ABSTRACT

Pets are an important aspect of many families and households, but how many Americans have them? The purpose of this study is to compare point estimates of pet ownership in the U.S. from the General Social Survey (GSS) to estimates from other surveys, and to report demographic and social correlates to pet ownership. Wide discrepancies in estimates of U.S. pet ownership have been previously reported, relying on private industry surveys that do not disclose sampling design. Further, some surveys that reported pet ownership were not available for public use and/or did not lend themselves to social science due to a limited number of other measures of important social and demographic characteristics. U.S. estimates of pet ownership from the GSS tended to be slightly higher than those based on the American Veterinary Medical Association Pet Ownership and Demographics Sourcebook and consistently lower than estimates based on the American Pet Products Association National Pet Owners Survey. Pet ownership varied by race/ethnicity, age, size of place, household composition, and dwelling type. Number and type of pets also varied considerably by social and demographic characteristics. We conclude that the 2018 GSS has several advantages for studying human–animal interaction including a nationally representative sample, availability of a wide range of covariates, and public accessibility.

摘要

宠物是许多家庭和家庭的重要方面，但有多少美国人拥有宠物？本研究的目的是将综合社会调查 (GSS) 对美国宠物拥有量的点估计与其他调查的估计进行比较，并报告人口统计和社会与宠物拥有量的相关性。此前曾有报道称，对美国宠物拥有量的估计存在巨大差异，这依赖于未披露抽样设计的私营行业调查。此外，由于重要社会和人口特征的其他措施数量有限，一些报告宠物所有权的调查无法供公众使用和/或不适用于社会科学。我们 GSS 对宠物所有权的估计往往略高于基于美国兽医协会宠物所有权和人口统计资料手册的估计，并且始终低于基于美国宠物产品协会全国宠物主人调查的估计。宠物所有权因种族/民族、年龄、地方大小、家庭构成和住宅类型而异。宠物的数量和类型也因社会和人口特征而有很大差异。我们得出结论，2018 年 GSS 在研究人与动物相互作用方面具有多项优势，包括具有全国代表性的样本、广泛协变量的可用性以及公众可访问性。宠物所有权因种族/民族、年龄、地方大小、家庭构成和住宅类型而异。宠物的数量和类型也因社会和人口特征而有很大差异。我们得出结论，2018 年 GSS 在研究人与动物相互作用方面具有多项优势，包括具有全国代表性的样本、广泛协变量的可用性以及公众可访问性。宠物所有权因种族/民族、年龄、地方大小、家庭构成和住宅类型而异。宠物的数量和类型也因社会和人口特征而有很大差异。我们得出结论，2018 年 GSS 在研究人与动物相互作用方面具有多项优势，包括具有全国代表性的样本、广泛协变量的可用性以及公众可访问性。