Effects of Interactions With Animals On Human Psychological Distress

Facility dogs during police investigative interviews: Does it decrease children's reluctance?

BACKGROUND

Using facility dogs during police investigative interviews is a recent practice in Canada. While the common use of this intervention is decidedly an indicator of sympathy capital, its utility in this context is relatively unknown and no study has specifically evaluated the effect of using facility dogs on children's collaboration during investigative interviews.

OBJECTIVE

This study compares police investigative interviews conducted in the presence of a service dog (n = 46) to those without (n = 45) to examine the effects of the presence of and interactions with a dog on children's reluctance.

PARTICIPANTS, SETTING AND METHODS

The interviews were done with children aged 3 to 15 years and were coded for children's reluctance, their physical interactions with and comments about the dog, as well as for investigator's verbal support.

RESULTS

No significant group differences were found in terms of children's overall reluctance (p = 0.700), though the children accompanied by a dog showed significantly more digression (p = 0.008). Among the children who were accompanied by a dog, those who interacted with the dog more frequently (p = 0.035) and who made more comments about the dog (p < 0.001) showed more signs of reluctance, even after accounting for child age and investigator support. No association was observed between children's reluctance and the total duration of dog-child physical interactions (p = 0.097).

CONCLUSIONS

This study contributes to an enhanced understanding of the usefulness of facility dogs and the factors that influence children's reluctance during investigative interviews.

Can dogs serve as stress mediators to decrease salivary cortisol levels in a population of liberal arts college undergraduate students?

The steroid hormone cortisol can be used to measure physiological stress in humans. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis synthesizes cortisol, and a negative feedback cycle regulates cortisol depending on an individual's stress level and/or circadian rhythm. Chronic stress of college undergraduate students is associated with various adverse health effects, including anxiety and depression. Reports suggest that stress levels have risen dramatically in recent years, particularly among university students dealing with intense academic loads in addition to COVID-19 pandemic-related uncertainty. The increasing rate of mental illness on college campuses necessitates the study of mediators potentially capable of lowering stress, and thus cortisol levels. Research on mediation techniques and coping mechanisms have gained traction to address the concerning levels of stress, including the employment of human-animal interaction sessions on college campuses. In this study, human-canine interaction as a stress mediation strategy for undergraduate students was investigated. We measured salivary cortisol levels in 73 college undergraduate students during a 60-min interaction period with a dog to determine whether human-canine interactions are effective in lowering cortisol levels and potentially reducing chronic stress typical of undergraduate students. Our results indicate that a human-canine interaction for 60 min is an effective method for significantly reducing salivary cortisol and stress levels among undergraduate college students. These findings support the expansion of animal visitation programs on college campuses to help students manage stress.

Are emotional support animals prosthetics or pets? Body-like rights to emotional support animals

Many philosophers have argued that prosthetic limbs are the subjects of some of the same rights as traditional body parts. This is a strong argument in favour of respecting the rights of users of prosthetics. I argue that all of the reasons to consider paradigm prosthetics the subjects of body-like rights apply to the relationship between some emotional support animals (ESAs) and their handlers. ESAs are integrated into the functioning of their handlers in ways that parallel the ways that paradigm prosthetics are integrated into the functioning of their users. ESAs are also phenomenologically integrated into their handler's lives in ways that parallel the phenomenological integration that prosthetic users experience. These parallels provide a strong reason to take the rights of ESA handlers much more seriously than we do now. I will highlight that the current treatment of ESA handlers presumes that they have no rights to ESAs at all. Even if ESAs are the subject of very minimal body-like rights, ESA handlers are having their rights violated. There are of course disanalogies between ESAs and paradigm prosthetics. Most notably, ESAs are alive and separate from their handlers. However, none of these disanalogies are relevant to the question of body-like rights. The differences between ESAs and paradigm prosthetics are in terms of what treatment is owed to them, not in terms of what rights their handlers and users should have. ESAs are not prosthetics, but they deserve some of the rights prosthetics do.

Companion Animals as Buffer against the Impact of Stress on Affect: An Experience Sampling Study

Simple Summary

Companion animals have been identified as a unique source of social support and as contributors to mental wellbeing. In order to identify whether a companion animal buffers against the aversive effects of stress on affect or whether it has a general effect on its owner’s affective state, this study uses a mobile app to question participant’s stress levels for five consecutive days (ten times a day in the moment), the presence and interactions with their companion animal, and on their affective states. The results show that the presence of a companion animal buffers against the detrimental effects of stress on positive affect. The association between the presence of a companion animal and positive affect is only present when experiencing stress. When not under stress, positive affect does not benefit from the presence of a companion animal. Positive affect, however, does benefit from the interaction with a companion animal: In the presence of a companion animal, individuals experience less negative affect. These effects are present in all levels of stress. In conclusion, having a companion animal around alleviates negativity, interacting with it increases positivity, and, when an individual is under stress, simply having your cat or dog around helps you to retain your positive feelings.

