The Role of Companion Animals in Human Development. 

G.F. Melson. 
Ph.D..Professor. Department of Child Development & Family Studies, Purdue 
University. (Paper presented at the 7th International Conference on Human-Animal 
Interactions, Animals, Health and Quality of Life, September 6-9, 1995, Geneva, 
Switzerland).

Summary
This paper considers the role of companion animals in children’s development, 
with emphasis on how companion animals may affect quality of life for children. 
Because companion animals must be available to children in order to exert 
influence on their development, evidence for availability of companion animals 
is first reviewed. Then, a framework, derived from existing theories on human 
development, is applied to examine quality of life in children’s development. 
Hypotheses about how companion animals might affect children’s quality of life 
are advanced. Existing literature is examined as it bears on each of these 
hypotheses, and directions for future research are suggested. The major goals of 
this paper are: (a) to link research and theory related to human-companion 
animal relationships; (b) to apply broad, a mainstream ideas about children’s 
development to consideration of the role of companion animals; and (c) to 
suggest a programmatic, theory-based blueprint for future research.
Quality of life (OL), measured in adults by indicators of general well-being, 
subjective symptoms and feelings, and functional social status (Wilson, 1994), 
generally has not been applied to children’s development. However, OL provides a 
useful umbrella construct that can be applied across the lifespan, including 
childhood. For children, QL may be defined as the perceived ability of the child 
to meet developmental challenges resulting in a sense of well-being. This 
definition, while consistent with the broader OL construct emphasizing 
subjective evaluation of well being, adds an emphasis on (a) quality of life as 
related to the developmental needs of children; and (b) developmental tasks 
associated with different developmental periods.
Erickson’s life cycle theory and Bowlby’s attachment theory are useful for 
describing developmental challenges, while ecological systems theory 
(Bronfenbrenner, 1986) suggests multiple levels of environmental influence and 
multidirectional pathways of influence, with children playing an active role in 
their own development.

The First Developmental Challenge: Secure Attachment or Basic Trust
The foundational developmental challenge of basic trust, the reassurance that 
ones needs will be met, leads the child to believe in the world as benign and 
hence, interesting. There is considerable evidence that basic trust stems from 
secure attachments to others, which particularly under stress, reassure the 
child of her safety and provide a secure base. This suggests the first 
hypothesis: Companion animals may promote OL in children by forming secure 
attachment relations with the child and thereby contributing to the child’s 
sense of basic trust. The methodologies developed by attachment theorists have 
not been utilized to examine the possible role of companion animals as a secure 
base for very young children, but studies of children age five and older (Rost & 
Hartmann, 1994; Melson & Schwarz, 1994; Bryant, 1985) suggest that many children 
tum to companion animals for reassurance when feeling stressed.
However, it is presently unclear which children are most likely to derive 
emotional support from companion animals and what qualities of animals or 
interaction with them are most supportive. An additional important question is 
the possible link between attachment to a companion animal and attachment to 
humans. Finally, is the quality of attachment to a companion animal predictive 
of later competency? In general, an important direction for HCAB research that 
can link it more closely to basic developmental questions is the examination of 
the attachment relationship to companion animals in the context of human 
attachments.

The Developmental Challenges of Autonomy and Initiative
Reassured about their own basic safety through secure attachments, children then 
feel able to face the challenge of mastery over the physical and social 
environment through the development of self-control and independence. This is 
achieved in part through exploration of the expanding world through play, new 
relationships and testing the capacities of maturing bodies and brains. This 
suggests the second hypothesis: Companion animals may promote quality of life in 
children by facilitative play, exploration and independence. Considerable 
evidence documents children’s perceptions of companion animals as play partners 
(Melson, Peet & Sparks, 1991; Rost & Hartmann, 1994).
Needed research directions in this area include: (a) more detailed descriptions 
of the form, content and quality of children’s play with companion animals, 
particularly its similarities and differences to play with human companions; (b) 
examination of animal play partners in the contaxt of human interaction, for 
example, the role of companion animals as social lubricants to adult-child or 
child-child play; and (c) attention to sources of individual differences in 
involvement with a companion animal as play partner.

The Developmental Challenge of Industry
The elementary school or pre-adolescent years are described by Erikson as 
focused on the developmental challenge of learning skills, of being industrious 
in the sense of deriving pleasure from completing tasks. The child’s success in 
this domain is mirrored in feelings of self-competence, in being good at 
learning tasks. Influences on meeting the challenge of industry stem, not only 
from success at previous developmental challenges, but also from a variety of 
other environmental influences. Research has been informative about the role of 
authoritative parenting (a combination of warmth, firmness and acceptance), peer 
acceptance, and moderately challenging problems to solve. However, the role of 
companion animals in fostering learning skills and self-confidence has been 
little explored, and existing research does not point to consistent patterns. 
Hence, the third hypothesis-Companion animals may promote quality of life in 
children by aiding in learning and in acquisition of self-competence-remains to 
be tested. Future research might address the following questions: (a) By what 
process may animals facilitate learning? The use of classroom animals is 
widespread, but outcome-based process research, examining how they are used and 
employing outcomes to measure learning and feelings of competence, is lacking. 
(b) Why is attachment to pets linked to perceived competence in some children 
but not others? What processes underlie such a link?
Erickson describes the adolescent challenge as achieving a sense of personal 
identity. The process of identity search, involving reassessment of one’s 
childhood in the light of one’s future, is well known, but the role of companion 
animals in the context of this developmental challenge has not been studied. 
Thus, the last hypothesis: Companion animals may promote quality of life by 
facilitating the process of identity development. One possibility is as social 
support, an echo of their attachment role as reassuring presences in times of 
stress. Warm, accepting relationships with parents and friends have been shown 
to predict positive identity exploration in adolescents, but the supportive 
function of companion animals during this process is unclear. Because of 
multiple influences on identity development, it is likely that companion animals 
play a peripheral role. However, one should explore the characteristics of 
adolescents for whom relationships with companion animals are particularly 
significant.
In summary, a focus on stage-related developmental challenges of childhood 
combined with examination of environmental influences provides a framework for a 
research agenda on the role of companion animals for children’s quality of life.

References
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1986). Ecology of the family as a context for human 
development. Developmental Psychology, 22, 723-742. 
Bryant, B.K. (1987). The neighborhood walk: Sources of support in middle 
childhood. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 50 
(Issue No. 210). 
Melson, G.F., Peet, S. & Sparks. C. (1991). Children’s attachment to their 
pets: Links to socio-emotional development. Children’s Environment Quarterly, 
8, 55-65. 
Melson, G.F. & Schwarz, R. (1994, October). Pets as social supports for 
families for young children. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the 
Delta Society, New York. 
Rost, D. & Hartmann, A. (1994). Children and their pets. Anthrozoцs, 7(4), 
242-254. 
Wilson, C.C. (1994). A conceptual framework for human-animal interaction 
research: The challenge revisited. Anthrozoцs, 7(1), 4-12.

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