Beyond Ownership: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Pet–Owner Bond, Self-Harm, and Suicide Risk in UK Young People

This study investigated whether pet ownership and the quality or structure of pet relationships were associated with self-harm and suicide risk among young people aged 16–24 years with lived experience of self-harm. In a cross-sectional online survey (n = 169), participants reported on pet ownership, strength of the pet–owner bond, and structural characteristics of ownership (number and diversity of pets). Standardized measures assessed anxiety, depression, and suicide risk. Participants also described their self-harm behaviors in open-text fields, which were coded to generate indices of severity (based on method and lethality), diversity of methods used, and time since last self-harm incident. Compared with non-owners, pet owners reported significantly lower anxiety, depression, and suicide risk, as well as less severe and diverse self-harming behaviors and longer periods since their last incident. Among pet owners, a stronger perceived bond was associated with decreased self-harm severity and method diversity, and with longer recovery durations. These associations remained significant after adjusting for demographic risk factors. In contrast, structural features of pet ownership, such as the number or variety of pets, were not associated with behavioral outcomes. These findings suggest that while pet ownership is associated with reduced psychological and behavioral risk among youth who self-harm, it is the perceived strength of the pet–owner bond, rather than structural features of ownership, that appears most predictive of these outcomes. In contexts where human support is limited, pets may function as stabilizing relational figures that support emotional regulation and recovery.