Abstract

Companion animals have been identified as a unique source of social support and as contributors to mental wellbeing. This study uses the Experience Sampling Method to test whether this effect is due to stress-buffering. A total of 159 dog and cat owners responded to a series of randomly scheduled questionnaires on their smartphones. At each measurement moment, they reported in whether a pet is present at that moment and to what extent they have interacted with the pet. They also reported on stressful activities and events and on their current positive (PA) and negative (NA) affect. Multilevel regression analyses showed that when a companion animal was present (vs. absent) the negative association between stress and PA is less pronounced (event stress: B = 0.13, p = 0.002, 95% CI = 0.05; 0.21 activity stress: B = 0.08, p < 0.001, 95% CI = 0.04; 0.12). No additional main effect was revealed when tested in a subsample of records that reported low or no stress. Main effects were found for the presence of a companion animal on negative affect (B = 0.08, p < 0.001; 95% CI = 0.12; 0.05) and for interacting with a companion animal on positive affect (B = 0.06, p < 0.001; 95% CI = 0.04; 0.08). This shows that the presence of a companion animal buffers against the negative consequences of stress on positive affect, indicating stress-buffering as a mechanism behind the pet-effect. It is, however, not the only mechanism and more research is required to further elucidate how companion animals contribute to human wellbeing.

Evaluating the Role of a Socially Assistive Robot in Children's Mental Health Care

Socially assistive robots (SARs) present a promising intervention for addressing the increasing prevalence of childhood stress. This innovative technology has become increasingly common in practical implementation. However, empirical support has not kept pace with the robots' growing popularity. The present study set out to provide an empirical test of the stress-buffering capability of this technology. We examined the effects of the presence of an SAR on self-reported measures of stress in a community sample of 70 children (40 girls, 30 boys) between the ages of 7 and 10 years old. Child participants were randomly assigned to either a robot-present or a robot-absent condition during the Trier Social Stress Test for Children. Contrary to our predictions, we did not detect a stress-buffering effect of the presence of the robot. Instead, the primary analysis showed that the robot's presence led to a larger decrease in positive affect following the task. However, further analyses found no significant difference in positive affect when accounting for baseline group differences. Exploratory analyses of the nature of children's interactions with the SAR during the stressful task found that higher levels of parent-reported social anxiety were associated with greater prosocial behaviors towards the SAR, thus signifying a potential target for future interventions. Further work on SARs is needed to determine the optimal timing and robotic specifications that would maximize the potential of this developing technology to improve children's mental health care.

Bringing human-animal interaction to sport: Potential impacts on athletic performance

To gain an edge in performance, athletes, coaches, trainers, and sport psychologists worldwide leverage findings from psychological research to develop training and performance strategies. The field of sport psychology draws upon research on stress, anxiety, mindfulness, and team building to develop these strategies. Here, we introduce human-animal interaction as a potential area of research that may apply to athletic performance. Structured interactions with animals-particularly therapy dogs-can provide physiological benefits associated with stress and the oxytocin system, psychological benefits for anxiety and motivation, and social benefits through social support. Yet these effects have not yet been systematically investigated in athletes. Integration of human-animal interactions into athletics can occur through animal visitation programmes and resident therapy animal programmes. Integrating human-animal interactions into athletics presents some unique challenges and limitations that must be considered before implementing these programmes, and these interactions are not a panacea that will work in every situation. But, given the amount of human-animal interaction research suggesting benefits in medicine, mental health, and education contexts, it is worthwhile exploring potential benefits not just for athletic performance, but also for injury prevention and recovery.HighlightsHuman-animal interaction is a potential area of research that may apply to athletic performance.Structured interactions with animals can provide physiological, psychological, and social benefits to athletes, through it is not a panacea that will work in every situation.Integrating human-animal interactions into athletics presents some unique challenges and limitations that must be considered before implementing these programs.

