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The Association Between College Students Experiencing
Animal Companionship and Their Overall Health
Chloe Sharman
Introduction
In recent years, there has been a significant decrease in
the overall health among college students. College takes a
large mental and physical toll on students, whether it be
from course load, the student’s major, or another factor.
According to the American College Health Association's
Executive Summary, 28% of students reported that stress
was the most significant factor negatively impacting their
individual academic performance.
The following research focuses on the niche group of
people who are exposed to animal companionship while
being a college student. For this study, the research was
focused on the goal of answering, “what is the association
between college-aged students experiencing animal their
overall health?” To achieve this, the following must be
described. The relationship between animal exposure and
physical activity, the relationship between animal exposure
and stress levels, the relationship between animal exposure
and the prevalence of a history of mental health issues, the
relationship between animal exposure and overall
happiness, and the difference in mental health before
animal exposure versus after.
Materials & Methods
In this study, a questionnaire through Google Docs was
used to test the sample population. The questionnaire was
created using questions that addressed demographics, as
well as more specific questions addressing mental and
physical health. The questionnaire amounted to 120
participants, and each participant was recruited for this
study through online means. The creators of this study used
social media, email, and text messaging to spread the
questionnaire to eligible study participants. Each study
participant was required to currently attend college and
have consistent animal exposure in order to be eligible to
complete the questionnaire.
Data management and analysis for this study was
conducted through Google Docs and Microsoft Excel, as
well completing separate calculations for the results of the
study. Google Docs provides comparative graphs and
percentages for all 120 sets of data resulting from the
answers through the questionnaire.
Public Health
CRS1033@sru.edu
Results
Prior to animal companionship, 42.5% of participants were very
stressed, and 38.3% of participants were somewhat stressed.
Additionally, 14.2% of participants were very unhappy, 22.5%
of participants were somewhat unhappy, and 32.5%
participants were neutral. After companionship, only 10% of
participants were very stressed and 24.2% of participants were
somewhat stressed. 56.7% of participants were very happy
and 34.2% of participants were somewhat happy. 43.0% of the
participants’ physical activity had increased. Overall, 85.9% of
participants reported their heath was positively affected after
animal companionship.
Discussion
The article “Reducing university students’ stress through a
drop-in canine-therapy program” is a study conducted by
Binfet JT, el al in British Columbia, Canada. The results
from this study concluded significantly lower stress levels
after canine therapy intervention. This study supported our
data and claim that participants had lower stress levels
after animal exposure. “And in the Middle of My Chaos
There Was You?- Dog Companionship and Its Impact on
the Assessment of Stressful Situations,” is a study that was
conducted by Krouzecky C, et. al. This study concluded
participants experience their pet companions as a helpful
coping mechanism when dealing with stressful situations.
This study can also support our data in relation between
pets and lower stress levels. The strengths of our study
included detail-oriented questions, an adequate number of
participants to complete the Google Form, and selfreported answers in lieu of other research options due to
online restrictions. Our study provided useful data to
compare to scientific articles and supported the
hypothesis. The weaknesses of our study include relying
on self-reported answers of stress levels.
References
Binfet J-T, Passmore H-A, Cebry A, Struik K, McKay C. Reducing university
students’ stress through a drop-in canine-therapy program. Journal of mental
health (Abingdon, England). 2018;27(3):197-204.
doi:10.1080/09638237.2017.1417551
Krouzecky C, Emmett L, Klaps A, Aden J, Bunina A, Stetina BU. And in the
Middle of My Chaos There Was You?-Dog Companionship and Its Impact on the
Assessment of Stressful Situations. International journal of environmental
research and public health. 2019;16(19). doi:10.3390/ijerph16193664
Machová K, Daďová K, Chaloupková H, Svobodová I. Does having a pet
influence the physical activity of their young female owners? BMC public health.
2019;19(1):1672. doi:10.1186/s12889-019-7962-z
Machová K, Procházková R, Vadroňová M, Součková M, Prouzová E. Effect of
Dog Presence on Stress Levels in Students under Psychological Strain: A Pilot
Study. International journal of environmental research and public health.
2020;17(7). doi:10.3390/ijerph17072286
Pendry P, Kuzara S, Gee NR. Evaluation of Undergraduate Students’
Responsiveness to a 4-Week University-Based Animal-Assisted Stress Prevention
Program. International journal of environmental research and public health.
2019;16(18). doi:10.3390/ijerph16183331
Acknowledgements
I want to thank Dr. Kimberly Forrest for her guidance, as well as
Shay Decker, Ashley Tremel, and Arianna Whiteman, who all
contributed to this study.
