RSS
Home
Pets help college students with stress
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Pets are good medicine for college students experiencing stress, according to a new study.
That's not too surprising, since pets have long been known to comfort the elderly or the chronically ill, as well.
But it may provide one more incentive for colleges to participate in a growing trend to allow students to have pets on campus.
About 18 percent of the college students surveyed for the study said their pets helped them cope during difficult times.
That may be because pets provide a familiar face for students who are away from home for the first time.
Although not a substitute for human interaction, students who have pets are less likely to feel lonely or depressed, according to the study.
“We might not think of college students as being lonely, but a lot of freshman and sophomores are in an early transition from living at home to living in dorms or off-campus," Sara Staats, lead author of the study and professor emeritus of psychology at Ohio State’s Newark Campus, stated in a press release. "College is a very stressful environment for them and sometimes they can feel isolated or overwhelmed with the change."
About 350 college students and nearby community members participated in the study, which was recently published in the journal Society & Animals.
The top reason for having a pet? Avoiding loneliness.
And I thought the purpose of my pet was to drive me insane.
Who knew?
Related Articles:
Comments