Dogs Supporting Human Health and Well-Being: A Biopsychosocial Approach

Humans have long realized that dogs can be helpful, in a number of ways, to achieving important goals. This is evident from our earliest interactions involving the shared goal of avoiding predators and acquiring food, to our more recent inclusion of dogs in a variety of contexts including therapeutic and educational settings. This paper utilizes a longstanding theoretical framework- the biopsychosocial model- to contextualize the existing research on a broad spectrum of settings and populations in which dogs have been included as an adjunct or complementary therapy to improve some aspect of human health and well-being. A wide variety of evidence is considered within key topical areas including cognition, learning disorders, neurotypical and neurodiverse populations, mental and physical health, and disabilities. A dynamic version of the biopsychosocial model is used to organize and discuss the findings, to consider how possible mechanisms of action may impact overall human health and well-being, and to frame and guide future research questions and investigations.

Third time's the charm or three strikes you're out? An updated review of the efficacy of dolphin-assisted therapy for autism and developmental disabilities

CONTEXT

Dolphin-assisted therapy (DAT) is a popular form of animal-assisted therapy for autism spectrum disorders and other psychological conditions.

OBJECTIVE

In this review, our third, we analyze the most recent DAT studies in terms of construct and internal validity criteria to determine if there is empirical support for DAT.

METHOD

To ensure a systematic review, we searched for peer-reviewed studies on DAT by submitting relevant search terms to Google Scholar from 2007 to 2020, conducted a further search of all DAT papers in several peer-reviewed journals, and reviewed reference sections of DAT articles to ensure a thorough review of the literature between 2007 and the present.

RESULTS

The DAT literature continues to be marked by several weaknesses in both internal and construct validity that preclude confident inferences regarding the intervention's efficacy.

CONCLUSION

There is still insufficient evidence that DAT has therapeutic value.

Interaction and Emotional Connection with Pets: A Descriptive Analysis from Puerto Rico

Simple Summary

The coexistence of humans with pets, and the type and quality of interactions that derive from it, is a growing line of research that covers many scientific disciplines: veterinary sciences, education, psychology, biological sciences, sociology, neuroscience, etc. In this article, we analyze both the characteristics of care for pets and the feelings and emotions involved in the human–pet relationship in the population of Puerto Rico. The sample has been of 1436 people. The most representative results of the research show how pets have a positive impact on the mental health of their owners, because of the emotional connection established, which leads them to experience mainly feelings of love, joy and peace.

Abstract

The study of human–animal interactions has become a prominent research field. The presence of pets in our daily lives has meant a change in the perception of our relationship with pets. One of the new lines of research that has opened up in this area analyzes the possible physical, emotional, and psychological benefits of a human–animal bond. In this context, two main objectives were pursued in this study, whose sample (N = 1436) was investigated in Puerto Rico: (PO1) determining the characteristics of the owners and the care of the pets within Puerto Rican society and (PO2) to analyzing the benefits of living with pets for health and personal well-being, especially at the psychological level. We sought to identify the feelings that arose in pet caretakers as a result of human–animal interactions. The methodology used, which was descriptive and not experimental, was based on a questionnaire of 86 questions with a Likert scale. After the descriptive analysis was undertaken through a frequency analysis, a binary logistic regression was carried out to establish whether the feelings and emotions of the subjects toward their companion pets were determined by sociodemographic variables and were related to the type of coexistence with their pets. The two main results from this study are as follows: for most owners, their pets are very important beings, and those who establish an emotional connection with their pets experience love, joy, and peace. Pets are part of human life through very intense relationships and interactions that, in most cases, increase personal welfare by providing improvements to the human–animal biopsychosocial system. In this sense, a relationship with a pet has a positive impact on the mental health of the owner. Pets are a part of our family lives and are regulators of the most elementary feelings and emotions in humans.

Association between pet ownership and physical activity levels, atopic conditions, and mental health in Singapore: a propensity score-matched analysis

Although existing literature increasingly suggests a positive influence of pet ownership on human physical activity levels, results from many European, American, and Japanese studies have been inconsistent. How pet ownership impacts mental health and atopy is likewise controversial and whether distinct demographic subgroups experience differential effects is unclear. This cross-sectional study surveyed participants (n = 823) via a self-administered online questionnaire. Comparisons of outcomes between pet owners and non-pet owners with subgroup analyses were performed within a propensity score-matched subset (n = 566) of respondents. There were no differences in physical activity levels or mental health scores between pet owners and non-pet owners. In subgroup analyses, compared to non-pet owners, main pet caregivers reported 14.1 (95% CI 2.79–25.3) and 19.0 (95% CI 4.70–33.3) more minutes per week of moderate- and vigorous-intensity physical activity respectively and higher SF-36 emotional well-being (β = 2.7, 95% CI 0.100–5.32) and energy scores (β = 3.8, 95% CI 0.410–7.27). Age was a significant effect modifier of the association between pet ownership and emotional well-being, energy and social functioning scores, with greater scores above the ages of 39, 35 and 39 years old respectively (interaction p = 0.043, 0.044, 0.042). Finally, pet acquisition was associated with worsening of allergic rhinitis, while pet ownership cessation was associated with improvement of allergic rhinitis and eczema symptoms. To our knowledge, this is the first study addressing the public health impact of pet ownership in Southeast Asia and its findings add contextual nuance to suggest potential benefits derived from pet ownership.

