Folder for flipbook stats test

Journal of European Psychology Students, Vol. 3, 2012 18 3. Participants who are lonely and/or do not receive enough social support will be more strongly attached to their pets. Method Participants Participants were 365 pet owners (268 dog and 97 cat owners), aged between 17 and 68 years (M=28.4; SD=9.33). Among them 330 were female and 35 male. From 128 participants who are owners of both species the majority (N=109) decided to answer the questions in relation to their dog, and only 19 to the cat. Instruments The Experience in Close Relationships – Revised questionnaire (ECR-R; Fraley et al., 2000) is a 36-item self-report adult attachment measure. ECR-R includes two subscales: avoidance and anxiety. The combination of results on both dimensions represents different styles of attachment (Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991). Fraley et al. (2000) reported coefficient alphas of .94 for the anxiety subscale and .95 for the avoidance subscale based on an undergraduate sample. The Multi-Dimensional Support Scale (MDSS; Winefield et al., 1992) measures the availability and adequacy of social support from various sources (family, closest friends and acquaintances). MDSS includes emotional, practical and informational support. In the present research the availability and adequacy of social support only from family and closest friends were included. A maximum of 10 to 40 points can be scored on the Availability Scale, items are rated on a 4-point Likert Scale (1- never, 4-always). The Adequacy Scale ranges from 10 to 30 points, where 1 indicates a higher desire for social support, 3 a lower desire and 2 means the person is satisfied with the received social support. In the present study coefficients for internal consistency ranged between .83 (Adequacy Scale; Cronbach‟s Alpha) and .87 (Availability Scale; Cronbach‟s Alpha). The Owner-pet Relationship Scale (OPRS; Winefield et al., 2008) contains items derived from the attachment theory and focuses on the owner's desire to maintain proximity to pets and his or her perception of the relationship as emotionally supportive and mutual. It includes 15 items that are rated on a scale from 1 to 4, with the exception of item number 3 where True is scored 4 and Not true is scored 1. The range is thus 15-60. Participants who own more than one animal were asked to choose answers according to the pet they felt closest to. In the present study the coefficient for internal consistency was .85 (Cronbach‟s alpha). The Differential Loneliness Scale (DLS; Schmidt & Sermat, 1983) is used to measure the feelings of deprivation and dissatisfaction with certain social relationships. It is divided into four scales according to the type of relationship: friends, love, family, and community. It contains 60 items relating to the presence of a relationship, approximation or avoidance, cooperation or the degree of support, respect, and communication. The overall scale has high a Kuder-Richardson Formula 20 internal consistency (above .89), with subscale estimates above .70 (Schmidt & Sermat, 1983). Demographic information about participants (sex, age, living location, relationship status), pet information, and length of ownership were also added to the above mentioned questionnaires. Procedure Programming language PHP and MYSQL database management systems were used for creating and publishing the questionnaires and automatically collecting data in online form, from January 6 th , 2009 to February 13 th , 2009. The chosen questionnaires were published on several Slovenian internet forums, mainly those intended for animal lovers. We also contacted the Feline club Ljubljana to forward the survey to its members. Fully completed questionnaires were required for sending the individual‟s responses. There were no time limitations. Statistical Analyses All statistical analyses were conducted in SPSS v. 18. We examined bivariate correlations between all variables of interest. The sample data required the use of nonparametric tests because of significant

• Cover