Dogs apparently need no help lifting the
spirits of lonely people. A study has found that nursing
home residents felt much less lonely after spending time
alone with a dog than when other people joined in the
visit. The residents shared their problems and story in
"intimate conversations" with the visiting dog, researchers
said.
"It was
a pretty surprising finding," said Dr. William Banks of
Saint Louis University, who co-authored the study with
his wife, Marian Banks, a postdoctoral fellow in nursing
at Washington University at the time.
"They
were happier with the one-on-one ... bonding with the
animal. It suggests human interaction is not value-added,
and might be slightly detrimental."
Residents at three St. Louis nursing
homes who said they wanted dog visits were divided into
two groups. One group received one-on-one visits with
a dog; the other group shared the dog visitor with several
other residents.
Researchers
suspected the visiting dog would prompt socialization
— and reduce loneliness — but the residents who shared
dog visits with other people reported only slightly less
loneliness. The big winners were the residents who had
exclusive visits with dogs. Their loneliness decreased
substantially.
The research
will be published in the March issue of Anthrozoos.
"The study
also found that the loneliest individuals benefited the
most from visits with dogs," William Banks said.
An earlier phase of the study, conducted by Marian Banks
in Mississippi in 1997, found that nursing home residents
who received one to three dog visits a week had substantial
decreases in loneliness, as measured in a psychological
test instrument known as the UCLA loneliness scale. Those
without dog visits had no change in loneliness.
The next
phase of the study, at Saint Louis University, will look
at whether robotic dogs popular in Japan have a similar
effect on lonely seniors. Researchers will measure both
residents' loneliness and ability to attach to the robotic
dog.
Marian Banks said a Japanese study showed that the robotic
dog, Aibo, elicited smiles from Alzheimer's patients.
Marian
Banks said she used an academic mentor's golden retriever
to conduct the first phase of the study in Mississippi.
But for
the second and third studies in St. Louis, she's used
Sparky, a mixed-breed dog she found four years ago in
the alley behind her house.
She said
his sweet disposition won her over, and she adopted and
trained him. She said Sparky sits next to nursing home
residents on their bed, listens to their stories, and
lets them groom him.
"He sits
there very nonjudgmental," she said.
"When
they go to a nursing home, they lose all their possessions.
They need to belong, love and be accepted. The dog gives
unconditional love. They say the most incredible things
in the presence of a dog."
