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A longitudinal test of the belief that companion animal ownership can help reduce loneliness
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Gilbey, Andrew, McNicholas, June and Collis, Glyn M. (2007) A longitudinal test of the belief that companion animal ownership can help reduce loneliness. Anthrozoos, Vol.20 (No.4). pp. 345-353. doi:10.2752/089279307X245473 ISSN 0892-7936.
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Abstract
The widely held belief that companion animal ownership can help to reduce loneliness was tested using a quasi-experimental longitudinal design. Over a six-month period, 59 participants completed the UCLA-Loneliness Scale when they were seeking to acquire a companion animal. Participants' loneliness was measured again six-months after their initial recruitment, by which time 35 of the 59 participants had acquired a new companion animal. There was no evidence that companion animal acquisition helped to reduce levels of loneliness, irrespective of whether participants already owned a companion animal at the time of seeking to acquire a new companion animal, or the type of companion animal that was acquired. There was no evidence that participants who ultimately acquired a new companion animal differed from participants who did not, suggesting that the findings were not a consequence of a self-selection bias. The perseverance and apparent strength of the belief that companion animal ownership can alleviate loneliness is discussed in relation to the current findings.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||
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Subjects: | G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GN Anthropology G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences S Agriculture > SF Animal culture |
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Divisions: | Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Science > Psychology | ||||
Journal or Publication Title: | Anthrozoos | ||||
Publisher: | Berg Publishers | ||||
ISSN: | 0892-7936 | ||||
Official Date: | December 2007 | ||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | Vol.20 | ||||
Number: | No.4 | ||||
Number of Pages: | 9 | ||||
Page Range: | pp. 345-353 | ||||
DOI: | 10.2752/089279307X245473 | ||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||
Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access |
Data sourced from Thomson Reuters' Web of Knowledge
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