009; van Houtte & Jarvis, 1995). In some, these sudden growth spurts result in clumsiness or awkwardness.…”

“…Important social changes that occur in adolescents include developing a larger social network and transitioning their trust to peers with these peers becoming more important to them than their biological family. These peer relationships can help facilitate the development of interpersonal competence, more specifically; autonomy, identity, self-expression, coping, trust, and empathy (Arnett, 2006;Cassels et al, 2017;Choate, 2014;Malone, 2016;Munsey, 2006;Sturman & Moghaddam, 2011;Tanner & Arnett, 2009; van Houtte & Jarvis, 1995).…”

“…An important aspect to understand about early adolescence is that while striving for independence, adolescents are still reliant on their family for transportation, money, food, and feedback on the decisions they are making in their lives (Balk & Corr, 2001;Cassels et al, 2017;Malone, 2016). These same authors define early adolescence as a period of independence versus dependence; of high self-consciousness and low self-disclosure.…”

“…Many studies have indicated that pets are beneficial to people, including adolescents. These studies have indicated that these pets can act as counselors, confidants, best friends (Black, 2009;Cassels et al, 2017;Griffin-Shirley & Nes, 2005;Zilcha-Mano et al, 2012), or even considered a sibling (Cassels et al, 2017). Additionally, pets offer unconditional love and acceptance (Brown, Richards, & Wilson, 1996;Hanselman, 2001;Piper, 2014;Purewal et al, 2017), the experience of accepting and receiving physical touch (Cassels et al, 2017;Fine, 2010;Piper, 2014), an attachment to an object (Cassels et al, 2017;Marsa-Sambola et al, 2017;Piper, 2014;Zilcha-Mano et al, 2012), or may encourage physical activity or health (Cloutier & Peetz, 2016;Winerman, 2017;Yam et al, 2012).…”

“…These studies have indicated that these pets can act as counselors, confidants, best friends (Black, 2009;Cassels et al, 2017;Griffin-Shirley & Nes, 2005;Zilcha-Mano et al, 2012), or even considered a sibling (Cassels et al, 2017). Additionally, pets offer unconditional love and acceptance (Brown, Richards, & Wilson, 1996;Hanselman, 2001;Piper, 2014;Purewal et al, 2017), the experience of accepting and receiving physical touch (Cassels et al, 2017;Fine, 2010;Piper, 2014), an attachment to an object (Cassels et al, 2017;Marsa-Sambola et al, 2017;Piper, 2014;Zilcha-Mano et al, 2012), or may encourage physical activity or health (Cloutier & Peetz, 2016;Winerman, 2017;Yam et al, 2012). Furthermore, pets have been found to assist in emotional well-being (Black, 2009;Brown et al, 1996;Chandler, 2012;Piper, 2014;Purewal et al, 2017;Zilcha-Mano et al, 2012) and recovery from physical illnesses (Beetz, Uvnäs-Moberg, Julius, & Kotrschal, 2012;Cloutier & Peetz, 2016;Kyngäs, 2004).…”