Wood Lisa, Martin Karen, Christian Hayley, Nathan Andrea, Lauritsen Claire, Houghton Steve, Kawachi Ichiro, McCune Sandra
School of Population Health, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia.
Centre for Built Environment and Health, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia, and Telethon Kids Institute, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
PLoS One. 2015 Apr 29;10(4):e0122085. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0122085. eCollection 2015.
While companion animals have been previously identified as a direct source of companionship and support to their owners, their role as a catalyst for friendship formation or social support networks among humans has received little attention. This study investigated the indirect role of pets as facilitators for three dimensions of social relatedness; getting to know people, friendship formation and social support networks.
A telephone survey of randomly selected residents in four cities, one in Australia (Perth; n = 704) and three in the U.S. (San Diego, n = 690; Portland, n = 634; Nashville, n = 664) was conducted. All participants were asked about getting to know people within their neighborhood. Pet owners were asked additional questions about the type/s of pet/s they owned, whether they had formed friendships as a result of their pet, and if they had received any of four different types of social support from the people they met through their pet.
Pet owners were significantly more likely to get to know people in their neighborhood than non-pet owners (OR 1.61; 95%CI: 1.30, 1.99). When analyzed by site, this relationship was significant for Perth, San Diego and Nashville. Among pet owners, dog owners in the three U.S. cities (but not Perth) were significantly more likely than owners of other types of pets to regard people whom they met through their pet as a friend (OR 2.59; 95%CI: 1.94, 3.46). Around 40% of pet owners reported receiving one or more types of social support (i.e. emotional, informational, appraisal, instrumental) via people they met through their pet.
This research suggests companion animals can be a catalyst for several dimensions of human social relationships in neighborhood settings, ranging from incidental social interaction and getting to know people, through to formation of new friendships. For many pet owners, their pets also facilitated relationships from which they derived tangible forms of social support, both of a practical and emotionally supportive nature. Given growing evidence for social isolation as a risk factor for mental health, and, conversely, friendships and social support as protective factors for individual and community well-being, pets may be an important factor in developing healthy neighborhoods.
虽然先前已确定伴侣动物是其主人陪伴和支持的直接来源，但它们在促进人类之间建立友谊或形成社会支持网络方面的作用却很少受到关注。本研究调查了宠物作为促进社会关系三个维度（结识他人、建立友谊和社会支持网络）的间接作用。
对四个城市的随机抽取居民进行电话调查，其中一个城市在澳大利亚（珀斯；n = 704），三个城市在美国（圣地亚哥，n = 690；波特兰，n = 634；纳什维尔，n = 664）。所有参与者都被问及在邻里中结识他人的情况。宠物主人还被问及他们拥有的宠物类型、是否因宠物而建立了友谊，以及是否从通过宠物结识的人那里获得了四种不同类型的社会支持中的任何一种。
宠物主人比非宠物主人更有可能在邻里中结识他人（优势比1.61；95%置信区间：1.30，1.99）。按地点分析时，这种关系在珀斯、圣地亚哥和纳什维尔是显著的。在宠物主人中，美国三个城市（但不包括珀斯）的狗主人比其他类型宠物的主人更有可能将通过宠物结识的人视为朋友（优势比2.59；95%置信区间：1.94，3.46）。约40%的宠物主人报告通过宠物结识的人获得了一种或多种类型的社会支持（即情感、信息、评价、工具性支持）。
本研究表明，伴侣动物可以成为邻里环境中人类社会关系多个维度的催化剂，从偶然的社交互动和结识他人，到建立新的友谊。对于许多宠物主人来说，他们的宠物还促进了人际关系，从中他们获得了实际和情感支持等切实形式的社会支持。鉴于越来越多的证据表明社会隔离是心理健康的风险因素，相反，友谊和社会支持是个人和社区福祉的保护因素，宠物可能是建设健康邻里的重要因素。
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