Clinical depression moderates effects of animal-assisted stress prevention program on college students’ emotion

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine whether clinical levels of depression moderated university students’ momentary emotional states (e.g. feeling content, anxious, irritable and depressed) in response to conditions commonly experienced during universal, college-based Animal Visitation Programs (AVPs). Design/methodology/approach During a real-life efficacy trial, students (N = 192) were randomly assigned to three common AVP conditions: a hands-on condition in which participants could freely pet cats and dogs in small groups, an observation condition in which participants observed students in the hands-on condition while awaiting one’s turn and a control condition in which participants viewed images of the same animals while refraining from socializing with peers. Using a checklist, students reported their momentary emotional states (e.g. feeling content, anxious, irritable and depressed) before and after the 10-min intervention. Findings Multivariate regression analyses showed that clinically depressed students reported significantly higher levels of momentary negative emotion including irritability, depression and anxiety after waiting in line compared to non-depressed students, suggesting that clinical depression may moderate potential stress-relieving effects of universal college-based AVPs depending on implementation practices. Originality/value This is the first study to examine the causal impact of a common yet unstudied feature of college-based AVPs aimed at reducing general college student stress. Results support the utility of targeted approaches for students presenting clinical levels of depression.

Randomized Trial Examining Effects of Animal Assisted Intervention and Stress Related Symptoms on College Students’ Learning and Study Skills

“…Few studies have examined the moderating effects of students' mood-related risk status on the efficacy of college-based AAAs. Exceptions are results by Pendry, Vandagriff, and Carr [32], who showed that clinically depressed students reported significantly higher levels of momentary negative emotion including irritability, depression, and anxiety after waiting in line for their turn to engage in hands-on petting of shelter cats and dogs compared to nondepressed students. Similarly, recent findings showed that students who had experienced a mental health problem, learning disability, suicidal ideation, or academic failure experienced significant improvement in aspects of Executive Functioning (EF) after attending four weekly, hour-long sessions focused on interacting with therapy dogs and their handlers, whereas students without such risk factors or those who received traditional evidence-based stress management lectures did not experience such improvements.…”

“…a planned and goal-oriented informal interaction or visitation conducted by the human-animal team for motivational, educational and recreational purposes." Conceptualized as preventive interventions to promote students' general well-being, nearly 1,000 U.S. College campuses [22,23] conduct AAAs within the context of Animal Visitation Programs (AVPs), which are campus-based visitation programs providing university students with the opportunity to interact with animals on a one-time, drop-in basis.…”

“…Although the use of true experimental designs, featuring random assignment to conditions, is still limited, evidence is emerging that supports the use of AAAs in college settings. Participating in campus-based AAAs has been shown to positively affect students' perceived emotion states [23,24], and perceived levels of stress [25][26][27]. Moreover, recent evidence suggests that such effects are not merely perceived; findings showed that 10-minutes of hands-on human-animal interaction (HAI) with shelter dogs and cats significantly reduced students' cortisol levels, a marker of the Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal (HPA) Axis, one of the body's stress sensitive systems associated with the development of stress-related disorders [28].…”

Effect of Dog Presence on Stress Levels in Students under Psychological Strain: A Pilot Study

“…In our study, we focused on assessing stress using physiological parameters of heart rate and blood pressure. At the same time, mood and stress were subjectively evaluated using the Likert scale, similar to the study of Pendry et al 2018 [37].…”

Exploring the Handler-Dog Connection within a University-Based Animal-Assisted Activity

“…Animal-assisted activities (AAAs), or activities that incorporate human animal interaction to promote student well-being, have grown increasingly popular on university campuses to combat high student stress levels [1]. While initial evidence suggests positive outcomes for student participants, including reduced perceived stress [2], positive changes in mood [3,4,5] and reductions in student cortisol levels [6], there is limited research on the nature of human animal interactions during university-based AAAs. There appears to be no research on the extent to which dyadic functioning between handler and dog is manifested during university-based AAAs, nor do we have knowledge about the extent to which dyadic functioning between handler and animal may relate to triadic contexts, such as when handlers and dog teams engage with students.…”