A group of scientists from the University of Arizona, in the United States, decided to investigate whether having a pet is good or bad for health. For this, they did not base themselves only on questionnaire responses, but used a tool that analyzed recordings of interactions between owners and their pets.
The idea of using this method arose because previous research on pets frequently presents contradictory results about owners' well-being. The researchers argue that a possible explanation for this inconsistency is that it is not simply enough to know if someone has a pet: the quality and frequency of interaction with the animal may also be determining factors.
The system developed by the scientists was built from 30 different variables. This instrument was then tested in an experiment with 240 people, using recordings that had been made previously, including diverse groups such as elderly, healthy adults, and couples.
