Comparison of human-to-human and human-to-animal attachment and its connection with life satisfaction

The aim of our research was to find a connection between human-to-human attachment and human-to-animal attachment, to compare groups of animal owners and non-owners in terms of human attachment, the connection of human-to-animal attachment and life satisfaction, and the comparison of animal owners with non-owners in terms of life satisfaction. We used the ECR scale to measure the human-to-human attachment, the PAQ questionnaire for the human-to-animal attachment, and the Fragebogen zur Lebenszufriedenheit (FLZ, Life Satisfaction Questionnaire) to measure life satisfaction. The research sample consisted of 240 participants, of which 130 were animal owners (dog or cat) and 110 participants, who did not own an animal. The results confirmed that there is a connection between human-to-human attachment and human-to-animal attachment, and between human-to-animal attachment and life satisfaction. There is also a difference between the group of animal owners and the group of non-owners in life satisfaction.