TITLE: Pets as APC Grade 11 ABM students stress reducer and the effects

of stress in their academic life

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to perceive that pets reduce stress of APC’s Grade 11 of ABM

Students. In which this study comes to seek the answers that pets can help lessen

stress of APC’s Grade 11 of ABM Students and the following:

1. What are the factors causing stress of APC Grade 11 ABM Students?

2. What are the positive effects of pets in reducing the stress of APC’s Grade

11 ABM students?

3. How can stress affect APC’s Grade 11 ABM student’s life?

Significance of the Study

Animals in general have helped humans in most things; from making people

smile to being there when they’re sad, it is no doubt that animals have a high sense

of sympathy and emotion to their respective humans, thus making their life more

fulfilled. As society knows, there are trained dogs that help who are in need of

comfort and emotional support. Not only do these trained dogs that help with

emotions, some even detect if someone would fall into a seizure or anybody failure

that the person may get. Animals are not only therapeutic, but owners of animals

value the championship these animals give to them. According to a study that
Pawsitive Living campaign did which was carried out in Ireland, 61% of the Irish

household that either own a dog or a cat consider these animals as a member of

the family (“Independent.”, n.d.).

A huge number of trained dogs are taken in by nursing homes, some

hospital patients, and there are some colleges that have trained dogs that help

their students cope with stress and depression. There are a lot of benefits of having

a pet. Just cuddling with a dog already improves heart health, lower blood

pressure, and reduces your heart regulation during stressful situations (Jalongo et

al., 2004). Another benefit of having a pet is that they reduce a person’s stress

levels that they experience in school or in work.

Stress is where your body reacts to events, whether if it is negative or

positive. Stress can mostly lead to negative effect such as high blood pressure,

possible prolonged depression, and possible heart failure (Lazarus, 1991:1998).

Because of the stress people mostly have no outlet to release the energy they

have, so the chemicals released due to stress, whether good or bad, will then

attack the person’s organs and the functions of the organ affected may cause

difficulties to the person physically or psychologically. Because of the difficulties,

mostly negative, it is a redundant feeling along with the stress response the person

releases, therefore it is in line with studying stress in the scope of emotions (Zautra,

2003).

Unconsciously, people don’t know that animals are already medicating

them. According to a study that the State University of New York conducted,

animals, pets in particular are more supportive, helpful, and lovable than the pet
owner’s friends, family, relatives, and spouses at times of stress. According to the

same study, people who have spouses that have no pets are more likely to have

higher blood pressure and higher heart rates, which as an obvious sign of stress

and that they were more stressed than those people who have pets (Allen et al.,

2002).

Many studies have seen a connection between stress and self-esteem.

These studies suggested that these two have an effect that if one goes down the

other goes up. Having a pet can help a person who is in need of social support

which in itself will greatly affect to a person’s stress levels, thus, as said, lowering

the stress levels and creating higher levels of self-esteem to a person. According

to a study that the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology conducted, people

who have pets have higher self-esteem, happier and they feel less stressed. Not

only that, people who have pets have lower cortisol levels and higher chances to

improve overall psychological and physical health.

The findings of this study hope to establish an understanding to the benefit

of pets to students, specifically the grade 11 students in the senior high school

level, would play an important role in these students’ lives. The huge need for the

students to have an effective stress-reliever justifies the importance or need for a

more effective and possibly life-changing environment for these students. Thus,

for schools to look beyond students as just students and apply a recommended

approach derived from the results of this study that will create a more comfortable

environment to help students better.

Scope and Limitations

This study is focused on the possibility of pets acting as stress reducers to

students and its effect on a student’s academic life. It also includes the factors

causing stress to a student and if whether or not pets can reduce this. The pets

mentioned in this study will be any kind of pets that the respondents feel

comfortable with. The respondents of this study are only limited to the Grade 11

ABM students of Asia Pacific College Term 2, S.Y. 2018-2019.

Definition of Terms

1. Stress – is a feeling of pressure or tension on an object or subject

2. Stress reducer – are things, such as pets, which can make your stress

lessen or gone

3. Self-esteem – is a characteristic which is dealing with confidence of a

person

4. Pet – are animals which you keep for companionship and satisfaction

5. Trained dog or also called as service dog – is a term used in the U.S. for

dogs who are specifically trained to help people who have disabilities, such

as visual impairment, hearing impairments, mental disorders, seizures,

mobility impairment, and diabetes

6. Depression – is an illness where someone is affected by how he or she

feels, think and act

 7. High blood pressure – is happening when the force of blood to the blood

vessels is too high

8. Heart failure – is a severe illness where the heart is having difficulty in

pumping enough blood and oxygen that is needed by the body

*Note: Sir, we don’t have anything to put in the definition of terms since we don’t

have scientific terms and unknown terms, that the readers don’t know. But

possibly, in the revision of these draft we can make a list of words with their

definitions.