Psychological Health Benefits of Companion Animals Following a Social Loss

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

In later life, the loss of a spouse due to divorce or widowhood is common and can lead to elevated depressive symptoms and loneliness. Research suggests that companion animal (CA) may be beneficial for psychological health, but limited research has explored whether CA can buffer negative consequences of social losses.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

This study uses data drawn from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to examine changes in depressive symptoms and loneliness in relation to a social loss among those with/without a CA. We used inverse-probability weighted regression to adjust for selection factors and isolate effects of CA ownership on changes in psychological health.

RESULTS

Regardless of CA ownership, spousal loss was associated with psychological health consequences. Facing a social loss without a CA was related to statistically greater increases in depressive symptoms relative to those with a pet (2.580 vs. 1.207 symptoms, respectively). Similarly, experiencing a loss was associated with significantly greater increases in loneliness, with statistically greater increases in loneliness among those without a CA (p < .01). However, those with a CA did not experience greater increases in loneliness than those who did not experience a loss.

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS

In later life, CA ownership may buffer against the detrimental consequences of major social losses on psychological health. Future research on the therapeutic effects of CA ownership, as well as pet therapy, during other major life stage transitions is needed to help isolate potential mechanisms driving the benefits of human-animal interactions.

Emotional Support Animal Assessments: Toward a Standard and Comprehensive Model for Mental Health Professionals

Growth in the presence of Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) in our society has recently garnered a substantial amount of attention, both in the popular media and the professional literature. Public media abounds with stories focusing on the increasing number of animals claimed as ESAs, the impact of this growth on society, the industry claiming to certify ESAs, and the various types of animals described as "certified." The authors propose an assessment model for ESAs certification comprising a four-pronged approach for conducting these types of assessments: (1) understanding, recognizing, and applying the laws regulating ESAs, (2) a thorough valid assessment of the individual requesting an ESA certification, (3) an assessment of the animal in question to ensure it actually performs the valid functions of an ESA, and (4) an assessment of the interaction between the animal and the individual to determine whether the animal's presence has a demonstrably beneficial effect on that individual. This model aligns with professional ethics, standards of professional practice, and the law and seeks to provide clear guidelines for mental health professionals conducting ESA evaluations.

Man's Best Friend? The Effects of Being Rejected by a Pet

Introduction: People can be rejected by friends, strangers, hated outgroups, or computer simulations. The present research examines whether people can be rejected by pets.

Methods: Two studies examined whether people can feel rejected by pets and how this affects their mood, fundamental needs, and aggression. Participants in Study 1 were directly rejected by a pet using an adapted version of the video message paradigm, and then reported on their mood, fundamental needs, and aggression. Study 2 directly compared differences in needs when writing about a rejection experience by a pet, a rejection experience by a person, and a control experience.

Results: Study 1 confirmed that people can feel rejected by their pets by demonstrating that those who were rejected felt more negatively and less positively and had decreased need satisfaction, however they did not experience any changes in their aggression. Finally, in Study 2, people who were rejected by a pet or by a person experienced decreased need satisfaction as compared to a control experience.

Discussion: Ultimately, these studies confirm pets can be perpetrators of rejection and such rejection hurts similarly to if a human perpetrated it. This may add to the growing body of research suggesting that pets do not provide uniformly positive effects on people.

An adjunctive human-animal interaction intervention for veterans with PTSD: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) rarely remits over time, and if left untreated, leads to significant distress, functional impairment, and increased health care costs. Fortunately, effective evidence-based treatments (EBTs) for PTSD, such as Prolonged Exposure (PE), exist. Despite their availability and efficacy, a significant number of individuals with PTSD do not initiate treatment when offered or dropout prematurely. One proposed theory suggests that the emotional-numbing symptoms of PTSD (e.g., blunted affect, apathy) can serve as a barrier to engaging in, and successfully completing, treatment; and the broad human-animal interaction (HAI) literature available suggests that HAI can potentially reduce emotional numbing related to PTSD. Accordingly, this manuscript describes an ongoing, federally funded, randomized controlled trial testing the efficacy of RESCUE, an HAI intervention, as a viable adjunctive treatment component for PE.

