Differences between Female and Male Inmates in Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) in Austria: Do We Need Treatment Programs Specific to the Needs of Females in AAT?

Abstract

With the growth of female inmates worldwide, research regarding specific treatment of these has become more important. Although new programs have been started, the lack of scientific results is startling. The goal of the current study was to identify differences between participants from the men’s and women’s section in a specialized prison for criminal offenders suffering from substance dependence syndrome regarding the effects of dog-assisted group therapy. Therefore, 81 incarcerated participants (50 male, 31 female) took part in a dog-assisted group therapy targeting socio-emotional competencies. Self-report questionnaires to measure self-concept (SDQ-III), emotional status (EMI-B) and emotional competencies (SEE) were employed. Statistical analysis included General Linear Model (GLM) procedures and η2 as concurrent effect size measure. Results demonstrate that participants from the women’s ward tend to benefit significantly less from the dog-assisted group therapy in most measured areas than men, especially in terms of their emotional status (e.g., aggressiveness) and emotional competencies (e.g., emotion regulation). Treatment programs specific to the needs of women might be a future challenge for practitioners and researchers in AAT.

Effects of Dog-Based Animal-Assisted Interventions in Prison Population: A Systematic Review

“…In addition, four articles [ 18 , 32 , 56 , 57 ] (20% of the total) evaluated both female and male inmates; one of them [ 18 ] was developed in a psychiatric prison. Additionally, four articles [ 45 , 46 , 58 , 59 ] (20% of the total) investigated young inmates.…”

“…Table 2 shows the control group protocols for each article. Fourteen of them [ 14 , 18 , 39 , 44 , 48 , 49 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 ] did not include a control group, while the design of remaining six studies [ 32 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 50 , 51 ] did. In this regard, treatment as usual or activities without dog presence were the most usual protocols for control groups.…”

“…Table 4 shows all the instruments and outcomes measures for the quantitative studies. Regarding the most studies variables in these studies, anxiety was measured in six articles [ 32 , 39 , 47 , 49 , 54 , 57 ], depression was measured in four of them [ 39 , 47 , 54 , 57 ], and, lastly, tension, irritation, vigor fatigue, distraction, and perspective taking were measured in two articles [ 32 , 39 ]. Three studies were classified as randomized controlled trials [ 45 , 46 , 50 ], two of them [ 45 , 50 ] showing within group improvements in social role, symptom distress, interpersonal relationships, or empathic concern, among others.…”

“…Moreover, two articles were classified as non-randomized controlled trials [ 32 , 47 ] (two groups with pre and post assessments but without randomization), showing between groups effects on depression, sleep disorders, infraction rate, or state anxiety. The other seven articles [ 18 , 39 , 48 , 49 , 54 , 56 , 57 ] were observational studies, with reporting effects on recidivism, emotional state, tension, cortisol level, or emotional stability among other variables.…”

“…Authors hypothesized that this could be due to the observed better health status of males and also due to the lower stress factors compared to women. In this regard, it must be noted that female inmates often come from disadvantaged backgrounds and have poor education [ 57 ], and the frequency of physical and sexual abuse before going to prison is high [ 60 ]. Therefore, potential differences between male and female inmates may be relevant when designing AAI programs, but this hypothesis must be confirmed in future studies.…”