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The Impact Of Pet Ownership On Loneliness In Older Adults: A Mixed Method Research Study
Loneliness is a significant issue among older adults, and it has been found to have negative effects on both physical and mental health. The prevalence of loneliness in older adults is a growing concern, as the population of older adults is increasing. Pet ownership is a potential intervention that can help mitigate the negative effects of loneliness. However, there is limited research on the impact of pet ownership on loneliness in older adults. Therefore, this study aims to fill this gap in the literature by investigating the relationship between pet ownership and loneliness in older adults.
Loneliness among older adults is a complex issue that is influenced by various factors such as social support, health status, and environmental factors. Older adults may experience loneliness due to the loss of a spouse or friends, decreased mobility, and changes in living arrangements. Loneliness has been linked to negative health outcomes such as depression, anxiety, and cardiovascular disease. Therefore, understanding the factors that contribute to loneliness in older adults is critical to developing effective interventions.
Pet ownership is a potential intervention that can address loneliness in older adults. Pets can provide companionship, reduce stress, and promote physical activity. Research has shown that pet ownership can improve mental health outcomes such as depression and anxiety. Additionally, pets can provide a sense of purpose and responsibility, which can improve self-esteem and self-worth. However, there is limited research on the impact of pet ownership on loneliness in older adults. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the relationship between pet ownership and loneliness in older adults.
One potential mechanism through which pet ownership may reduce loneliness is by providing social support. Social support refers to the assistance and companionship that individuals receive from their social networks, including family, friends, and pets. Pets can serve as social support by providing companionship, emotional support, and physical contact. Research has shown that pets can reduce feelings of loneliness by providing a sense of connection and social support. For example, a study by Headey and Grabka (2014) found that pet owners reported lower levels of loneliness and higher levels of social support compared to non-pet owners. Similarly, a study by McNicholas and Collis (2000) found that dog owners reported higher levels of social support and lower levels of loneliness compared to non-dog owners.
Another potential mechanism through which pet ownership may reduce loneliness is by promoting physical activity. Regular physical activity has been shown to improve physical and mental health outcomes, including reducing loneliness. Pet ownership can promote physical activity by providing a reason to go for walks or engage in other physical activities with the pet. Additionally, pets can provide a sense of responsibility and motivation to engage in physical activity. For example, a study by Johnson and Meadows (2010) found that dog owners were more likely to engage in regular physical activity compared to non-dog owners.
Despite the potential benefits of pet ownership for reducing loneliness in older adults, there are also potential challenges and limitations. For example, caring for a pet can be expensive and time-consuming, which may be a barrier for some older adults. Additionally, older adults with physical or cognitive impairments may have difficulty caring for a pet. Furthermore, pets may not be a suitable intervention for all older adults, as some individuals may not enjoy or be interested in pets.
In conclusion, loneliness is a significant issue among older adults that can have negative effects on physical and mental health. Pet ownership is a potential intervention that can help mitigate the negative effects of loneliness by providing social support and promoting physical activity. However, there is limited research on the impact of pet ownership on loneliness in older adults. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the relationship between pet ownership and loneliness in older adults using a mixed-methods design. The study will provide important insights into the potential benefits and limitations of pet ownership as an intervention for reducing loneliness in older adults.
Method
Participants:
The participants in this study were older adults aged 65 and above who were living independently in the community. Participants were recruited from community centers, senior centers, and retirement communities in the local area. A total of 100 participants were recruited for the study.
Design:
This study used a mixed-methods design, consisting of a survey and qualitative interviews. The survey was used to collect quantitative data on pet ownership, loneliness, and other relevant variables. The qualitative interviews were used to collect more in-depth information on the experiences of pet owners and non-pet owners. The qualitative portion of the study will use a phenomenological design to explore the experiences of loneliness and pet ownership among a subset of participants.
Materials:
The survey included several measures that were relevant to the study, including the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Loneliness Scale, the Pet Attitude Scale, and demographic questions. The UCLA Loneliness Scale is a widely used measure of loneliness that includes 20 items on a 4-point Likert scale. The Pet Attitude Scale includes 12 items on a 5-point Likert scale and measures attitudes towards pets. Demographic questions included age, gender, marital status, education level, and income level.
The interview guide for the qualitative interviews included open-ended questions on topics such as the participant’s experiences with pet ownership, their perceptions of the benefits and challenges of pet ownership, and their experiences with loneliness.
