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Dog Ownership, Perceived Social Supports and Stress Among University Students

Received: 1 April 2015     Accepted: 2 April 2015     Published: 11 April 2015
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Abstract

This study was conducted to determine whether there is a significant mean difference of perceived stress between dog owners and non-dog owners and whether there are significant correlations between different sources of perceived social supports and perceived stress. Participants were 116 undergraduate students in a Malaysian private university college. Among 116 participants, 44 were dog owners. Participants completed 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). The results indicated that there was a significant mean difference of perceived stress between dog owners (N = 44, M = 19.57) and non-dog owners (N = 72, M = 21.67). Among non-dog owners, a significant negative correlation was found between perceived social support from friends and perceived stress. However, among non-dog owners, no significant correlations were found between perceived stress and perceived social support from family, friends, significant others and dogs. Further research using a bigger sample size is needed to verify the relationship between perceived stress and perceived social support among dog owners.

Published in American Journal of Applied Psychology (Volume 4, Issue 3-1)

This article belongs to the Special Issue Psychology of University Students

DOI 10.11648/j.ajap.s.2015040301.18
Page(s) 45-50
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2015. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Dog Ownership, Perceived Social Supports, Perceived Stress, University Students

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Vei Kit Lee, Ming Sing Chai. (2015). Dog Ownership, Perceived Social Supports and Stress Among University Students. American Journal of Applied Psychology, 4(3-1), 45-50. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.s.2015040301.18

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    ACS Style

    Vei Kit Lee; Ming Sing Chai. Dog Ownership, Perceived Social Supports and Stress Among University Students. Am. J. Appl. Psychol. 2015, 4(3-1), 45-50. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.s.2015040301.18

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    AMA Style

    Vei Kit Lee, Ming Sing Chai. Dog Ownership, Perceived Social Supports and Stress Among University Students. Am J Appl Psychol. 2015;4(3-1):45-50. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.s.2015040301.18

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajap.s.2015040301.18,
      author = {Vei Kit Lee and Ming Sing Chai},
      title = {Dog Ownership, Perceived Social Supports and Stress Among University Students},
      journal = {American Journal of Applied Psychology},
      volume = {4},
      number = {3-1},
      pages = {45-50},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajap.s.2015040301.18},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.s.2015040301.18},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajap.s.2015040301.18},
      abstract = {This study was conducted to determine whether there is a significant mean difference of perceived stress between dog owners and non-dog owners and whether there are significant correlations between different sources of perceived social supports and perceived stress. Participants were 116 undergraduate students in a Malaysian private university college. Among 116 participants, 44 were dog owners. Participants completed 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). The results indicated that there was a significant mean difference of perceived stress between dog owners (N = 44, M = 19.57) and non-dog owners (N = 72, M = 21.67). Among non-dog owners, a significant negative correlation was found between perceived social support from friends and perceived stress. However, among non-dog owners, no significant correlations were found between perceived stress and perceived social support from family, friends, significant others and dogs. Further research using a bigger sample size is needed to verify the relationship between perceived stress and perceived social support among dog owners.},
     year = {2015}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Dog Ownership, Perceived Social Supports and Stress Among University Students
    AU  - Vei Kit Lee
    AU  - Ming Sing Chai
    Y1  - 2015/04/11
    PY  - 2015
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.s.2015040301.18
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajap.s.2015040301.18
    T2  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
    JF  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
    JO  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
    SP  - 45
    EP  - 50
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-5672
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.s.2015040301.18
    AB  - This study was conducted to determine whether there is a significant mean difference of perceived stress between dog owners and non-dog owners and whether there are significant correlations between different sources of perceived social supports and perceived stress. Participants were 116 undergraduate students in a Malaysian private university college. Among 116 participants, 44 were dog owners. Participants completed 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). The results indicated that there was a significant mean difference of perceived stress between dog owners (N = 44, M = 19.57) and non-dog owners (N = 72, M = 21.67). Among non-dog owners, a significant negative correlation was found between perceived social support from friends and perceived stress. However, among non-dog owners, no significant correlations were found between perceived stress and perceived social support from family, friends, significant others and dogs. Further research using a bigger sample size is needed to verify the relationship between perceived stress and perceived social support among dog owners.
    VL  - 4
    IS  - 3-1
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Faculty of Social Science, Arts and Humanities, Tunku Abdul Rahman University College, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

  • Faculty of Social Science, Arts and Humanities, Tunku Abdul Rahman University College, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

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