Abstract
I appreciate the opportunity to respond to Nist and Glenn's (2012) letter to the editor regarding my article, The Relationship between Companion Animals and Loneliness among Rural Adolescents (Black, 2012). Nist and Glenn raised questions about the validity of my finding that adolescents who reported a companion animal bond (CAB) reported less loneliness than adolescents without a CAB. I agree with their stated limitations of this study and addressed those within the article's survey limitations and recommendations areas. These include a small sample size of non-pet owners, limited to Southwestern geographic locations, and other potentially confounding factors. Uncertain Link Between Loneliness and Companion Animals in Rural AdolescentsJournal of Pediatric Nursing: Nursing Care of Children and FamiliesVol. 27Issue 4PreviewThe study by Black (2011) concluded that pets may be valuable in reducing loneliness among adolescents based on the finding that pet owners had lower loneliness scores. As appealing and logical as this conclusion may appear, there are a number of shortcomings in the study that prevent it from actually supporting this conclusion. Full-Text PDF
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