How accurately do young adults recall childhood pets? A validation study

Area of Science:

• Environmental Health
• Epidemiology
• Human-Animal Interaction

Background:

• Pets significantly impact human health, presenting both benefits and risks.
• Accurate assessment of pet exposure is crucial for epidemiological research.
• Previous studies lack robust validation of childhood pet exposure recall.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the accuracy of young adults' self-reported childhood pet ownership.
• To compare young adult recall with prospectively collected parental data.
• To identify factors influencing the reliability of pet exposure reporting.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a birth cohort from Detroit (n=820, born 1987-1989).
• Assessed recall of pets during the first six years of life.
• Compared self-reports with parental records from 12-18 years prior.

Main Results:

• Cats were recalled with 86.3% accuracy; dogs with 79.2% accuracy (P < 0.01).
• Underreporting of cats and dogs was more frequent than overreporting (1.8- to 8.3-fold, P < 0.05).
• Reporting accuracy varied by respondent's sex and current pet ownership status.

Conclusions:

• Young adult recall of early childhood pets (0-6 years) demonstrates good reliability.
• Potential biases in reporting necessitate careful consideration of sex and outcome when assessing childhood pet exposure.
• Future research should account for differential reporting accuracy based on pet type and respondent characteristics.