METHODS/DESIGN

The study will include 70 veterans with PTSD treated at a Southeastern Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC). All participants in the trial receive up to 12 sessions of PE. Participants are randomly assigned 1:1 to (1) volunteer at a local animal shelter or (2) volunteer at a community agency of their choice as part of their in-vivo exposure exercises for PE. Outcomes will be examined via standard clinical interviews, self-report questionnaires, and thematic interviews.

DISCUSSION

It is hypothesized that participants in the HAI condition will report greater decreases in emotional-numbing symptoms and increased treatment compliance and completion rates relative to those in the community volunteer condition. If successful, RESCUE, could be easily incorporated into standard PE and broadly disseminated.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov. ID: NCT03504722. Retrospectively registered on 2 May 2017.

Typologies of older adult companion animal owners and non-owners: moving beyond the dichotomy

Objectives: Research on the influence of companion animals (CA) on the health of older adults has yielded contradictory results. Selection factors, leading to heterogeneity both between and within groups of CA owners and non-owners, likely bias results. We conduct analyses to identify typologies of owners and non-owners. Methods: Using data on older adults (60+) from the 2012 Health and Retirement Study (HRS), and the HRS companion animal module, (owners = 478) and (non-owners = 624), we conducted latent class analyses (LCA). We used key demographic, health, daily engagement, and pet characteristic variables to complete our analyses. Results: Analyses revealed five clusters of CA owners and four clusters of non-owners. Health and CA related characteristics distinguishing clusters suggest important sources of variability and reflect qualitatively different profiles of owners and non-owners. We also found CA owners were more likely than non-owners to be high on neuroticism and to be less extroverted than non-owners-but again there was considerable within group variability. Implications: Factors that select people into pet ownership not only work individually to characterize ownership, they create distinct typologies of CA owners and non-owners that likely contribute to subsequent health outcomes. In order to determine if having a CA is beneficial to health in later life and for whom, future research should consider selection factors like those identified in the typologies. Statistical analyses, such as LCA, that can adequately account for these selection factors is necessary to avoid biases in the interpretation of results.

A Smart Toy Intervention to Promote Emotion Regulation in Middle Childhood: Feasibility Study

BACKGROUND

A common challenge with existing psycho-social prevention interventions for children is the lack of effective, engaging, and scalable delivery mechanisms, especially beyond in-person therapeutic or school-based contexts. Although digital technology has the potential to address these issues, existing research on technology-enabled interventions for families remains limited. This paper focuses on emotion regulation (ER) as an example of a core protective factor that is commonly targeted by prevention interventions.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this pilot study was to provide an initial validation of the logic model and feasibility of in situ deployment for a new technology-enabled intervention, designed to support children's in-the-moment ER efforts. The novelty of the proposed approach relies on delivering the intervention through an interactive object (a smart toy) sent home with the child, without any prior training necessary for either the child or their carer. This study examined (1) engagement and acceptability of the toy in the homes during 1-week deployments, and (2) qualitative indicators of ER effects, as reported by parents and children. In total, 10 families (altogether 11 children aged 6-10 years) were recruited from 3 predominantly underprivileged communities in the United Kingdom, as low SES populations have been shown to be particularly at risk for less developed ER competencies. Children were given the prototype, a discovery book, and a simple digital camera to keep at home for 7 to 8 days. Data were gathered through a number of channels: (1) semistructured interviews with parents and children prior to and right after the deployment, (2) photos children took during the deployment, and (3) touch interactions automatically logged by the prototype throughout the deployment.

RESULTS

Across all families, parents and children reported that the smart toy was incorporated into the children's ER practices and engaged with naturally in moments the children wanted to relax or calm down. Data suggested that the children interacted with the toy throughout the deployment, found the experience enjoyable, and all requested to keep the toy longer. Children's emotional connection to the toy appears to have driven this strong engagement. Parents reported satisfaction with and acceptability of the toy.

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first known study on the use of technology-enabled intervention delivery to support ER in situ. The strong engagement, incorporation into children's ER practices, and qualitative indications of effects are promising. Further efficacy research is needed to extend these indicative data by examining the psychological efficacy of the proposed intervention. More broadly, our findings argue for the potential of a technology-enabled shift in how future prevention interventions are designed and delivered: empowering children and parents through child-led, situated interventions, where participants learn through actionable support directly within family life, as opposed to didactic in-person workshops and a subsequent skills application.

