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Contents
- Abstract
- Why Might Pet Ownership Benefit Owners?
- The Present Work
- Study 1: Do Pet Owners Enjoy Better Well-Being Than Nonowners?
- Method
- Participants
- Procedure
- Well-being measures
- Depression
- Loneliness
- Self-esteem
- Physical illness and symptoms
- Subjective happiness
- Exercise and fitness
- Individual-difference measures
- Personality
- Attachment style
- Inclusion and support measures
- Inclusion of others in the self
- Overall support measures
- Pet-specific items
- Pet anthropomophism
- Other pet-specific items
- Results
- Correlations among well-being and individual-differences variables
- Do pet owners enjoy better well-being than nonowners?
- Do pet owners have different personality types and attachment styles than nonowners?
- Do pet owners and nonowners differ in inclusion of others and in human social support?
- A closer look at pet owners
- Discussion
- Study 2: Pet Social Needs Fulfillment
- Method
- Participants
- Procedure
- Measure of perceived stress
- Social needs measures
- The DPQ
- Results
- Predicting well-being from social needs fulfillment
- What predicts the magnitude of dog social needs fulfillment?
- Discussion
- Study 3: Can Pets Stave Off the Sting of Social Isolation and Rejection?
- Method
- Participants
- Procedure
- Rejection manipulation
- Second activity manipulation
- Results
- Discussion
- General Discussion
Figures and Tables
Abstract
Social support is critical for psychological and physical well-being, reflecting the centrality of belongingness in our lives. Human interactions often provide people with considerable social support, but can pets also fulfill one's social needs? Although there is correlational evidence that pets may help individuals facing significant life stressors, little is known about the well-being benefits of pets for everyday people. Study 1 found in a community sample that pet owners fared better on several well-being (e.g., greater self-esteem, more exercise) and individual-difference (e.g., greater conscientiousness, less fearful attachment) measures. Study 2 assessed a different community sample and found that owners enjoyed better well-being when their pets fulfilled social needs better, and the support that pets provided complemented rather than competed with human sources. Finally, Study 3 brought pet owners into the laboratory and experimentally demonstrated the ability of pets to stave off negativity caused by social rejection. In summary, pets can serve as important sources of social support, providing many positive psychological and physical benefits for their owners.
If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This...