A Comparative Study of Stress Between Pet Owners and Non-Pet Owners

Abstract

Pets have long served as loyal and compassionate companions of humanity. The human-animal interaction and attachment hold a high potential to enhance mental health and well-being. However, there is scarce research in this domain from South Asian countries. Therefore, this study explored and compared stress among pet and non-pet owners in India. This research was conducted on a sample of people aged 15-25. Simple random sampling drew 88 individuals; 44 were pet owners, and 44 were non-pet owners. A stress scale was used to measure participants’ stress levels. The study followed between groups with a randomized experimental design to explore the research problem. Subsequently, an independent t-test was used for statistical analysis (t(86) = 4.81, p = 0.01). Therefore, the study suggests a significant difference between pet and non-pet owners’ stress levels. The stress level of pet owners is significantly lower than that of their non-pet owner counterparts.