O-47 Addressing the Determinants of Stress among Adolescent Students through PetOwnership
Author(s):
S Bidaisee
Type Of Study:
- Analytical Study
- Observational Study
Year of Presentation:
2024
Objective: To assess whether pet-owning students are less stressed than those who do not
own pets.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in high school across Grenada during January to June 2023. Data collected included demographic information of age (years) and gender (male, female). Academic attendance and performance was self-reported. Pet ownership was determined as having at least one pet at home that is cared for by the student self-perceived and stress was rated on a scale from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest).
Results: 187 students completed the survey which included 87% female and mean age of 17 years. 95 (51%) students reported attendance between the 75th and 95% percentile and overall mean GPA of 3.1 (2.2, 3.7) was recorded. 73 (39%) of students, N=73, had at least one pet living with them. Lack of pet ownership was significantly associated with stress (p=0.02). However, it was not associated with gender, GPA, or class attendance (all p>0.10). Among students with any pets, 58% owned one or more dogs, and 41% owned one or more other animals. Within pet owners there was no association between stress and either species or number of pets (all p>0.5). Almost all (93%) of pet owners reported that their pet decreased their stress, while only one (1.5%) reported that the pet increased their stress.
Conclusion: Study is consistent with the protective effect of pets on stress in this population. There was however ,a lower rate of pet acquisition among people with high stress levels.