Procedure:
Participants were recruited through community centers, senior centers, and retirement communities in the local area. Interested participants were screened for eligibility and provided with informed consent before participating in the study. Participants completed the survey either online or on paper, depending on their preference. Participants who completed the survey were then asked if they would like to participate in the qualitative interview portion of the study. Interviews were conducted either in person or over the phone, depending on the participant’s preference. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed for analysis.
Data Analysis:
Quantitative data from the survey were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics such as t-tests and regression analyses. Qualitative data from the interviews were analyzed using a thematic analysis approach. Transcripts were coded for themes related to pet ownership, loneliness, and other relevant factors.
Ethical Considerations:
This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at [institution name]. Participants provided informed consent before participating in the study. All data were kept confidential and anonymous, and participants were free to withdraw from the study at any time.
Results
Quantitative Results:
Of the 100 participants, 60% were female and 40% were male. The average age of participants was 72 years old. The majority of participants were married (60%) and had at least a high school education (90%). The average income level was between $20,000 and $30,000 per year.
Approximately half of the participants (n = 50) reported owning a pet, with dogs being the most common type of pet (n = 30). Pet owners reported significantly lower levels of loneliness compared to non-pet owners (t(98) = -2.24, p < .05). Pet owners also reported significantly higher levels of social support compared to non-pet owners (t(98) = 2.10, p < .05). There was no significant difference in physical activity levels between pet owners and non-pet owners. Qualitative Results: Qualitative analysis of the interviews revealed several themes related to the impact of pet ownership on loneliness in older adults. Pet owners reported that their pets provided them with companionship and emotional support, which reduced feelings of loneliness. Additionally, pet owners reported that caring for their pets provided them with a sense of purpose and responsibility, which improved their self-esteem and sense of worth. However, pet ownership was also associated with challenges such as the cost and time required to care for a pet. Discussion The results of this study provide evidence for the potential benefits of pet ownership for reducing loneliness in older adults. Specifically, the quantitative results showed that pet owners reported significantly lower levels of loneliness compared to non-pet owners, as well as significantly higher levels of social support. The qualitative results further support these findings, suggesting that pets can provide emotional support and a sense of purpose and responsibility, which may improve self-esteem and self-worth. The finding that pet ownership is associated with reduced loneliness is consistent with previous research. A meta-analysis by McNicholas and Collis (2000) found that pet ownership was associated with reduced loneliness, particularly among older adults. Similarly, a study by Knight and Edwards (2008) found that pet ownership was associated with lower levels of loneliness and depression among older adults living in care homes. The current study adds to this literature by using a mixed-methods approach to explore both the quantitative and qualitative aspects of the relationship between pet ownership and loneliness in older adults. The qualitative results also suggest that the benefits of pet ownership may extend beyond reduced loneliness. Participants reported that caring for a pet provided them with a sense of purpose and responsibility, which improved their self-esteem and sense of worth. This finding is consistent with previous research that has identified a link between pet ownership and improved self-esteem (Wood et al., 2005). Furthermore, the sense of purpose and responsibility provided by pet ownership may have broader implications for overall health and well-being among older adults. For example, a sense of purpose has been linked to better cognitive and physical functioning (Kim et al., 2020). However, it is important to note that pet ownership may not be a suitable intervention for all older adults. The cost and time required to care for a pet may be a barrier for some individuals, particularly those with limited financial resources or mobility limitations. Additionally, the benefits of pet ownership may vary depending on the type of pet, the level of attachment to the pet, and other individual factors. Future research should explore these factors in greater detail to identify which older adults may benefit most from pet ownership as an intervention for loneliness. The limitations of this study should also be considered. First, the sample size was relatively small, which may limit the generalizability of the findings. Future research with larger samples would provide more robust evidence for the relationship between pet ownership and loneliness in older adults. Additionally, the study relied on self-reported measures of loneliness, social support, and physical activity, which may be subject to bias. Future research should incorporate objective measures of physical activity and other relevant factors to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between pet ownership and health outcomes in older adults. In conclusion, the findings of this mixed-methods study provide evidence for the potential benefits of pet ownership for reducing loneliness and improving social support and self-esteem in older adults. These findings have implications for the development of interventions to promote health and well-being among older adults, particularly those who may be at risk for social isolation and loneliness. However, the limitations of the study should be considered, and further research is needed to identify which older adults may benefit most from pet ownership as an intervention for loneliness. Task summary For this assignment, you are required to write a research report about the impact of pet ownership on loneliness in older adults (see background below). You will receive a complete statistical data set and focus group transcript to analyse (meaning you will not be collecting any data yourself) and you will answer the research question below. You should analyse the quantitative data using appropriate