Posted by TENA/DIAMOND on 2/6/2009, 3:10 pm
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Pets Comfort College Students
College Students Get Companionship, Activity, Stress Relief From Their Pets
By Miranda Hitti
WebMD Health News
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD
Dec. 26, 2008 -- Pets may be a source of stress relief, as well as
companionship, for college students, a new study shows.
The study included 241 students, mainly freshmen, at a commuter college in the
Midwest. About 100 adults age 30 and older in the same area, but not affiliated
with the college, also took part.
Participants completed a survey which included questions about pets. The group
included 98 dog owners, 42 cat owners, 97 people with both cats and dogs, and 74
people with other pets.
When asked why they had pets, companionship was the most common reason for
people of all ages; those people said they would be lonely without their pet.
The second most common reason was that their pet helps keep them active. And the
third most common reason was that their pet helps them "get through hard times."
College students were more likely than the older participants to say their pet
helps them get through hard times. That may be because college freshmen are in a
transition period and haven't yet built their social network and resources for
coping, note the researchers, who included Sara Staats, PhD, professor emeritus
of psychology at Ohio State University.
"College is a very stressful environment for them and sometimes they can feel
isolated or overwhelmed with the change," Staats states in a news release. "Many
feel their pets will help them get through these difficult and stressful
situations, and many more say that without their pet, they would feel lonely."
Writing in a recent edition of Society and Animals, Staats and colleagues
conclude that, although the students in their study may not represent all
college students, "pets provide important benefits to young persons as well as
the better-known benefits provided to the lonely, elderly, or ill."
TENA/DIAMOND
People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.
A ROSE FROM MOM AND I !!
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