Author(s)

Zhiyi Xu ¹

Affiliation(s)

¹ University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

Corresponding Author

Zhiyi Xu

ABSTRACT

Academic stress has become an increasingly important concern among Chinese adolescents, while the psychological benefits of pet companionship remain inconclusive. This study explored the relationships among pet attachment, academic stress, and perceived effects of pets to investigate the mechanisms by which pets may influence adolescents' psychological experiences. A mixed-methods design was adopted, involving semi-structured interviews with 15 middle and high school students in Hangzhou, China. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis, Spearman's rank correlation, and cross-analysis. The results showed a significant moderate positive correlation between pet attachment and perceived pet effects (ρ = 0.546, p = 0.035), indicating that stronger attachment was associated with greater perceived emotional benefits. No significant relationships were found between attachment and academic stress or between academic stress and perceived pet effects. These findings suggest that pet companionship may benefit adolescents primarily through emotional attachment rather than by directly reducing academic stress, highlighting attachment as a potential mechanism underlying the psychological benefits of companion animals.

KEYWORDS

Pet attachment; Academic stress; Adolescents; Mental health; Spearman correlation

CITE THIS PAPER

Zhiyi Xu. Research on the Influence Mechanism of Pet Companionship on Academic Stress and Emotional Well-being of Chinese Adolescents. Applied & Educational Psychology (2026). Vol. 7, No. 2, 10-15. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/appep.2026.070202.

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