Just a pet? Exploring cat/owner relationships from a health perspective
Master of Health Psychology student Buda Szerelem-Tolnay is exploring how cat owners perceive their pet to affect their health.
“Looking at the literature, there was a lot around dogs and their therapeutic effects, but New Zealand has the second highest rate of cat ownership in the world and that relationship is relatively understudied,” he says.
Through qualitative interviews, Buda is exploring the health effects of cat/owner relationships and how owners perceive their relationship with their cat to affect their health.
“For some people the relationship can be very impactful, the cat can be a source of support or considered part of the whānau, and for other people it is just an animal.
"I want to explore what factors change the relationship between the owner and the cat. It could potentially be something around our own psychology and what we project onto the animal.”
Buda chose to do the Master of Health Psychology after completing a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Philosophy. His Master’s thesis is supervised by Dr Mary Breheny, who says that thinking deeply about everyday relationships, like that between a cat and an owner, can reveal their importance for health.
“Buda’s research invites cat owners to explore why their relationship with their cat is meaningful and health promoting,” she says.
Dr Breheny says that the Master of Health Psychology thesis is an opportunity for students to contribute to research on a topic that inspires them.
Other Master of Health Psychology research projects this year include theatre as health promotion, how green spaces support wellbeing for new migrants, and understanding help-seeking for mental wellbeing among Pasifika young people.