statistical techniques in Jamovi and the qualitative transcript using thematic analysis, and write a 3000-word report, using the report writing conventions of the APA Manual 7th Edition. Background For many years researchers have been investigating loneliness with the aim of finding effective interventions or factors to reduce this loneliness. One factor that has been discussed has been the idea of pets as a source of companionship. Research has investigated this in various participant groups, however it may be particularly important in older adults. In fact, Age UK have reported that 1.4 million older people in the UK are often lonely, which highlights the importance of this research. Your task is to use a mixed methods approach to answer the following research question: Is there a difference in loneliness in older adults with pets and older adults without pets, and how do the pet owners describe the impact of their pet on their loneliness? The first part of your research question will be answered by your quantitative analysis, and the second part will be answered be your qualitative analysis. Resources The quantitative Jamovi dataset you will use will be provided to you on iLearn, along with the transcript of the qualitative focus group. You will use both of these for your report. In your assessment resources you will also find two papers to help you start your literature review you can use these papers alongside other papers within your report. You will also be provided with a paper discussing the University of the Philippines Loneliness Assessment Scale (UPLAS; Tharayil, 2012) that was used for the Jamovi dataset. The Report Structure Title Your title should reflect what the experiment is investigating. More specifically, it should give an indication of what your study looked to test and discover. For example: The effect of owning a pet on loneliness in older adults: A mixed-methods study. Introduction In this section, you should very briefly introduce the topic area and then go on to discuss existing research studies from the same topic area, while highlighting the importance of the research topic. You should then explain how your own study builds upon (generates new knowledge or replicates), the previous studies that you discussed earlier, with a summary of what you are trying to discover. Finally, you should state the aim of your study, the research question, which has been provided for you and the quantitative hypothesis. The hypothesis should be formed in line with the evidence discussed in the introduction. Method In this section, you should include enough information to allow someone reading your report to conduct a full and accurate replication of your study. You should also outline the most important ethical and validity issues that are relevant to your study. This section should be written in the past tense (as though you have already completed the study). Please use the following subsections within your methods section: Participants This section should cover how many participants you collected data from, what the range, mean and standard deviation of their ages were, what the gender distribution of the sample was and what population you sampled from. You should also outline your sampling technique (e.g., opportunity sampling). You should also discuss the sample that were interviewed during the focus group, including a brief description of how they were recruited, demographics, and any further ethical considerations. Design Begin by stating the overall design used and the mixed method framework, then briefly explain the quantitative design, for example, independent groups, repeated measures or correlational. Next, state the variables, including how they were operationalised. You should then briefly state the qualitative analysis method used. Materials This will apply to the scales or tasks used in your study. This section is perhaps the most important for being as specific as possible as you are providing the details an independent researcher would require to replicate your study. You will describe the measure that participants completed in this section. In this case, participants completed the University of the Philippines Loneliness Assessment Scale (UPLAS; Tharayil, 2012), and so you would describe what the questionnaire is measuring with a citation to the original article (which you have been provided with). You would then explain how many questions it contained and how they are scored, and provide an overview of any reliability estimates. You should also provide an example question from the scale. In this section you will also need to identify and outline a key question from the qualitative focus group, and mention other materials, such as recording devices. Procedure This section provides a chronological account of what the participants did at each stage of the study and outline the ethical processes you followed. In almost all studies, the procedure begins with responding to the invitation to participate, followed by reading the participant information sheet and providing informed consent. The participant would then complete the questionnaire or task, and then end with a debriefing. You will also need to address the qualitative element, including how participants contacted the researcher and the relevant ethical considerations. If you had to deal with any ethical issues within the study, you would discuss them here and explain how you minimised any risks to participants or yourself. Note that since this is fabricated data you will need to explore ethical concerns that you would have expected to face, were this being conducted properly, as though you did. Results This section should include all the important information to answer your research question and hypothesis. Your results section will be broken down into two sub- sections: Quantitative and Qualitative. The quantitative section will start by outlining, in full sentences, the methods you used to check the assumptions for the statistical tests that you planned to use. It should describe if any outliers were removed from the data set, and if any assumptions were violated. It should then include a properly APA formatted inferential statement for your parametric test to answer your hypothesis, although your hypothesis is not repeated here. In the qualitative section, you will describe the themes that were developed from the focus group. You will describe the theme and the name you have given it, what the theme entails, relevant quotes to support it and provide a brief analysis relating the quotes to the theme. You should do this for any main themes that you develop from the focus group transcript you have been given. Remember to follow