THE INFLUENCE OF PETS ON THE EMOTIONAL STATE OF YOUTH DURING LOCKDOWN

Abstract

Existing studies of correlation between the experience of owning and caring for a pet with the psycho-mental state of a person confirm the relevance of this scientific problem. It was substantiated that lockdown restrictions in this context turned out to be a significant factor, as they affect all parts of a personal life, in particular, psychological and social health. The empirical basis of the study is represented by methods: The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS; Zigmond & Snaith), Budner's Intolerance of Ambiguity Scale (IAS), UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) Loneliness Scale (D. Russell, L. A. Peplau, M. L. Ferguson), K. L. Milutina`s Responsible Pet Attitude Scale", author's questionnaire for understanding the pets behavior. For statistical data analysis we used Chi-square; descriptive statistics, Duncan's Multiple Range test (DMRT), Scheffé's Test for Multiple Comparisons contingency tables, One-way ANOVA, Fisher's F-test, Spearman rank correlation coefficient, Kolmogorov–Smirnov test (KS test), Livigne's homogeneity criterion. The study sample consisted of 79 people, their age ranged from 16 to 26 years. Sex distribution: men - 20.2% (16), women - 79.4% (63). The study found that people who have animals have lower rates of depression and anxiety than non-owners do, but higher rates of intolerance to the unknown. It has been shown that people who give more care to their pets are slightly less depressed than those who do not pay attention to their pets. We found that anxiety does not significantly depend on the care of animals. The dynamics and causal relationship between animal care and anxiety remain controversial. As the prospects for further research, we see the empirical clarification of the young owner-pet relationship features depending on the owner`s separation from his family, functionality of this family, the purpose for buying and owning a pet; We also find interesting the study of the correlation between pet ownership and tolerance to the unknown. An important observation issue remains the consideration of ways to improve the psycho-emotional state of youth.