Animal Companionship and Their Overall Health
Chloe Sharman
Introduction
In recent years, there has been a significant decrease in
the overall health among college students. College takes a
large mental and physical toll on students, whether it be
from course load, the student’s major, or another factor.
According to the American College Health Association's
Executive Summary, 28% of students reported that stress
was the most significant factor negatively impacting their
individual academic performance.
The following research focuses on the niche group of
people who are exposed to animal companionship while
being a college student. For this study, the research was
focused on the goal of answering, “what is the association
between college-aged students experiencing animal their
overall health?” To achieve this, the following must be
described. The relationship between animal exposure and
physical activity, the relationship between animal exposure
and stress levels, the relationship between animal exposure
and the prevalence of a history of mental health issues, the
relationship between animal exposure and overall
happiness, and the difference in mental health before
animal exposure versus after.
Materials & Methods
In this study, a questionnaire through Google Docs was
used to test the sample population. The questionnaire was
created using questions that addressed demographics, as
well as more specific questions addressing mental and
physical health. The questionnaire amounted to 120
participants, and each participant was recruited for this
study through online means. The creators of this study used
social media, email, and text messaging to spread the
questionnaire to eligible study participants. Each study
participant was required to currently attend college and
have consistent animal exposure in order to be eligible to
complete the questionnaire.
Data management and analysis for this study was
conducted through Google Docs and Microsoft Excel, as
well completing separate calculations for the results of the
study. Google Docs provides comparative graphs and
percentages for all 120 sets of data resulting from the
answers through the questionnaire.
Public Health
CRS1033@sru.edu
Results
Prior to animal companionship, 42.5% of participants were very
stressed, and 38.3% of participants were somewhat stressed.
Additionally, 14.2% of participants were very unhappy, 22.5%
of participants were somewhat unhappy, and 32.5%
participants were neutral. After companionship, only 10% of
participants were very stressed and 24.2% of participants were
somewhat stressed. 56.7% of participants were very happy
and 34.2% of participants were somewhat happy. 43.0% of the
participants’ physical activity had increased. Overall, 85.9% of
participants reported their heath was positively affected after
animal companionship.
Discussion
The article “Reducing university students’ stress through a
drop-in canine-therapy program” is a study conducted by
Binfet JT, el al in British Columbia, Canada. The results
from this study concluded significantly lower stress levels
after canine therapy intervention. This study supported our
data and claim that participants had lower stress levels
after animal exposure. “And in the Middle of My Chaos
There Was You?- Dog Companionship and Its Impact on
the Assessment of Stressful Situations,” is a study that was
conducted by Krouzecky C, et. al. This study concluded
participants experience their pet companions as a helpful
coping mechanism when dealing with stressful situations.
This study can also support our data in relation between
pets and lower stress levels. The strengths of our study
included detail-oriented questions, an adequate number of
participants to complete the Google Form, and selfreported answers in lieu of other research options due to
online restrictions. Our study provided useful data to
compare to scientific articles and supported the
hypothesis. The weaknesses of our study include relying
on self-reported answers of stress levels.
References
Binfet J-T, Passmore H-A, Cebry A, Struik K, McKay C. Reducing university
students’ stress through a drop-in canine-therapy program. Journal of mental
health (Abingdon, England). 2018;27(3):197-204.
doi:10.1080/09638237.2017.1417551
Krouzecky C, Emmett L, Klaps A, Aden J, Bunina A, Stetina BU. And in the
Middle of My Chaos There Was You?-Dog Companionship and Its Impact on the
Assessment of Stressful Situations. International journal of environmental
research and public health. 2019;16(19). doi:10.3390/ijerph16193664
Machová K, Daďová K, Chaloupková H, Svobodová I. Does having a pet
influence the physical activity of their young female owners? BMC public health.
2019;19(1):1672. doi:10.1186/s12889-019-7962-z
Machová K, Procházková R, Vadroňová M, Součková M, Prouzová E. Effect of
Dog Presence on Stress Levels in Students under Psychological Strain: A Pilot
Study. International journal of environmental research and public health.
2020;17(7). doi:10.3390/ijerph17072286
Pendry P, Kuzara S, Gee NR. Evaluation of Undergraduate Students’
Responsiveness to a 4-Week University-Based Animal-Assisted Stress Prevention
Program. International journal of environmental research and public health.
2019;16(18). doi:10.3390/ijerph16183331
Acknowledgements
I want to thank Dr. Kimberly Forrest for her guidance, as well as
Shay Decker, Ashley Tremel, and Arianna Whiteman, who all
contributed to this study.