Current Perspectives on the Challenges of Implementing Assistance Dogs in Human Mental Health Care

An overview of the literature on assistance dogs using text mining and topic analysis

It is said that dogs are human's best friend. On occasion, dogs can be raised and trained to provide additional specific benefits to humans suffering from a range of physical or mental conditions, working as assistance dogs. In this article, we employed innovative techniques to review the vast and constantly expanding literature on the subject, which covers a multitude of aspects. The 450 articles obtained through keyword search on Scopus were initially described in terms of year of publication, geographical context and publication destination, and were subsequently analysed through automated text mining to detect the most important words contained within them. Lastly, a generative model of topic analysis (Latent Dirichlet Allocation-LDA) described the content of the collection of documents, dividing it into the appropriate number of topics. The results yielded interesting insights across all domains, demonstrating the potential of automated text mining and topic analysis as a useful tool to support the researchers in dealing with complex and time-consuming subjects' reviews, integrating the work done with traditional reviewing methods.

Peer bonds and nature's embrace: exploring the influence of pet caregiving on social well-being and nature connection among Taiwanese children

This study investigated the associations between pet-ownership on nature engagement, interpersonal relationships, and well-being among 471 Taiwanese children aged 11-12, across different genders. The findings revealed that interactions with pets, primarily in the form of caregiving, enhanced empathy toward nature, notably among female participants from various racial and ethnic backgrounds, although direct contact with nature was generally limited. In terms of interpersonal relationships, family bonds were significant, with boys reporting stronger connections. Children who had previously or were currently owning pets displayed increased empathy toward the natural environment. The study highlighted a significant predictive relationship between children's connection to nature and their development of interpersonal relationships, with peer relationships being particularly influential in predicting children's well-being. These results underscored the importance of pet caregiving and peer interactions in the emotional and social development of children.

Assessment and validation of the pet-owner relationship scale for Brazil

Introduction

This study aimed to perform a cross-cultural adaptation of the cat-owner/dog-owner relationship scales. The method involved several stages: conceptual, item, semantic, operational, measurement, and functional equivalence. Procedures included translation, synthesis of translations, back-translation, consensus on the English versions, external evaluation by the original authors, expert committee evaluation, and pre-tests.

Methods

The study surveyed 234 pet owners across Brazil using a 20-item questionnaire. Data analysis utilized confirmatory factor analysis, covariance-based modeling, and multigroup analysis.

Results

The study confirmed the content and construct validity of the model, demonstrating good convergent validity. Hypotheses testing revealed significant inverse relationships between Perceived Cost and Perceived Emotional Closeness, and between Perceived Cost and Pet-Owner Interactions. A positive correlation was found between Perceived Emotional Closeness and Pet-Owner Interactions, with Perceived Emotional Closeness also mediating the relationship between Perceived Cost and Pet-Owner Interactions. No significant differences were found across different pet owner groups, indicating the scale's invariance and reliability across various demographics.

Discussion

The study significantly expands understanding of the complex dynamics in pet-owner relationships and emphasizes the interplay between emotional and practical factors. It offers valuable insights for future research and practices in animal and human welfare.

The effects of service dogs for children with autism spectrum disorder and their caregivers: a cross-sectional study

Introduction

Service dogs are an increasingly popular complementary intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder. However, despite increasing demand, there remains a lack of empirical research on their potential benefits. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of service dogs on children with autism and their caregivers.

Methods

A total of N = 75 families of children with autism were recruited from a non-profit service dog provider in the US, including n = 39 families previously placed with a service dog and n = 36 families engaging in usual care while on the waitlist. Caregivers completed an online survey containing both self- and proxy-report standardized measures of child, caregiver, and family functioning. Linear regressions modeled the relationship between service dog presence and survey outcomes, controlling for relevant child and caregiver covariates.

Results

Results indicated that having a service dog was associated with significantly better child sleep behaviors, including better sleep initiation and duration and less sleep anxiety/co-sleeping with medium effect sizes. However, service dog presence was not significantly related to child withdrawal, negative emotionality, emotional self-control, hyperactivity, irritability, and lethargy with small effect sizes. For caregivers, having a service dog was not significantly related to standardized measures of caregiver strain, sleep disturbance, depression, or the impact of the child's condition on family functioning with small effect sizes. Supplemental matched case-control analyses confirmed these findings.

Discussion

In conclusion, service dogs were found to positively impact sleep behaviors among children with autism, but may not uniformly relate to other areas of child and caregiver wellbeing. Prospective longitudinal designs, larger sample sizes able to detect small effects, and studies that measure sleep using objective methods are needed to build on these findings.