The Relationship of Loneliness and Stress to Human-Animal Attachment in the Elderly. C. Keil R.N., Ph.D., University of Alaska Anchorage School of Nursing. B. Barba PhD. (Paper presented at the 7th International Conference on Human-Animal Interactions, Animals, Health and Quality of Life, September 6-9, 1995, Geneva, Switzerland.)

The purpose of the study was to examine the quality of life concepts of loneliness and stress, as well as animal characteristics, to level of human-animal attachment among the elderly. Subjects (N=275) were recruited from three heterogeneous community-based programs for the elderly in the mid-western United States. The relationships among variables were explored using a descriptive, correlational design and survey methodology. Instruments included the Human-Animal Relationship Questionnaire as a measure of attachment, factors from the Revised Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale as measures of loneliness and stress, and one-item measures of demographic and animal characteristic variables.

Significant Pearson correlations existed between attachment and loneliness (r=.30, p=.002), and between attachment and stress (r=.30, p=.001). As loneliness and stress increased, human-animal attachment increased. Multiple regression analysis identified that four variables; gazing into the animal’s eyes, dog ownership, stress, and perception of the animal’s appearance as appealing, explained 31% of the variance of human-animal attachment (F [4,269] 29.238, p=.001). The correlation between attachment and loneliness was higher for subjects without a human confidant.

These findings suggest that attachment to animals might be an aid to coping with the consequences of aging for the elderly subjects of this study. A purposive sample and a reliable measure of confidant status is recommended for future study.