[01] Mridulla Kannan, Faculty of Medicine, Manipal University College, Malaysia, Manipal University of Higher Education (MAHE), Melaka, Malaysia. [02] Thammahetti Mudalige Dona Judith Saumya Peiris, Faculty of Medicine, Manipal University College, Malaysia, Manipal University of Higher Education (MAHE), Melaka, Malaysia. [03] Kit Chun Chia, Faculty of Medicine, Manipal University College, Malaysia, Manipal University of Higher Education (MAHE), Melaka, Malaysia. [04] Devaraj Thana Raj, Faculty of Medicine, Manipal University College, Malaysia, Manipal University of Higher Education (MAHE), Melaka, Malaysia. [05] Kaveesha Shehani Thenuwara, Faculty of Medicine, Manipal University College, Malaysia, Manipal University of Higher Education (MAHE), Melaka, Malaysia.

Whether you own a dog, a cat, a hamster or a even a snake, owning a pet can be an adventure. Spending time with a pet has shown to increase levels of oxytocin which is responsible for the feeling of closeness and bonding with one’s pet and is also known to be a mood booster. We carried out this study as we were curious to find out if owning a pet had an effect on subjective happiness and self-esteem. A cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate medicine and dentistry students of Manipal University College Malaysia (MUCM). An online questionnaire which consisted of four parts, was sent out through google forms and a total of 109 responses were collected. Unpaired T-test, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and correlation analysis were the chosen statistical tests. Out of the 109 students that participated in the study, 62.3% of the students owned pets while 37.6% of them did not. Students that owned a pet were significantly happier, (mean (SD) 19.8 (4.8)) and had a higher self-esteem (mean(SD) 29.3 (4.97) compared to the students who did not own a pet. However, it was also observed that there is no significant correlation between pet attachment (total) and subjective happiness (p-value 0.055). From the two domains that were studied, the avoidance domain has a more significant correlation (p-value 0.031) with subjective happiness compared to the anxiety domain (p-value 0.114). There is also no significant correlation between pet attachment (total) and self-esteem (p-value 0.079) and in the anxiety domain of pet attachment and self-esteem (p-value 0.0114). Nonetheless, there is a slight association between the avoidance domain of pet attachment and self-esteem (p-value 0.02). Further research is required to establish the relationship between owning a pet, subjective happiness and self-esteem. More variables can be added to improve the study.

Pet, Pet Attachment, Subjective Happiness, Self-esteem

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