Figure 2. Item scores of “offering comfort” at t₀ (4-to-5-years old; in grey) and t₁ (current period, mean age: 129.9±55.8 months old; in black) for G_0A (group with no pet in the family), G_pet (group with a pet arriving after the child’s 5^th birthday), G_0B (group with no pet in the family) and G_alw (group always with at least one pet at home since birth).

Higher the score, more significant was the impairment “offering comfort” (e.g. reassuring parents or peers who were sad or hurt). Comparisons were performed using Wilcoxon’s matched-pairs signed ranks tests (Significant threshold: p<0.0014).