New Global Research Project Will Be the Largest-Ever Study on How Pets Impact Mental Health

If there’s one thing cat people and dog people can agree on, it’s this: Pets just make life better. With animal welfare and mental health both being pressing issues of our time, understanding the human-animal bond is becoming more and more important — and science is taking note. A massive new initiative by Mars, Incorporated — the Pets and Wellbeing Study Program (PAWS for short) — is gearing up to be the world’s largest ever international study program on the role of cats and dogs in human mental health and wellbeing.

According to an Ipsos Health Service Report, 45 percent of people across 31 countries identify mental health as their top health concern, with its ranking steadily increasing since 2018. More people are concerned about their mental health than their risk of cancer, drug abuse, or coronavirus. Previous research has found that pets can have an enormous positive impact on mental health, but there is still plenty to learn about the role they play in our wellbeing.

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The PAWS program, which is led by Waltham Petcare Science Institute, is ambitious; it will involve over 35,000 people and 20 countries. Mars will be working with a variety of academic institutions around the world, including the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liverpool, and the YouGov and the Human Animal Bond Research Institute.

“As a pet owner, I know firsthand the joy and comfort pets bring to our lives and there is increasing evidence that owning a pet or simply interacting with one can bring benefits to people of all ages and from all walks of life,” Loïc Moutault, the President of Mars Petcare, said in a statement.

The new research will tackle a variety of mental health concerns and pet interventions on subjects including stress, loneliness, anxiety, and sleep. PAWS will explore how humans and pets can develop practices with mutual benefits across diverse populations. One study plans to evaluate the impact of pet interactions on older adults; another will access the change in the wellbeing of pups themselves after they are adopted; yet another will explore the impact of pet parenting on sleep across the globe. And there are many more to come.

“Both the breadth and depth of this study program promise to deliver novel data and greater insight into something many people instinctively feel — that the bond between pet and pet owner is a powerful and unique part of the human experience,” Dr. Maggie O’Haire the Associate Dean for Research at the University of Arizona College of Veterinary Medicine, one of the institutions participating in the program, said in a statement. “We are proud to continue to collaborate with Mars and its world-leading research institute as it embarks on this transformative work.”