著者
安藤 孝敏
出版者
横浜国立大学教育人間科学部
雑誌
横浜国立大学教育人間科学部紀要. III, 社会科学 = Journal of the Faculty of Education and Human Sciences, Yokohama National University. The social sciences (ISSN:13444638)
巻号頁・発行日
vol.10, pp.1-10, 2008-02-28

Importance of pets in old age has been gradually acknowledged. However, a few studies focusing on this issue have been conducted in Japan. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of emotional interaction with pets on well-being among the elderly. Subjects were pet owners (dog and/or cat), ranging in age from 60 to 74 years, living in Metropolitan area. Mail surveys were carried out in 2000 and completed for 552 persons. The response rate was 92.0%. The demographics of pet ownership and quality of emotional interaction with pets (Human-Animal Bonding Scale) were inquired. Well-being was measured by the Japanese version of Geriatric Depression Scale and AOK Loneliness Scale. Multiple regression analyses showed the emotionally close relationships with pets had significant negative effects on depressive states and loneliness when the effects of socio-demographic variables, health status, and social support network were controlled. The results suggested the importance of emotionally close relationships with pets for quality of life in old age.