Impact of Pets on Anxiety, Depression and Quality of Life: A Comparative Study

Abstract

Pets have been a part of human lives from centuries. From the time when people first started domesticating animals, pets have played an important role in our lives. They have been a constant source of joy, companionship, and love. They are also able to understand many of the words we use, but they are even better at interpreting our tone of voice, body language, and gestures. Pets, especially dogs and cats, can reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, ease loneliness, encourage exercise and playfulness, and even improve our cardiovascular health. The importance of pets in our lives is founded on the human-animal bond concept, which is the mutually beneficial and dynamic relationship that exists between people and other animals. Objective is to compare the difference between individuals having pets with individuals not having pets in terms of anxiety, depression and quality of life. A comparative study was conducted on 80 participants, (40) individuals having pets and (40) individuals not having pets. Purposive sampling technique was used. Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and Quality Of Life Scale (QOLS) were administered to collect data from the participants. Results indicated there is a significant difference between individuals having pets and individuals not having pets in terms of anxiety, depression and quality of life. Individuals with pets reported low anxiety, depression and better quality of life than the individuals not having pets. Thus, it can be concluded that there is a significant impact of pets on individuals in terms of anxiety, depression and quality of life.