Relationships between Pet Ownership and Self-Esteem, Social Sensitivity, and Interpersonal Trust

Abstract

Several theorists ( 5 ) have speculated that owning peu can decrease depression. loneliness, and alienation as well as increase self-esteem, empathy, and unselfishness' because pets provide both unconditional affection and a sense of responsibility. While some studies ( 4 ) support this view, others (1) indicate that pet owners show greater liking for pets than for other people. Because much of the work in this area has involved elderly persons, this study explored differences between college-age pet owners and current non-per owners on self-esteem, social sensitivity, and interpersonal trust. It was hypothesized that pet owners would score higher than non-pet owners on self-esteem and social sensitivity. Differences regarding interpersonal trust were explored. Subjects were 30 male and 30 female pet owners (mean age = 21.1 yr.) and 30 male and 30 female non-pet owners (mean age = 20.0 yr.) who were students in an introductory psychology course. Subjects, in groups of 3 to 13, were administered the following measures in the order indicated: pet owning status (whether or not a pet was currently owned), the Tennessee Self-concept Scale ( Z ) , Hogan's ( 3 ) Empathy Scale, and Rotter's ( 6 ) Interpersonal Trust Scale. A one-way multivariate analysis of variance yielded a marginally significant effect for pet ownership (F3.m = 2.29, P = .08). Univariate analyses of variance indicated char the multivariate effect was due to differences between the two per ownership groups on empat…