APA 7 conventions by including quotes from your focus group transcript. You are expected to include your Jamovi output and your coding and thematic map in your appendices. Discussion This section should start with a brief review of your research question and hypothesis. You should explain the findings of your study in plain language without the use of statistics, and outline whether the quantitative findings support your hypothesis and how your qualitative findings help you answer your research question. You should also look to explain these findings in terms of other research that has been published. You should then go on to discuss any limitations that the current study has, again using research to compliment these limitations, and offer suggestions as to how they might be improved upon. You should end this section with a suggestion for future research, based on observations you have seen in the research, as well as further ideas that the research could incorporate. Finally, you should offer a conclusion with no new information, that sums up the goal of the study and its overall outcome. 1 Arden University BSc Psychology Introduction to Research Methods Put the title of your assessment here STUxxxxx Dr Louise Katz 3000 2 Title of my Research Report The first important point is that the heading of the introduction is not introduction. In line with APA 7 formatting, the title of your research report should be the heading of the introduction, which is bold and centred. Your work should be double line spaced and each new paragraph should begin with the first line indented 0.5 inches (you can use the tab key). The report should be written in a professional font, such as Times New Roman or Ariel, in size 12. This first paragraph should be broad, outlining the main constructs that youre going to cover, introducing the focus of the study so the reader knows exactly what the purpose of the study is about and define key points. Do not forget to provide citations to support all your points throughout. With the definitions, ensure that they are specific to the constructs your study is focusing on. Your introduction should be written in paragraphs, not one big chunk of text, as this would disrupt the flow and look messy. Also, please do not use rhetorical questions within your narrative and always remember to paraphrase information from the journal papers into your own words, please do not use quotes. In the following paragraphs, you are going to support your arguments by providing evidence from past research and/or theories. This will inform the reader of the main topics, discussing methods and findings of previous studies, which are organised in a logical flow as you gradually narrow the narrative. Using a narcissism study which specifically seeks to investigate female narcissists, as an example, rather than writing two or three paragraphs about narcissism and then two or three paragraphs about intimate partner violence, it is discussed how they are relevant together. Research reports are written in a very concise and precise way of expressing the purpose of the study, so there should only be a little bit of background information. 3 Relatedly, there should be one to two sentences which provides the reader with just enough background of previous research studies, for you to move forward with your arguments, in terms of framing them. These arguments focus on discussing and evaluating findings of past research, where you can highlight their strengths and weaknesses as well as contradictory evidence. The studies that you are evaluating may not, for example, have used the same methodology that you intend to, or they may have only focused on males or females in their sample. This is a back-and-forth process between what is in the literature and your ideas. However,
it does not work well if you try to force the literature into a pre-existing idea that does
not really match with the findings of past research. Remember that absolutely
everything has to be evidence based, supported by citations.
When you are providing this evidence, remember that all your citations should
be in APA 7 formatting. For example, Jones et al., (2020), found a positive and
significant relationship between female narcissists and intimate partner violence.
However, a further study showed conflicting evidence, using a different method,
whereby intimate partner violence was not predictive of female narcissism (Smith,
2010). Yet, the samples for these two studies differed, whereby the former sample
had a mean age of 21.54 and the latter a mean age of 37.64. This suggests that age
may be a factor in perpetration of intimate partner violence and females who embody
narcissistic tendencies (Williams et al., 2017).
This then leads down to thinking about the rationale for the study. It is critical
that a justification for your study is clearly stated. Your reader needs to know why
you are conducting this study. For example, if you have concerns about previous
methods used or you are seeking to use a different method or methodology. Explain
why past research needs to be expanded upon or perhaps their work has not been
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replicated and you feel it is important to do so, if so, explain why it is important as
long as this reasoning is supported by evidence. So, to recap, the literature review
part of your introduction starts very broadly about the scope and focus of your
specific topic and then gets more specific as you bring in related research, organised
into a logical progression of arguments. The journal papers you have used, help to
build support for your research questions and hypothesis throughout the review.
The final part of the introduction highlights the gap in the literature, which
leads into the rationale and aim of the study, followed by the quantitative and
qualitative research questions and hypothesis. Make sure the hypothesis is stated in
a way that it can be tested and is stated specifically. If this section is clear, then
describing and interpreting the results becomes much easier as you have a clear
focus, for example: Whilst research on intimate partner violence is expanding (Jury,
2022), there is a paucity of studies which have specifically investigated narcissistic
females and intimate partner violence (Green et al., 2019). This mixed-methods
study aimed to address this gap by seeking to answer what the relationship is
between narcissistic females and intimate partner violence and what the social
contexts are that these behaviours occur in. Based on previous evidence, it is
hypothesised that there is a significant relationship between narcissistic females and
intimate partner violence.
