The impact of loneliness on companion animal attachment and the role of interpersonal relationships in mediating loneliness among college students in Mainland China and Macau

Abstract

Abstract Background This study conducts an in-depth investigation and exploration of the role and significance of loneliness and interpersonal emotions among college students studying in Macau, as well as relationship development in companion animal attachment, which has theoretical and practical implications in an epidemic era. Methods The "Loneliness Scale," "College Students' Interpersonal Subjective Factors Questionnaire," and "Companion animal Attachment Scale" are used in this study to investigate the current situation and relationship of loneliness, interpersonal relationships, and companion animal attachment among Macau college students. The method of stratified random sampling was used in this study to conduct a questionnaire survey among Macau university students at various Macau universities, and the questionnaire was administered online. 371 questionnaires were recovered in total. Invalid questionnaires with response times that were hundreds of times faster than the average adult response time were deleted based on the number of items. Finally, there were 278 valid questionnaires left. After removing the invalid questionnaires, a total of 197 valid questionnaires remained after the invalid questionnaires were removed. In the end, there were 475 valid questionnaires. Results In the test of regional differences, there are no differences in loneliness, interpersonal relationships, and attachment to companion animals between students from mainland China and local students from Macao. There is a significant correlation between college students' loneliness and companion animal attachment, and there is a negative correlation, which shows that the higher the college students' attachment to companion animals, the lower their loneliness. There is a significant positive correlation between companion animal attachment and interpersonal relationships, showing that college students with a higher degree of companion animal attachment will have better interpersonal relationships. There are significant differences in the loneliness scores of Macau college students of different grades. Doctoral and master's students have higher interpersonal relationship scores than undergraduates. They are also more attached to companion animals and have lower loneliness scores. Girls feel less lonely than boys. Girls score better than boys in interpersonal relationships, which shows that girls have higher levels of interpersonal communication skills than boys. Students who keep companion animals have higher interpersonal relationship scores, while college students who do not keep companion animals have lower interpersonal relationship scores. This shows that keeping companion animals can improve students' interpersonal relationships and reduce loneliness. Conclusion Companion animals do not have a compensatory effect on interpersonal relationships, and interpersonal relationships play a mediating role between companion animal attachment and loneliness, implying that adult college students can improve their interpersonal relationships through companion animal attachment, thus playing a role in the interpersonal relationship to alleviate their loneliness. Companion animal attachment has a negative predictive effect on loneliness, with interpersonal relationships acting as a partial mediator. https://bmcpsychology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40359-023-01256-6#Abs1