Procedures
This study consisted of an anonymous online questionnaire that contained 62
items. Once consent was given on the study main page, the participants were redirected
to the first page of the questionnaire where they were then asked to complete the
Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and the Objective Stress Inventory (OSI). Following the
PSS and OSI, respondents completed the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social
Support followed by a series of demographic items including pet ownership status.
Participants were prompted to complete unanswered items once to prevent items being
left blank unintentionally. Once completed, the data were stored on a web server until
analysis was ready to begin