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Journal of European Psychology Students, Vol. 3, 2012 20 Note. * p < .05 No relevant correlations have been found between attachment to a pet (OPRS) and interpersonal relationship questionnaires (Table 3). Discussion This study showed that pet-owners differ in pet attachment according to different owner demographic characteristics. With reference to the conclusions of Winefield et al. (2008) the occurrence of gender differences in attachment to pets has been anticipated. As assumed, women reported higher attachment levels to their pet (cat or dog) on the OPRS scale than men. Differences in pet attachment levels were also visible between owners living in the town and in the countryside, where the latter reported stronger attachment to pets. But the difference, although statistically significant, is small; therefore it is not possible to draw any conclusions. Length of ownership also had an important influence on pet attachment. Owners who had owned their pet for more than three years reported stronger attachment to their pets. It is possible that the difference between those that had owned their pet for less than three years and those that had had them for a longer period of time occurred because through time, people become more attached to their pets (Wood et al., 2005). The previous results of Zasloff (1996), Winefield et al. (2008), and Vizek Vidović et al. (1999), who have reported that dog owners are more attached to their pets, are confirmed in this study. The higher attachment levels of dog owners can be linked to dogs requiring more individual care (Valentinčič, 2003) and variegated interactions, for example, walking or training (Zasloff & Kidd, 1994), which can result in stronger affection. Out of 128 participants that own both a cat and a dog, the cat was the chosen attachment object of only 19 participants, which can be linked to behavioral characteristics of cats that lead to attachment differences. According to Serpell‟s (1996) research, attachment level differences cannot be explained by personality differences between dog owners and cat owners, based on findings that showed no differences in describing the ideal pet, no matter whether the animal described was a cat or a dog. Therefore, it has been assumed that the measured differences in attachment could be ascribed to different behaviors of cats and dogs. Authors like Zasloff (1996) assumed differences could appear due to the inclusion of items typical of a dog‟s behavior in the instruments, but in the present research differences cannot be linked to this hypothesis, because the OPRS scale employed did not include such items. Besides, Table 3 Bivariate correlational analysis between OPRS and interpersonal relationship questionnaires Bivariate correlations with OPRS Kendall's Tau ECR-R anxiety -.071 * ECR-R avoidance -.008 MDSS - real SS – family .076 * MDSS – real SS - friends .042 MDSS – ideal SS - family .045 MDSS – ideal SS friends .015 DLS community .005 DLS friends -.015 DLS family -.040 DLS partner -.024 DLS overall (generally) -.026

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