Table 1 Baseline characteristics of the study sample by dog ownership status (n = 71)
From: Companion dog acquisition and mental well-being: a community-based three-arm controlled study
Baseline characteristics | Dog ownership status | ||
|---|---|---|---|
Dog acquisition (n = 17) | Lagged control (n = 29) | Community control (n = 25) | |
Age (years) | 36.9 (10.6) | 38.0 (13.6) | 50.7 (18.4) |
Gender (female %) | 100 | 75.9 | 80.0 |
Physical activity | |||
Bouts of 10+ mins walking/week a | 11.5 (7.6) | 8.3 (5.5) | 8.9 (7.9) |
Minutes spent walking/week a | 303.2 (277.7) | 219.8 (192.4) | 251.6 (202.7) |
Time spent sedentary (hours/day) a | 7.7 (2.7) | 7.8 (2.9) | 7.4 (3.5) |
Smoking status | |||
Current/Previous (%) | 11.8 | 24.1 | 32.0 |
Never (%) | 88.2 | 75.9 | 68.0 |
Alcohol consumption | |||
1 or more days/week | 70.6 | 55.2 | 56.0 |
Less than once per week | 29.4 | 44.8 | 44.0 |
Education b | |||
Trade certificate/diploma or less (%) | 47.1 | 17.2 | 12.0 |
Bachelor’s or post graduate degree (%) | 52.9 | 82.8 | 88.0 |
Previous dog ownership (%) | 52.9 | 65.5 | 44.0 |
Dogs as social catalysts c | |||
Got to know people in their neighbourhood (%) | 82.4 | N/A | N/A |
Considered this person a friend (%) | 35.3 | N/A | N/A |
Could ask for information (%) | 76.5 | N/A | N/A |