The effects of owning a pet on self-esteem and self-efficacy of Malaysian per owners

• Main Authors: Cheong, Sau Kuan *, Teoh, Hsien-Jin *, Ng, Alvin Lai Oon *
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sunway University College 2005
• Subjects: BF Psychology; RC0321 Neuroscience. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
• Online Access: http://eprints.sunway.edu.my/12/1/cheong85.pdf; http://eprints.sunway.edu.my/12/
• Institution: Sunway University

In this research, 200 pet owners and non-pet owners were studied to ascertain the effects of owning a pet on the self-esteem and self-efficacy of the pet owners. All the respondents completed self-reported questionnaires. While the results showed no significant differences, it was noted that there was a tendency for people with pets to generally have slightly higher self-esteem and self-efficacy as compared to people without pets. The study also showed that higher self-esteem contributed towards predicting higher self-efficacy.