A study of dog caregivers in the UK found that the parenting styles individuals experienced in childhood (from their parents or caregivers) were associated with how they treated their dogs as adults. I did. Specifically, participants who experienced a permissive parenting style in childhood were more likely to use the same style with their own dogs. The study was published in the journal Animals.
Current estimates are that there are approximately 700 million dogs worldwide. Approximately 470 million of these are kept as household pets. Almost every second household in the United States owns a pet dog, approximately 31% of households in South Korea and 50% of households in the Philippines own at least one dog, a significant increase compared to previous decades. shows an increase.
Research also suggests that the treatment of dogs has evolved significantly in modern times. In early times, human-dog relationships tended to center around the human’s needs. However, in recent decades, dogs have become integrated into families and become active participants in family life. Researchers say more people are now showing considerate behavior toward dogs that was once reserved for other humans, primarily children. For example, one study found a similar pattern of increased oxytocin levels and brain activation when mothers interacted with their children and family dogs.
Study authors Chih Hsin Kuo and Sharon Kessler sought to investigate whether the parenting styles individuals experienced as children influenced how they cared for their dogs. They specifically wanted to examine whether intergenerational transmission occurs between the parenting behaviors the participants received in childhood and the participants’ own dog-led parenting styles. They also investigated whether orientation toward the animal played a role in this relationship.
The study included 391 dog caretakers who completed an online survey using Testable. Most participants were over 25 years old and 96% were women. Approximately half of the participants were from the US and UK, and 35% of households had children. In addition, the authors interviewed 10 participants via Microsoft Teams.
Survey participants were asked to identify parenting styles they had experienced as children (using the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire), parenting styles for dogs (using an adapted version of the parenting style items for dogs, i.e., using the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire for dogs). You have completed the evaluation of the gentle version. and orientation towards non-human animals.
The results confirmed that parenting styles are passed down from generation to generation, from the participants’ childhood to their interactions with dogs. Notably, participants who experienced permissive parenting styles as children were more likely to apply the same style to their dogs. The only exception was Asian participants, where this relationship did not exist. Permissive parenting is characterized by high levels of warmth and responsiveness, but low demands and discipline, with parents often being permissive, avoiding strict rules, and allowing significant freedom in decision-making.
Participants who experienced authoritative parenting were less likely to be tolerant of their dogs. Authoritative parenting combines warmth and support with clear rules and high expectations, promoting independence while maintaining consistent discipline and open communication.
A protectionist orientation emerged as the most common attitude toward dogs, followed by a humane orientation. A conservationist orientation focuses on management, training, and using animals for specific tasks or purposes, whereas a humanistic orientation focuses on treating dogs as companions, providing emotional bonds, care, and family. Focus on emphasizing the role of the dog within.
The authors tested several statistical models proposing that orientation toward dogs mediates the relationship between the parenting style participants experienced in childhood and the style they display toward dogs. In other words, they suggested that early childhood parenting styles shaped participants’ orientation toward animals, which in turn influenced their parenting styles toward dogs.
The results confirmed this relationship. In these models, a protectionist orientation toward dogs decreased the likelihood of authoritarian caregiving toward dogs, whereas humanistic and protectionist orientations increased the likelihood of permissive caregiving toward dogs.
“Participants who experienced permissive parenting were more likely to use permissive parenting on their own dogs, and during interviews, participants indicated that they were intentionally reenacting their own experiences with permissive parenting. “We detected a cross-species transmission effect of permissive parenting in that the authors concluded.
“Similarly, orientation toward nonhuman animals played a significant mediating role between general and dog-directed parenting styles. Protectionist attitudes Humanistic attitudes made participants less likely to reproduce it in their dogs, and humanistic attitudes made participants who had experienced authoritarian parenting more likely to reproduce it in their dogs.” They compensate for their authoritarian upbringing by becoming more tolerant of dogs. ”
This study reveals a link between experienced parenting styles in childhood and how people treat their dogs as adults. However, this study relies on self-reporting, which may introduce reporting bias. Furthermore, the design of this study does not allow us to draw causal conclusions from the data.
The paper, “Intergenerational Transmission of Human Parenting Styles to Human-Dog Relationships,” was authored by Chih Hsin Kuo and Sharon Kessler.
