Pet owners attend the 2021 K-Pet Fair in Seoul on March 12, 2021. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — Seniors living alone can raise their level of life satisfaction and lower stress by adopting a pet, a study showed Tuesday.
A research team from the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs surveyed 1,308 people over 60 years of age forming single-person households, to learn about their pets, social support networks, life satisfaction and stress levels.
The results showed that their life satisfaction level stood at 7.10 points on average on a 1 to 11-point spectrum.
Those with an established social support network scored 7.47 points, far higher than the 5.94-point average for those without a social support network.
The average life satisfaction level for seniors without a social support group was 5.87 points. For those with a pet, it was higher at 6.53 points.
In contrast, those with a social support network scored 7.48 points when they also had a pet or 7.47 points without a pet,
In addition, the average level of stress among seniors without a social support group stood at 3.14 points out on a 1 to 5-point spectrum, 2.88 points lower than when they had a support group.
Seniors without a support group, but with pets, had a stress level of 2.75 points, which was 0.44 points lower than those who did not own pets.
Interestingly, seniors without a social support group but with pets scored 2.75 points for their stress levels, while those with a social support group scored 2.88 points.
“Whether or not seniors have pets had more impact on their life satisfaction and stress levels, especially among those isolated from society,” the report said.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