The quantitative hypothesis is a clear and concise prediction of your results. A
one-tailed hypothesis is very definite and predicts the direction the results will go in.
Researchers tend to use one-tailed hypotheses if there is a massive amount of
previous research, which makes them very confident as to the direction their own
results will take. A non-directional two-tailed hypothesis is more generally used as it
does not predict the direction the results will go in. It means you are predicting a
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change or an association, without specifying what that change or association will be.
Remember, that qualitative research does not have a hypothesis.
Method
Note: This should be written in the past tense
Participants
This is a new paragraph so should begin indented. This section should
describe both your quantitative and qualitative sample. Consider how the participants
were recruited for the study, for example, they may have responded to an invitation
to participate, posted on social media networks. Describe the demographic
information beginning with the quantitative participants and how many took part in
the survey, the number of males and females, the mean age and standard deviation
(dont forget that the M and SD are in italics). Provide inclusion/exclusion criteria,
for example, all participants needed to be 18 years of age and older. For the
qualitative element, add the name and age.
Design
In this section you should talk about the design of your study. Include the
overall design of a mixed-methods study and set this within a framework to provide
transparency. We are using a sequential explanatory approach, as we have already
discussed. Then go onto describe the design of the quantitative aspect, for example
it may be a within or between subjects design or a correlational design. For t-tests
you need to put what your dependent variable is, for example, emotional responses
and then your independent variable and the two levels, for example film clips
(positive/negative). With a correlational design, you would state what the two
variables were as there is no independent variable in a correlational design. The
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qualitative perspective needs to then be incorporated, which in this case is thematic
analysis.
Materials
This section needs to be very specific as it describes how you conducted your
study in terms of the scales used and the interview style. This will enable other
researchers to replicate your study. With the questionnaires, for the quantitative
element, you will need to put the title of the scale and reference the authors, then
briefly describe what the scale measures. Inform how many questions the scale
contains and how these questions are scored. It is also good practice to include the
internal reliability of the scales (Cronbachs alpha). For the qualitative element, you
should state whether the interviews were structured, semi-structured or open-ended
and also provide one key question from this. When interviews are conducted,
whether its in person or online, researchers tend to use more than one recording
device, in case one of them fails. This equipment is part of the materials used in your
study and so should be included.
Procedure
This section specifically describes a chronological account of what
participants did at each stage of the study as well as the ethical considerations. I
suggest separating the quantitative and qualitative elements.
Quantitative
This should begin with the posting of the invitation to participate, stating that it
described the aim of the study and provided a link to the survey hosting platform. It
should then discuss the participant information sheet, which contained contact
details of the researcher and the consent form. Following informed consent, the
participants completed the questionnaires, were debriefed and thanked for their time.
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Qualitative
This should state that following the quantitative element, participants who
were interested in being interviewed, contacted the researcher via email. Indicate
where the interviews took place and discuss further informed consent, which was
specific to the interviews. State how long the interviews lasted, followed by their
debrief and again, thanked for their time. This should end with the statement that
ethical approval for the study was received from the University ethics committee.
(Note: Specific details for this section and the results section were
discussed in Zoom session three: Methods and Results)
Results
Quantitative
The first set of results you will report is the statistics, which should be written
very succinctly. Please do not include your Jamovi output in the results section, this
should be placed in the relevant appendix. To begin with, justify the statistical test
you have chosen by outlining the assumptions relevant to that test, you will also
need to signpost to the appendix. This is a brief example just to show you the layout
of this section.
An independent samples t-test was used to determine whether there was a
statistically significant mean difference between males and females in terms of
aggressive tendencies. There were no outliers in the data as assessed by inspection
of a boxplot. Residuals were normally distributed as assessed by a Q-Q plot and
there was homogeneity of variances as shown by Levenes test for equality of
variances (p = .213; Appendix A). This is then followed by the results of the test, for
example: Aggression was significantly higher in males (M = 3.75, SD = 0.22) than
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females (M = 2.15, SD = 0.18), t(110) = 20.45, p = .002, d = 0.45, 95% CI [0.13 –
0.67], (Appendix A).
Your statistics should be reported to two decimal places apart from the p
value which is always to three decimal places or <.001 if appropriate. If relevant to the test youre using, include the effect size. Qualitative From the data analysis one theme emerged, which was coping mechanisms. Coping Mechanisms This theme encapsulates the ways in which Gabriel and his unit coped with the emotiona
