Puppy Love, Adolescence, and Chronic Illness: The Importance of Pets for Youth with Type 1 Diabetes

Abstract

The benefits of animal-companion ties to well-being are consistently documented,yet few studies use patient-centered methodologies to examine how youth livingwith chronic illnesses rely on domestic pets for support. Youth with type 1diabetes (T1D) aged 12 to 19 years (N=40) completed surveys involving a promptto take five photos of “what diabetes means to you,” with an accompanyingnarrative. Content analysis was conducted for photos/narratives and numericvariables analyzed including socio-economic status (SES: measured by totalhousehold income and years of parental education) and HbA1C. More than half ofthe youth participants took pictures of coping mechanisms, including pictures oftheir pets. In fact, pictures of pets outnumbered pictures of people three toone. Pet depictions were captured by youth from all SES levels. Youth with T1Didentify pets as an important source of support. More research is needed tounderstand how pets may offset disease burden for youth with T1D.