Author(s)

Diane Ezeh Aruah¹, Virginia Obioma Ezeh², Cookey Ibiere Tom³

¹College of communication and Journalism, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA.
²Use of English Unit, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria.
³Mass Communication, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria.

Research has found that as pet ownership increases, fertility declines in the United States. Many single people have lost interest in growing families due to high cost of child care and lack of time. Other people speculate that it is easier to manage pets than children and pets give them more freedom than children. The main objective of this research therefore was to find out through Bowlby’s attachment theory the extent to which preference to pet relates with other variables like pet attachment, security, loss, care and communication. The researcher developed six hypotheses and two research questions. Survey samples of 274 respondents were collected through Qualtrics using Amazon Mturk as recruitment platform. Ethical approval was gotten from an institute’s review board. Studies show significant connection between pet attachment, pet security but show no significance to pet preference as many of the participants still prefer to have children. However, there is a need for government’s intervention in terms of improving care for both pets and children.

Pet Attachment, Pet Security, Pet Preference

Aruah, D. , Ezeh, V. and Tom, C. (2019) Relationship between Pet Ownership, Pet Attachment and Decision to Have Children among Single People in the United States: A Need for Flexible Child Care Facilities in the United States. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 7, 15-30. doi: 10.4236/jss.2019.79002.