4 research outputs found
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Mapping the domains of human-animal interaction quality (QHAI)
Animal assisted activities (AAAs) have become increasingly popular on college campuses in the United States in response to prevalent mental health issues. While initial studies suggest positive program outcomes for students, little is known about how, under what conditions, and for whom AAAs are an effective means of preventing mental health issues. In particular, little is known about program mediators and moderators, including the impact of the quality of interactions between humans and animals during these programs. This study uses a symbolic interactionist perspective to explore the role of interaction quality within a college-based, animal-assisted stress prevention program. A grounded theory approach was used to identify behaviors indicative of interaction quality between humans and animals during programming. Results include descriptions of behaviors within categories according to handler behavior (e.g., engagement, warmth), dog behavior (e.g., engagement, avoidance), student behavior (e.g., engagement with dog), dynamic interactions (e.g., handler-dog connection), and group behavior (e.g., dispersion). Results will provide a foundation to support further exploration and assessment of human-animal interaction quality and potential implications for AAAs
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Evaluation of Undergraduate Students' Responsiveness to a 4-Week University-Based Animal-Assisted Stress Prevention Program
An increase in the prevalence of stress among college students is compromising their mental health and academic success. One approach to stress prevention that has seen a surge in implementation is the use of university-based Animal Visitation Programs (AVPs). Despite their popularity and promising causal findings, program evaluations on students' responsiveness (e.g., enjoyment, attendance, perceptions on usefulness and behavioral change) have yet to be conducted. Using a mixed methods approach, this study reports results of a program evaluation embedded in a randomized controlled trial examining the efficacy of incorporating various levels (0%, 50% or 100%) of Human Animal Interaction (HAI) into a four-week long university-based stress prevention program resulting in three conditions: (1) Evidence-based Academic Stress Management content only (0% HAI), (2) Human Animal Interaction with therapy dogs only (100% HAI) and (3) equal combinations of Academic Stress Management and HAI (50% HAI). Responsiveness (e.g., enjoyment, usefulness, recommendation and behavioral change) was assessed quantitatively and qualitatively using self-reported survey data collected immediately following the program and again six weeks later. The results suggest that combining evidence-based content presentations with HAI was associated with higher levels of enjoyment, perceived usefulness, and likelihood of recommendation compared to presenting content presentation or HAI alone, although doing so did not result in differences in perceived behavioral change by condition. Themes of students' perceptions on the role of HAI in shaping program enjoyment, usefulness, recommendations and behavioral change were described
Evaluation of Undergraduate Students’ Responsiveness to a 4-Week University-Based Animal-Assisted Stress Prevention Program
An increase in the prevalence of stress among college students is compromising their mental health and academic success. One approach to stress prevention that has seen a surge in implementation is the use of university-based Animal Visitation Programs (AVPs). Despite their popularity and promising causal findings, program evaluations on students’ responsiveness (e.g., enjoyment, attendance, perceptions on usefulness and behavioral change) have yet to be conducted. Using a mixed methods approach, this study reports results of a program evaluation embedded in a randomized controlled trial examining the efficacy of incorporating various levels (0%, 50% or 100%) of Human Animal Interaction (HAI) into a four-week long university-based stress prevention program resulting in three conditions: (1) Evidence-based Academic Stress Management content only (0% HAI), (2) Human Animal Interaction with therapy dogs only (100% HAI) and (3) equal combinations of Academic Stress Management and HAI (50% HAI). Responsiveness (e.g., enjoyment, usefulness, recommendation and behavioral change) was assessed quantitatively and qualitatively using self-reported survey data collected immediately following the program and again six weeks later. The results suggest that combining evidence-based content presentations with HAI was associated with higher levels of enjoyment, perceived usefulness, and likelihood of recommendation compared to presenting content presentation or HAI alone, although doing so did not result in differences in perceived behavioral change by condition. Themes of students’ perceptions on the role of HAI in shaping program enjoyment, usefulness, recommendations and behavioral change were described