The rise of the furbaby : investigating the psychological reasons behind owner’s attachment to their dogs

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore the psychological reasons behind owner’s attachment to their dogs by investigating whether dogs are being used to fulfil an absent maternal/ paternal need, whether an owner’s personal attachment style affects how attached they become to their dog and also whether owners are developing attachment to their dog as a way to cope with certain types of psychological stress. This was a mixed method correlational study employing snowball, convenience and self-selecting sampling in order to recruit participants who were required to fill out a five part online questionnaire. 172 participants took part in this study. Inferential statistical analysis reported no significant results for all hypotheses although descriptive statistics showed small non-significant trends that lend support to each hypothesis. Qualitative analysis was also performed to get a deeper understanding into attitudes held by people with and without children in relation to pet attachment. Author keywords: pet attachment, attachment theory