PART 2: CHILDREN'S RELATIONSHIPS

Relationship with Peers

Pets and Animals

The child's pet is an aid to the child's physical, social and emotional development. 21

Measure

The percentage of children aged 9-17 who report having a pet of their own or a pet in their family.

Key findings

  • In 2006, 73.8% of children aged 9-17 reported having a pet of their own or a pet in their family (see Table 33).

Differences by gender, age and social class

  • The percentage of children who reported having a pet of their own or a pet in their family was higher among girls and children from higher social classes (see Table 33):
    • 75.2% of girls, compared to 72.4% of boys;
    • 76.4% of children in SC 1-2, compared to 73.9% of children in SC 5-6


Table 33: Percentage of children who report having a pet of their own or a pet in their family, by gender, age and social class (2006)

  Boys Girls Total
Total 72.4 75.2 73.8
Age
9 years 71.1 72.9 72.0
10-11 years 71.6 77.3 75.0
12-14 years 73.6 75.2 74.4
15-17 years 71.6 74.3 72.9
Social class
SC 1-2 74.4 78.7 76.4
SC 3-4 71.9 73.7 72.8
SC 5-6 72.9 74.8 73.9

Source: HBSC Survey

Differences by geographic area

  • Children in the Mid-West region are more likely (80.2%) to report having a pet of their own or a pet in their family, while children in the Dublin region are least likely (62.8%) to report this (see Table 34).

Table 34: Percentage of children who report having a pet of their own or a pet in their family, by NUTS Region (2006)

  2006
Border 71.3
Midlands 78.2
West 75.8
Dublin 62.8
Mid-East 76.8
Mid-West 80.2
South-East 79.9
South-West 76.6
Overall 73.8

Source: HBSC Survey

Technical notes
All data presented are drawn from self-report, self-completion questionnaires completed by children in schools. Thus, they are subject to potential biases in relation to self-presentation and memory. These measures may suffer from social desirability bias.

Percentage differences are presented for descriptive purposes only and may not reflect a statistically significant finding.

Social class (SC) is classified into one of the following groups (introduced in 1996 by the CSO), defined on the basis of occupation:

SC I: Professional
SC 2: Managerial
SC 3: Non-manual
SC 4: Skilled manual
SC 5: Semi-skilled
SC 6: Unskilled

NUTS is an acronym for the EU Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics. This classification was legally established by EU Regulation No. 1059/2003 on 29 May 2003. In Ireland, NUTS is classified hierarchically as Level 1 - Ireland; Level 2 - Regions; and Level 3 - Regional Authorities. The 8 Regional Authorities in Ireland (NUTS 3 regions) were established under the Local Government Act, 1991 (see Appendix 2).

 

Next

17 Nic Gabhainn, S. and Sixsmith, J. (2005) Children's Understandings of Well-Being, National Children's Office. Dublin: The Stationery Office. Available at: www.childrensdatabase.ie OR www.omc.gov.ie