'They ask no questions and pass no criticism': A mixed-methods study exploring pet ownership in autism.
Gray Atherton, Emma Edisbury, Andrea Piovesan and 1 others
PMID 35678947WHAT IT FOUND
Autistic adults were less likely to have owned pets, but pet owners reported higher life satisfaction.
Interviews described pets helping calm, routine, social contact and identity; housing, cost and care worries remained barriers.
Key findings
01Autistic adults were less likely to have owned a pet during their life than neurotypical adults.
02Pet owners reported higher life satisfaction than non-pet owners, and this was true for both autistic and neurotypical groups.
03Autistic pet owners were more likely to use pets as substitutes for human companionship, and interviewed owners described pets as reducing masking and making pet-focused conversations easier.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The survey did not test pet ownership as an intervention, so it cannot show that pets improve life satisfaction. Participants were recruited online through social media, autism websites and Prolific, and the paper does not describe how representative these groups were. Autism diagnosis was based on participant answers about diagnosis, not records. Study 2 included 16 autistic adults, so its themes describe those interviews, not a population. The paper reports associations and experiences, not tested interventions.
Declared interests
No author funding or conflict-of-interest declaration appears in the supplied text. Participants were paid in line with UK minimum wage for the survey and £15 for interviews.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that pet ownership improves mental health in autistic adults. The survey only shows an association between pet ownership and higher life satisfaction, and the authors say autistic people should not automatically adopt pets because of cost, housing and care barriers.