TITLE:
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
AUTHORS:
Diane Ezeh Aruah, Virginia Obioma Ezeh, Cookey Ibiere Tom
KEYWORDS:
Pet Attachment, Pet Security, Pet Preference
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.7 No.9,
September
2,
2019
ABSTRACT: 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.