The relationship between attachment to dogs and satisfaction of basic psychological needs and life satisfaction

Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je dobiti uvid u odnos između privrženosti psima sa zadovoljstvom životom i zadovoljenjem osnovnih psiholoških potreba kako bi se unaprijedilo znanstveno razumijevanje područja odnosa pasa i ljudi. Istraživanje je provedeno na uzorku od 431 stanovnika Hrvatske (243 vlasnika i 186 ne-vlasnika pasa) prosječne dobi 30,61 godina (sd = 11,673). Podatci su prikupljeni pomoću online ankete, a korišteni su instrumenti Skala zadovoljstva životom (Penezić, 2002), Skala zadovoljenja osnovnih psiholoških potreba (La Guardia, Ryan, Couchman i Deci, 2000) i Adaptirana Lexington skala privrženosti kućnim ljubimcima (Penezić i Levačić, 2012). Osmišljeni model objasnio je 59,5% varijance zadovoljstva životom, gdje su dob, roditeljstvo i zadovoljenje potrebe za autonomijom i kompetencijom bili značajni prediktori. Zadovoljstvo životom i zadovoljenje osnovnih psiholoških potreba nije bilo različito između vlasnika i ne-vlasnika pasa. Postoji razlika u ostvarivanju potrebe povezanosti između skupine visokoobrazovanih i osoba koje nisu završile neki stupanj visokog obrazovanja na način da su osobe sa završenim stupnjem visokog obrazovanja iskazale veću potrebu za povezanošću. Zadovoljenje potrebe za kompetencijom veće je kod osoba koje žive s partnerom u odnosu na one koji ne žive s partnerom. Istraživanje nije pokazalo značajne interakcijske efekte između bračnoga statusa i vlasništva psa u zadovoljenju potreba za kompetencijom, niti glavni efekt vlasništva psa. No, utvrđena je razlika u potrebi za kompetencijom između osoba koje nisu u vezi i osoba koje su u vezi ili braku na način da su osobe izvan veze ili braka imale manje zadovoljenu potrebu za kompetencijom. Nadalje, istraživanje je pokazalo da osobe koje su u vezi su zadovoljnije životom od onih koji nisu u vezi, ali nije nađena razlika u zadovoljenju potrebe za povezanosti s obzirom na bračni status. Također, nije utvrđena razlika u privrženosti psima s obzirom na razinu mjesečnih prihoda po članu kućanstva ni između skupine roditelja i onih sudionika koji nemaju djecu. Međutim, žene su pokazale veću privrženost psima u usporedbi s muškarcima.The aim of this study was to gain insight into the relationship of dog attachment with life satisfaction and the satisfaction of basic psychological needs in order to improve the scientific understanding of the area of the relationship between dogs and humans. The research was conducted on a sample of 431 inhabitants of Croatia (243 dog owners and 186 non-owners) with an average age of 30,61 years (sd = 11,673). Data were collected using an online survey and using the following instruments: Life Satisfaction Scale (Penezić, 2002), Basic Psychological Needs Scale (La Guardia, Ryan, Couchman, and Children, 2000) and the Adapted Lexington Pet Attachment Scale (Penezić and Levačić, 2012). Hierarchical regression analysis, ANOVA, t-test and non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests were used for statistical analyses. The designed model explained 59,5% of the life satisfaction variance with age, parenthood and need for competence and autonomy as significant predictors. Life satisfaction and satisfaction of basic psychological needs were not different between dog owners and non-owners. Statistically significant difference was found in need for relatedness between a group of highly educated people and people who have not completed a higher education degree in a way that people with a higher education degree have shown greater satisfaction of the need for relatedness. Satisfying the need for competence is more common in people living with a partner than in those not living with a partner. Research showed no significant interaction effects between marital status and dog ownership in competence satisfaction, nor the main effect of dog ownership. However, difference in the need for competence between persons who are not in a relationship and persons who are in a relationship or marriage was found, in such a way that persons outside the relationship or marriage had less satisfied need for competence. Research showed that people who are in a relationship are more satisfied with life than those who are not in a relationship, but it wasn't found in satisfaction of the need for relatedness with respect to marital status. Furthermore, no difference in attachment to dogs was found given the level of monthly income per household member nor between the group of parents and those participants who do not have children. However, women showed a higher attachment to dogs compared to men