Correlation of autonomy, competence and relatedness needs with pet ownership and attachment to pets

Ovo istraživanje imalo je dva cilja. Jedan cilj bio je ispitati postoji li razlika između vlasnika kućnih ljubimaca i osoba koje to nisu u ispunjenju potreba za autonomijom, kompetencijom i povezanošću s drugima i pri tome proučiti eventualne razlike s obzirom na vrstu ljubimca i spol vlasnika. Drugi cilj ovog istraživanja bio je ispitati postoji li povezanost između privrženosti kućnom ljubimcu i ispunjenosti potreba za autonomijom, kompetencijom i povezanošću s drugima i uz to proučiti eventualne razlike s obzirom na vrstu ljubimca i spol vlasnika. Istraživanje je provedeno na N=1150 studentica i studenata Grada Zagreba. Kao mjera ispunjenosti potreba za autonomijom, kompetencijom i povezanosti s drugima korištena je Opća skala osnovnih psiholoških potreba (selfdeterminationtheory.org), dok je za mjeru privrženosti kućnom ljubimcu korišten novi prevedeni i prilagođeni upitnik bliskosti, odnosno privrženosti kućnom ljubimcu. Rezultati istraživanja pokazali su kako postoji statistički značajna razlika u ispunjenosti potrebe za povezanošću s drugima između osoba koje imaju i koje nemaju kućnog ljubimca te su osobe koje imaju kućnog ljubimca imale nešto više rezultate u odnosu na one koji nemaju kućnog ljubimca. Pronađena je značajna razlika između muškaraca i žena u ispunjenju potrebe za povezanošću s drugima gdje su muškarci postizali nešto više rezultate u odnosu na žene, dok se nije pokazala statistički značajna razlika između vlasnika pasa i vlasnika mačaka. Isto tako, rezultati su pokazali kako postoji značajna povezanost između ispunjenosti potrebe za povezanošću s drugima i privrženosti kućnom ljubimcu. Na poduzorku muških sudionika ispunjenost potrebe za autonomijom pokazala se značajno povezanom s privrženošću kućnom ljubimcu. Pronađena je značajna korelacija između ispunjenosti potrebe za povezanošću s drugima i privrženost ljubimcu kod vlasnika pasa. Kod vlasnika mačaka niti jedna potreba nije bila značajno korelirana s privrženosti kućnom ljubimcu.This research had two goals. One of the goals was to examine if there is a siginificant difference between pet owners and non-pet owners in fulfilment of needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness and also examine possible differences considering species of pets and possible differences between female and male participants. Second goal of this research was to examine if there is a connection between attachment to pets and fulfilment of needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness, and also examine possible differnces considering species of pets and possible differences between female and male participants. Participants of the research were students from universities in Grad Zagreb, N=1150 of them. As a measurement for fulfilment of needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness it was used Basic Psychological Needs Scale in General (selfdeterminationtheory.org). New adapted and translated questionnaire for closeness or attachment to pets was used as a measurement of attachment to pets. Results ot this research showed statistically significant difference between pet owners and non-owners in fulfilment of need for relatedness and owners scored higher then non-owners. Also, there was a significant difference between female and male participants in fulfilment of need for relatedness where male participants scored higher then female participants, while no significant difference was found between dog and cat owners. Moreover, results indicate that there is significant correlation between fulfilment of need for relatedness and attachment to pets. On sample of male-only participants, fulfilment of need for autonomy was significantly correlated with attachment to pets. Significant correlation was found between fulfilment of need for relatedness and attachment to pets in dog owners. Regarding cat owners, none of the needs were significantly correlated with attachment to pets