Animal-assisted therapy for schizophrenia and related disorders: A systematic review

Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is increasingly researched as a potential treatment for physical and mental illness, including schizophrenia. The aim of the current paper is to systematically review randomised controlled trials (RCTs) to assess the effectiveness of AAT for schizophrenia and related disorders. We searched PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL, EMBASE, The Cochrane Library, CAB Abstracts, and Web of Science for RCTs of AAT for schizophrenia and related disorders. Primary outcomes were mental state and behaviour, clinical global response, and quality of life and wellbeing. Studies were eligible if they were RCTs that had compared AAT, or other animal-assisted intervention, to any control group using any participants with a clinical diagnosis of schizophrenia (or related disorder), regardless of age, gender, setting, or severity and duration of illness. Seven studies were identified for the review. Meta-analysis was not possible due to heterogeneity of studies, including marked differences in outcome measures and interventions. Five out of seven studies included symptoms as an outcome measure, with one reporting improvements in negative symptoms and one study reporting improvements in positive and emotional symptoms. The remaining studies reported no significant effects of AAT. Three studies included quality of life as an outcome measure but did not find any significant effects. Two studies did, however, report improvements in various measures of self-view. The use of AAT for schizophrenia remains inconclusive and there is currently not enough evidence to draw any firm conclusions due to heterogeneity of studies, risk of bias, and small samples. Rigorous, large-scale RCTs are needed to assess the true impact of AAT on schizophrenia.

The Influence of Interactions with Dogs on Affect, Anxiety, and Arousal in Children

Interactions with animals represent a promising way to reduce the burden of childhood mental illness on a large scale. However, the specific effects of child-animal interactions are not yet well-established. This study provides a carefully controlled demonstration that unstructured interactions with dogs can improve clinically relevant symptoms in children. Seventy-eight children (55.1% female, 44.9% male) ages 10 to 13 (M = 12.01, SD = 1.13) completed the Trier Social Stress Test for Children, followed by (a) interaction with a dog, (b) a tactile-stimulation control condition, or (c) a waiting control condition. The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule for Children, Short Form and the State/Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children were completed at baseline and posttest, and salivary cortisol was assessed at 5 time points. Adjusting for baseline scores, participants in the experimental condition showed higher scores on the Positive Affect scale than participants in both control conditions and lower scores on the State/Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children than participants in the waiting control condition at posttest. Negative affect was not assessed reliably, and we detected no effect of the interactions on salivary cortisol, as measured by area under the curve with respect to ground. Brief, unstructured interactions with dogs boosted children's positive emotions and reduced anxiety. Additional research is needed to further clarify which features of the interactions produce these benefits and the extent to which interactions with animals offer benefits that exceed the effects of other common coping strategies, activities, and interventions.

When Veterinarians Support Canine Therapy: Bidirectional Benefits for Clinics and Therapy Programs

This paper proposes a mutually beneficial model of collaboration between veterinarians and canine therapy programs. Veterinarians and the clinics for whom they work routinely establish collaborations with multiple and varied stakeholders. This might include a laboratory for processing samples and the corresponding courier company needed to deliver samples to the lab or a partnership with a local dog rescue organization for whom discounted rates are offered. One community partnership that stands to benefit both the clinic and the community agency, is for veterinarians to work in tandem with a local canine-assisted therapy program. The benefits to such an alliance are multifold and address aspects of veterinary medicine including client recruitment, community education, and access to a network of devoted dog enthusiasts.

Perceptions of animal-assisted interventions: The influence of attitudes toward companion animals

OBJECTIVE

We tested whether people are prone toward positive perceptions of Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAIs). We additionally evaluated whether this effect is stronger for people who have positive attitudes toward companion animals.

METHOD

We presented 210 participants with fictitious news reports, each describing a study of an AAI or a control intervention. Participants rated the news reports on their credibility, acceptability, and general appeal and completed a measure of attitudes toward companion animals.

RESULTS

Individuals with positive attitudes toward companion animals evaluated AAIs as more credible, acceptable, and positive than did individuals with negative attitudes toward companion animals. There was no difference in how people with positive and negative attitudes toward companion animals evaluated control treatments.

CONCLUSION

We found that individuals with positive attitudes toward companion animals perceived AAIs as more credible, acceptable, and positive, relative to individuals with more negative attitudes toward companion animals.