Journal of Scientific Research and Reports

Pet ownership has been associated with companionship and emotional support, but its relationship with psychological well-being remains inconsistent. This study compared happiness, anxiety, depression, and stress between pet owners and non-pet owners. An exploratory design was used with 60 adults aged 20–30 years, selected purposively and divided equally into pet-owner and non-pet-owner groups. Happiness was assessed using a standardised happiness scale, while anxiety, depression, and stress were measured using a standardised combined scale. Frequencies, percentages, independent-samples t-tests, and Pearson correlation coefficients were analysed using SPSS. Pet owners showed higher proportions of high career, subjective, social, emotional, and overall happiness than non-pet owners. They also had lower mean scores for anxiety (5.26 vs 11.40), depression (3.46 vs 10.36), and stress (4.00 vs 11.20), with statistically significant group differences. Among pet owners, overall happiness was positively correlated with income (r = 0.575), education (r = 0.426), and socioeconomic status (r = 0.433). Income was negatively correlated with anxiety (r = −0.592), depression (r = −0.627), and stress (r = −0.671), while happiness was negatively correlated with anxiety, depression, and stress. Age and occupation were not significantly correlated with the psychological variables. These findings indicate that pet ownership was associated with greater reported well-being and lower psychological distress within the study sample, while the exploratory design does not establish causality.