A Study of the Effects of Pet Ownership on Mental Health among Community-Dwelling Senior Citizens in Northeast Tennessee.

This cross-sectional study explored the relationship between pet ownership, attachment, and psychological health among community-dwelling senior citizens and evaluated the impact of the placement of an aquarium into a regional senior center. General health, depression, social support, pet attitudes,...

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Main Author: Southerland, E. Marie
Format: Others
Published: Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University 2007
Subjects:
Online Access:https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/2046
https://dc.etsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3407&context=etd
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spelling ndltd-ETSU-oai-dc.etsu.edu-etd-34072019-05-16T04:46:43Z A Study of the Effects of Pet Ownership on Mental Health among Community-Dwelling Senior Citizens in Northeast Tennessee. Southerland, E. Marie This cross-sectional study explored the relationship between pet ownership, attachment, and psychological health among community-dwelling senior citizens and evaluated the impact of the placement of an aquarium into a regional senior center. General health, depression, social support, pet attitudes, pet attachment, pet relationships, and attitudes about the aquarium were assessed among 104 members of a senior center. Symptoms of depression were identified in 17.3% of the participants. Pets were a significant form of social support and attachment to pet owners. No significant relationship was observed between pet ownership, pet attachment, and psychological health. Positive health effects were reported among participants who observed the fish aquarium. While the relationship between pet ownership, human-animal interactions, and psychological well-being remains unclear, it appears that older adults can benefit from animal-assisted activities and therapy programs. Animal-assisted activities and therapy programs may be useful adjunctive therapies for depression in community-dwelling senior citizens. 2007-05-05T07:00:00Z text application/pdf https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/2046 https://dc.etsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3407&context=etd Copyright by the authors. Electronic Theses and Dissertations Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University depression human-animal bond human-animal interaction pets pet attachment pet therapy senior citizens social support Health Psychology Psychology Social and Behavioral Sciences
collection NDLTD
format Others
sources NDLTD
topic depression
human-animal bond
human-animal interaction
pets
pet attachment
pet therapy
senior citizens
social support
Health Psychology
Psychology
Social and Behavioral Sciences
spellingShingle depression
human-animal bond
human-animal interaction
pets
pet attachment
pet therapy
senior citizens
social support
Health Psychology
Psychology
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Southerland, E. Marie
A Study of the Effects of Pet Ownership on Mental Health among Community-Dwelling Senior Citizens in Northeast Tennessee.
description This cross-sectional study explored the relationship between pet ownership, attachment, and psychological health among community-dwelling senior citizens and evaluated the impact of the placement of an aquarium into a regional senior center. General health, depression, social support, pet attitudes, pet attachment, pet relationships, and attitudes about the aquarium were assessed among 104 members of a senior center. Symptoms of depression were identified in 17.3% of the participants. Pets were a significant form of social support and attachment to pet owners. No significant relationship was observed between pet ownership, pet attachment, and psychological health. Positive health effects were reported among participants who observed the fish aquarium. While the relationship between pet ownership, human-animal interactions, and psychological well-being remains unclear, it appears that older adults can benefit from animal-assisted activities and therapy programs. Animal-assisted activities and therapy programs may be useful adjunctive therapies for depression in community-dwelling senior citizens.
author Southerland, E. Marie
author_facet Southerland, E. Marie
author_sort Southerland, E. Marie
title A Study of the Effects of Pet Ownership on Mental Health among Community-Dwelling Senior Citizens in Northeast Tennessee.
title_short A Study of the Effects of Pet Ownership on Mental Health among Community-Dwelling Senior Citizens in Northeast Tennessee.
title_full A Study of the Effects of Pet Ownership on Mental Health among Community-Dwelling Senior Citizens in Northeast Tennessee.
title_fullStr A Study of the Effects of Pet Ownership on Mental Health among Community-Dwelling Senior Citizens in Northeast Tennessee.
title_full_unstemmed A Study of the Effects of Pet Ownership on Mental Health among Community-Dwelling Senior Citizens in Northeast Tennessee.
title_sort study of the effects of pet ownership on mental health among community-dwelling senior citizens in northeast tennessee.
publisher Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University
publishDate 2007
url https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/2046
https://dc.etsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3407&context=etd
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