Title |
Does owning a pet protect older people against loneliness?
|
---|---|
Published in |
BMC Geriatrics, September 2014
|
DOI | 10.1186/1471-2318-14-106 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Jitka Pikhartova, Ann Bowling, Christina Victor |
Abstract |
Pet ownership is thought to make a positive contribution to health, health behaviours and the general well-being of older people. More specifically pet ownership is often proposed as a solution to the problem of loneliness in later life and specific 'pet based' interventions have been developed to combat loneliness. However the evidence to support this relationship is slim and it is assumed that pet ownership is a protection against loneliness rather than a response to loneliness. The aim of this paper is to examine the association between pet ownership and loneliness by exploring if pet ownership is a response to, or protection against, loneliness using Waves 0-5 from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United States | 4 | 16% |
Canada | 4 | 16% |
United Kingdom | 3 | 12% |
Spain | 1 | 4% |
Unknown | 13 | 52% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Members of the public | 19 | 76% |
Scientists | 5 | 20% |
Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 1 | 4% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom | 2 | <1% |
Netherlands | 1 | <1% |
Germany | 1 | <1% |
Canada | 1 | <1% |
United States | 1 | <1% |
Unknown | 213 | 97% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Bachelor | 45 | 21% |
Student > Master | 41 | 19% |
Student > Ph. D. Student | 19 | 9% |
Researcher | 14 | 6% |
Student > Postgraduate | 8 | 4% |
Other | 30 | 14% |
Unknown | 62 | 28% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Psychology | 37 | 17% |
Social Sciences | 32 | 15% |
Medicine and Dentistry | 20 | 9% |
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 14 | 6% |
Veterinary Science and Veterinary Medicine | 13 | 6% |
Other | 36 | 16% |
Unknown | 67 | 31% |