ARE dogs the community’s best friend?

This is the question a Charles Sturt University research student hopes to answer by investigating how dog ownership influences people’s behaviours, supports their wellbeing, and might increase social cohesion within the community.

Ms Lucy Jones, an Honours student in the Charles Sturt School of Psychology, needs adult Australians to complete an anonymous online survey to assist her research.

Ms Jones said the purpose of this study is to obtain information about how dog ownership might influence the level of engagement an individual has within their community and how it might influence their behaviours and support their overall wellbeing.

“My research is open to Australian residents aged eighteen and over and investigates the experiences of people who own or care for a dog in their home, and the experience and perspectives of people who don’t own or care for a dog,” Ms Jones said.

“This study will assess whether dogs help to counter loneliness and depression and will also assess the difference in community involvement between dog owners and people who don’t own dogs.

“The research will also compare the differences in community involvement between people who frequently walk their dogs and dog owners who stay at home more, and whether owning a dog leads to people talking more frequently to others than they might normally do.”

The study’s anonymous online survey requires participants to answer questions about their age, gender, income bracket, ethnicity, education, and living arrangements, as well as their general activity levels, including physical and mental health, and their level of social contact with their community and perceptions about their neighbourhood.

Participants will also be asked some general personality questions and questions about loneliness.

If they have a dog, there are some questions about their dog and the amount of activity they do.

There is no payment or reward for participating in this study, however, participation will provide helpful data for this developing area of research.

See more information and the online survey at https://csufobjbs.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5yGQ3iPnuFRvGpU.

Survey participation is voluntary, takes approximately 20 to 25 minutes, and closes on Sunday 28 August.