Pets and Urban Life
- 1 March 1987
- journal article
- Published by Taylor & Francis in Anthrozoös
- Vol. 1 (1) , 9-25
- https://doi.org/10.2752/089279388787058740
Abstract
The social and the emotional roles played by pets in the urban setting are examined. Data obtained from a random telephone survey of 320 pet owners and 116 non-pet-owners in Providence, Rhode Island, are presented. Responses to the survey indicate that pets are viewed as important family members by people who live in the city. Further, pet owners stress the positive roles played by pets in the household rather than the negative consequences of pet ownership. Pet-human interaction in the urban household is primarily positive. However, the emotional dimensions of pet-human relationships vary over a number of significant social variables. Pet attachment is highest among single, divorced, widowed, and remarried people as well as among childless couples, newlyweds, and empty-nesters. Urbanites are more attached to dogs than to cats and other types of pets. Pet anthropomorphism is high among single, divorced, and remarried people, dog owners, and childless couples. Data on the sociodemographic differences betwe...Keywords
This publication has 6 references indexed in Scilit:
- Marriage, Divorce, and Living ArrangementsJournal of Family Issues, 1984
- Married and Unmarried Cohabitation in the United States: 1980Journal of Marriage and Family, 1983
- Discriminant AnalysisPublished by SAGE Publications ,1980
- Violence toward children in the United States.Australian and New Zealand Journal of Surgery, 1978
- Families Against the CityPublished by Harvard University Press ,1970
- Toward a Theory of Family DevelopmentJournal of Marriage and Family, 1964