According to a new study, children get more satisfaction from their pets than from their relationships with their siblings. The study, which focussed on 77 children living in the UK, provides more evidence about the well-being and happiness of people who play with pets.

Scientists have long overlooked the valuable role played by pets in maintaining good health. However, the study does not mean that the relationships of siblings can be replaced by the pets.

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The researchers were focussing on how pets in the family can influence the wellbeing and developments of kids, especially as they grow up, Science Daily reported. The focus was particularly on the importance of the child-pet relationships.

According to Matt Cassells, the lead author of the study from the Univerisity of Cambridge, people who loved a childhood pet, always turned to the pet for disclosure and companionship similar to their relationships between people. The study looked at how strong these relationships are with pets compared to family ties.

The researchers adapted well-renowned physchological tool, the Network of Relationships Inventory, to measure the quality of relationships between people. One of the reasons that children to have stronger relationships with their pets than their siblings is due to lower conflicts levels. Another interesting point is the fact that pets are completely non-judgemental. Although pets may not respond verbally or fully understand, the level of disclosure to pets by children was no less than to their siblings.

However, the test cannot be considered to be objective since children often fight with their siblings.  The research team was not interested in the importance of relationships rather on how the children felt about their pets and their importance in their lives.

Another finding was that girls have closer relationships compared to boys with their pets. This was usually considered to be opposite.

The results of the study have been published in the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology.