Neighborhood Engagement, Dogs, and Life Satisfaction in Older Adulthood

2020 ◽  
pp. 073346482095372
Author(s):  
Angela L. Curl ◽  
Jessica Bibbo ◽  
Rebecca A. Johnson

Objectives This study examined the relationships between dog ownership, dog walking, and the emotional bond with a dog to neighborhood engagement and life satisfaction among those over age 50. Method Using data from the Health and Retirement Study ( N = 476), two path analysis models were conducted to test the research hypotheses. Results Findings indicated that dog ownership did not have a direct or indirect relationship on life satisfaction. However, time spent in dog walking was associated with frequency of social interactions, which itself had a positive association with life satisfaction. The bond with a dog was not directly associated with life satisfaction but was associated with dog walking. Discussion Dog walking is a promising strategy for simultaneously promoting better health and social engagement, and these factors in turn can promote greater life satisfaction of older adults.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lieve T. van Egmond ◽  
Olga E. Titova ◽  
Eva Lindberg ◽  
Tove Fall ◽  
Christian Benedict

AbstractPreliminary findings suggest that pets may impact the owner’s sleep. By using data from the Swedish CArdioPulmonary bIoimage Study (SCAPIS) cohort, we aimed to investigate the association of pet ownership with the following self-reported sleep outcomes in 3788 to 4574 participants: (i) achieving the recommended daily sleep duration for adults (i.e., at least 7 h per day); (ii) sleep quality as measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (a score of > 5 indicating poor sleep quality); and (iii) difficulty falling or staying asleep. Sleep metrics were not associated with pet ownership, dog ownership, and dog walking when controlling the logistic regression for possible confounders (e.g., shift work, lack of social interaction, and chronic stress). In contrast, cat ownership was associated with a higher odds ratio of failing to achieve the recommended duration of 7 h of sleep per day (adjusted odds ratio [95% CI]:1.18 [1.02, 1.37] versus non-cat owners). Our findings suggest that certain pet groups might have a more significant impact on the owner’s sleep than others. As the observed association between cat ownership and short sleep duration might be a chance finding, this observation should be seen as hypothesis-generating only.


SLEEP ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. A78-A79
Author(s):  
Lieve van Egmond ◽  
Olga E Titova ◽  
Eva Lindberg ◽  
Tove Fall ◽  
Christian Benedict

Abstract Introduction Preliminary findings suggest that pets may improve the owner’s sleep via companionship, security, physical activity, and relaxation. On the other hand, pets can disrupt the owner’s sleep. Due to the heterogeneity of the results and the low number of studies in this field, more studies with a bigger sample size are needed to explore this association. Methods Using data from the Swedish CArdioPulmonary bIoimage Study (SCAPIS) cohort, we investigated the association of pet ownership with the following self-reported sleep outcomes in 3,788 to 4,574 participants using regression modeling: achieving the recommended daily sleep duration for adults (i.e., at least 7 hours per day); sleep quality as measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (a score of >5 indicating poor sleep quality); and difficulty falling or staying asleep. Results Sleep metrics were not associated with pet ownership, dog ownership, and dog walking when controlling for possible confounders. In contrast, cat ownership was associated with a higher odds ratio of failing to achieve the recommended duration of 7 hours of sleep per day (1.18 [1.02,1.37] vs. non-cat owners). This association persisted even after adjusting for various factors known to affect sleep (e.g., shift work, lack of social interaction, and chronic stress). Conclusion We found that owning a cat was associated with increased odds of sleeping less than the recommended seven hours per day. General pet ownership and dog ownership were not associated with either of the sleep outcomes. Whether this means that cats represent a risk factor for short sleep duration cannot be derived from the present observational study. Future studies should more thoroughly investigate the various aspects of cat ownership, e.g., the cat′s breed, age, and co-sleeping with the cat. Support (if any):


2013 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Anthony Billings ◽  
Xinghua Gao ◽  
Yonghong Jia

SUMMARY: The alleged perverse role of managerial incentives in accounting scandals, and the distinctive role of auditors in identifying and intervening in attempted earnings manipulation, highlight the importance of explicitly considering executive incentive plans by auditors in the auditing process. By empirically testing auditors' responses to CEO/CFO equity incentives in planning and pricing decisions using data from 2002 through 2009, we document compelling evidence that CFO equity incentives are positively associated with audit fees and CEO equity incentives are not statistically related to audit fees, suggesting that auditors perceive heightened audit risk associated with CFO equity incentives. Our further analyses reveal that the positive association between CFO equity incentives and audit fees is more pronounced in firms with weak internal controls, indicating heightened risk associated with CFO equity incentives in this setting perceived by auditors. JEL Classifications: G30, G34, M42, M52.


