Investigation of psychological symptoms of individuals according to the status of pet ownership and some variables

It is aimed to examine the psychological symptoms experienced by individuals according to whether they have a pet or not, and various demographic characteristics such as age, gender, education level at the current study. Psychological symptoms is the dependent variable of the study, and whether to have a pet or not and demographic variables are the independent variables. Relational screening model was used in the research. The sample of the study consists of 812 participants, 337 with pets and 475 without pets. Research data were obtained using demographic information form, Lexington Pet Attachment Scale, and Brief Symptom Inventory. During the analysis of the data, SPPS 26.0 package program was used and t-test, ANOVA and correlation analyzes were used. According to the findings, psychological symptoms differ according to gender, age, relationship status, education level and to have a pet or not.