Were young men picking pets over people? Association between social network and pet ownership: A population-based study

This population-based cross-sectional study explores the relationship between social network involvement and pet ownership among young men in China. The study found that 24.1 % of families in the sample owned pets. A multilevel logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the association between social network size and pet ownership. In this analysis, the odds ratio (OR) was used to quantify the strength of the association. The results revealed that the OR for overall social network size and pet ownership were 2.15 for the smallest network group, 1.63 for the middle network group, and 1.69 for the largest network group, compared to the reference group. The structural equation model showed that the overall social network, as well as both lower- and higher-level social networks, not only have a direct influence on pet ownership but also exert indirect effects through marital status or family location, or regional population density. This study provides important insights into pet ownership behavior, highlighting the role of social networks in shaping human-animal interactions and emphasizing the need for a holistic approach to understanding the factors that contribute to pet ownership decisions. The study deals with animal-human health from a fundamental social level and understanding social needs and structures behind people's pet-keeping behavior provides a good basis for further study of health issues in pet-keeping practices.