In 2018, the General Social Survey for the first time included a battery of questions on pet ownership. The findings not only quantified the nation’s pet population — nearly 6 in 10 households have at least one —they made it possible to see how pet ownership overlaps with all sorts of factors of interest to social scientists.
2018年，美国《综合社会调查》首次纳入一系列关于饲养宠物的问题。其研究结果量化了美国的宠物数量——将近60%家庭至少拥有一只宠物，也使人们得以一窥饲养宠物与社会学家关心的各种因素之间有哪些交集。
Like happiness.
比如幸福感。
For starters, there is little difference between pet owners and non-owners when it comes to happiness, the survey shows. The two groups are statistically indistinguishable on the likelihood of identifying as “very happy” (a little over 30 percent) or “not too happy” (in the mid-teens).
调查显示，首先，养宠物的人与不养宠物的人在幸福感方面几乎毫无区别。在统计学上，这两个组别在认定自己“非常幸福”的比例（略超过30%）或“不太幸福”的比例（15%左右）方面，几乎没有区别。
But when you break the data down by pet type — cats, dogs or both — a stunning divide emerges: Dog owners are about twice as likely as cat owners to say they’re very happy, with people owning both falling somewhere in between.
但是，如果按饲养宠物的种类来细分数据（养猫、养狗或两者都养），就会出现一个惊人差异：养狗人士认为自己很幸福的可能性是养猫人士的两倍，而同时养这两种宠物的人自认幸福的比例则介于两者之间。
Dog people, in other words, are slightly happier than those without any pets. Those in the cat camp, on the other hand, are significantly less happy than the pet-less. And having both appears to cancel each other out happiness-wise.
换句话说，养狗人士比不养宠物的人要更快乐一些。而养猫人士比不养宠物的人更不快乐。而同时养这两种宠物会让这两种效应抵消。
These differences are quite large: The happiness divide between dog and cat owners is bigger than the one between people who identify as middle and upper class, and nearly as large as the gap between those who say they’re in “fair” versus “good or excellent” health.
这些差异非常明显：养狗人士和养猫人士之间的幸福感差异比中产阶层和上流社会之间的幸福感差异还要大，类似于说自己健康“尚可”和“非常或极其健康”之间的差异。
However, correlation doesn’t equal causation, and there are probably a number of other differences between dog and cat owners that account for some of the differences. The General Social Survey data show that dog owners, for instance, are more likely to be married and own their own homes than cat owners, both factors known to affect happiness and life satisfaction.
然而，相关性并不等于因果关系，养狗人士与养猫人士之间的幸福感差异可能还有其他方面的原因。例如，调查显示，与养猫人士相比，养狗人士已婚并拥有自己住房的可能性较大。一般认为，这两个因素都会影响幸福感和生活满意度。
Previous research on this topic yielded mixed results. In 2006, the Pew Research Center found no significant differences in happiness between pet owners and non-pet owners, or cat and dog owners. However, that survey did not distinguish between people who owned “only” a dog or a cat, and those who owned “either” a dog or a cat, potentially muddying the distinctions between exclusive dog and cat owners.
此前关于这一问题的研究得出了复杂的结果。2006年，皮尤研究中心发现，养宠物的人和不养宠物的人，以及养狗人士和养猫人士之间的幸福感没有明显不同。然而，该项研究没有区分“只有”一只狗或一只猫，以及养了一只狗或者一只猫的人们，这可能会把只养了狗和只养了猫的人们之间的区别搞混。
A 2016 study of dog and cat owners, on the other hand, yielded greater happiness ratings for dog owners relative to cat people. It attributed the contrast, at least in part, to differences in personality: Dog owners tended to be more agreeable, more extroverted and less neurotic than cat owners. And a 2015 study linked the presence of a cat in the home to fewer negative emotions, but not necessarily an increase in positive ones.
另一方面，2016年关于养狗人士和养猫人士的一项研究得出结论称，养狗人士的幸福感比养猫人士更强，部分原因是个性的不同：相比而言，养狗人士更加和蔼可亲、更外向、更不易神经质。2015年的一项研究认为，养猫人士更少出现负面情绪，但不一定会导致积极情绪的增加。
Other research makes the case that some of the pet-happiness relationship is causal, at least when it comes to canines. A 2013 study found, for instance, that dog owners are more likely to engage in outdoor physical activity than people who don’t own dogs, with obvious benefits for health and happiness.
另有一项研究证实，宠物与幸福感之间的某些联系是有因果关系的，至少对养狗来说是这样。例如，2013年的一项研究发现，与不养狗的人们相比，养狗人士更可能参与户外运动，这显然对健康和幸福感有好处。
Research also has shown that dog owners are more likely than other folks to form friendships with people in their neighborhoods on the basis of the random encounters that happen when they’re out walking their pets. Those social connections likely contribute to greater well-being among dog owners.
调查还显示，养狗人士更可能在遛狗时与社区里偶遇的遛狗人成为朋友。这种社交联系可能会给他们带来更强烈的幸福感。
The?General Social Survey?also asked a number of questions about how people interact with their pets, and the answers may also explain some of the happiness gap. Dog owners, for instance, are more likely to seek comfort from their pet in times of stress, more likely to play with their pet, and more likely to consider their pet a member of their family. Those differences suggest a stronger social bond with their pets, which could create a greater sense of well-being.
《综合社会调查》还询问了一些关于人们与宠物互动的问题，这些答案或许可以解释幸福感的某些差异。例如，养狗人士更有可能在承受压力时向宠物寻求安慰、更有可能与宠物玩耍，也更有可能将宠物视为家庭一员。这些差异表明，他们与宠物间的社交纽带更紧密，而这可以带来更强的幸福感。
Stepping away from the data, cat owners might protest that ownership isn’t about “happiness” at all: There’s something about felines that is grander and more mysterious — something that can’t be captured in a public opinion poll.
抛开这些数据不谈，养猫人士可能会辩称养猫根本不是为了“幸福”。猫身上有更伟大更神秘的特质---公开的民意调查无法捕捉到的特质。
“A cat has absolute emotional honesty,” as Ernest Hemingway put it. “Human beings, for one reason or another, may hide their feelings, but a cat does not.”
正如欧内斯特-海明威所说：“猫在情感方面绝对诚实，人类往往由于某种原因隐藏自己的感情，而猫却不会。”
本文来源：中国日报网
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