2021 ◽  
pp. 089826432110131
Author(s):  
Leah R. Abrams ◽  
Geoffrey J. Hoffman

Objectives: Despite detrimental effects of depressive symptoms on self-care and health, hospital discharge practices and the benefits of different discharge settings are poorly understood in the context of depression. Methods: This retrospective cohort study comprised 23,485 hospitalizations from Medicare claims linked to the Health and Retirement Study (2000–2014). Results: Respondents with depressive symptoms were no more likely to be referred to home health, whereas the probability of discharge to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) went up a half percentage point with each increasing symptom, even after adjusting for family support and health. Rehabilitation in SNFs, compared to routine discharges home, reduced the positive association between depressive symptoms and 30-day hospital readmissions (OR = 0.95, p = 0.029) but did not prevent 30-day falls, 1-year falls, or 1-year mortality associated with depressive symptoms. Discussion: Depressive symptoms were associated with discharges to SNFs, but SNFs do not appear to address depressive symptoms to enhance functioning and survival.


2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. E7-E14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan L. Dunn ◽  
Michael Sit ◽  
Holli A. DeVon ◽  
Devynn Makidon ◽  
Nathan L. Tintle
Keyword(s):  

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 419-432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuhei Inoue ◽  
Mikihiro Sato ◽  
Kevin Filo ◽  
James Du ◽  
Daniel C. Funk

Elite and professional sport events have been recognized as potential mechanisms to enhance well-being. This multicountry study investigates how engagement in such events, behaviorally through live spectating and psychologically through team identification, is associated with life satisfaction. Data from Australia (N = 268) revealed a positive association between live spectating and life satisfaction through a two-wave design measuring live spectating and life satisfaction in separate surveys. Data from the United States (N = 564) confirmed the live spectating–life satisfaction relationship found in Study 1. Additionally, Study 2 revealed individuals with higher levels of team identification perceived greater emotional support from other fans, and this perception, in turn, predicted life satisfaction. Our findings provide sport managers with implications for positioning appeals in support of sport programs and designing events that facilitate engagement to promote life satisfaction in the community.


2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-255
Author(s):  
Rocío Calvo ◽  
Dawn C. Carr ◽  
Christina Matz-Costa

Objective: This study investigated nativity disparities in life satisfaction among ethnoracial groups of older adults in the United States and the factors associated with such disparities. Method: Cross-sectional data from 7,348 respondents aged 60 and older from the 2012/2014 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) were used to estimate linear regression models. Results: Older immigrants experienced higher levels of life satisfaction than comparable native-born individuals. This “happiness advantage” was particularly salient for Hispanic immigrants, who reported the highest levels of life satisfaction of all groups included in the study. With increasing education, life satisfaction increased for White and “Other Race” groups, regardless of nativity. However, for both Black groups and native-born Hispanics, higher levels of education were associated with lower life satisfaction. Discussion: Findings suggest that the “happiness paradox” may not only be a matter of Hispanic ethnicity, but that it may also extend to immigrants from other ethnoracial backgrounds.


2021 ◽  
pp. 636-646
Author(s):  
Souhaila Kammoun ◽  
Youssra Ben Romdhane ◽  
Sahar Loukil ◽  
Abdelmajid Ibenrissoul

This article analyzes the complexity of the linkages between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and firm performance in Morocco and to decompose this complexity through a bidirectional sense of causality. Using data surveyed from 74 Moroccan listed firms, we conduct an econometric modeling to measure this relationship bilaterally and to investigate the underlying factors behind this association. The empirical study proves the existence of a positive association between CSR and firm performance in both directions in the Moroccan context and suggests that the more social enterprises are, the more they achieve better financial results. The mutual linkage between social and financial aspects allows us to draw some managerial implications and set up further research directions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Buyantungalag Battulga ◽  
Marc Reginald Benjamin ◽  
Hong Chen ◽  
Enkhmandakh Bat-Enkh

Background: Subjective well-being (SWB) has a protective role in mental health maintenance and is prone to change during short stressful moments, such as pregnancy. Longstanding research suggests that social support (SS) from the partner and family members of pregnant women directly or indirectly acts as a buffer against negative mental outcomes. For happier pregnancies, it is important to understand how SS and pregnancy affect the SWB.Objective: This review aims to examine the extended association of being pregnant and SS on the SWB of pregnant women.Methods: A systematic review was conducted in PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar. Articles published in peer-reviewed journals were included regardless of the year and if they had assessed the impact of at least one SWB or SS outcome among healthy pregnant women. The tools of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute were used for quality assessment.Results: Thirty-four studies that assessed the domains of SWB measurements, such as happiness, quality of life (QoL), life satisfaction, positive and negative effects, and well-being, were included and its association with either pregnancy or SS was summarized. Variable results, such as life satisfaction, happiness, and mental component of QoL, were found to be high during pregnancy, but positive emotion and physical components of QoL had decreased. Almost universally, SS during pregnancy was found to have a positive association with all measurements of SWB.Conclusion: This study had found that, despite some arising trends, pregnancy itself does not necessarily have similar impacts on SWB across healthy pregnant women. However, SS had a significant effect on SWB.


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