Did you know that interacting with pets is good for your mental health?  Teachers have shared numerous stories about how classroom pets have helped students deal with stress and emotions, and chances are, you can probably share your own story on how a pet in your life has helped brighten your day.  But we also can look at research that shows us exactly what animal-assisted interventions (AAI) are doing to improve mental health:

  • Increase perceptions of social support 13, 16
  • Support people during times of crisis 4, 9, 10
  • Assist professionals in providing trauma recovery 17, 19
  • Decrease levels of general anxiety 6, 14, 24
  • Alleviate symptoms of depression 20
  • Assist in formalized mental health treatment 3, 5, 11, 12, 15, 23

Studies show us that therapy animals can help us feel better, but can they also help us learn?

Research on AAI in learning environments has shown that therapy animals may help with the following aspects:

  • Foster reading abilities, such as reading rate, accuracy, fluency, and comprehension 22
  • Enhance primary skills such as object recognition and categorization 7, 8
  • Mitigate stress levels, especially surrounding events like final exams 1, 18, 21
  • Provide a source of motivation, stimulation, and focus in learning 8

The answer is YES, therapy animals can positively impact students academically, socially, and emotionally. Whether helping to encourage struggling readers, motivating students to focus on their learning, or providing a non-judgmental friend, therapy animals can make an incredible difference.

To view more studies and research on children and the benefits of human-animal interaction, visit https://habri.org/research/child-health/.  You can also learn more about animal-assisted intervention by visiting petpartners.org or about the benefits of classroom animals by visiting https://petsintheclassroom.org/benefits-of-classroom-animals/.

References:

  1. Barker, S. B., Barker, R. T., McCain, N. L., & Schubert, C. M. (2016). A randomized cross-over exploratory study of the effect of visiting therapy dogs on college student stress before final exams. Anthrozoös, 29(1), 35-46.
  2. Barker, S. B., Knisely, J. S., Schubert, C. M., Green, J. D., & Ameringer, S. (2015). The effect of an animal-assisted intervention on anxiety and pain in hospitalized children. Anthrozoös, 28(1), 101-112.
  3. Barker, S. B., & Wolen, A. R. (2008). The benefits of human–companion animal interaction: A review. Journal of Veterinary Medical Education, 35(4), 487-495.
  4. Chandler, C. K. (2008). Animal assisted therapy with Hurricane Katrina survivors. Based on a program presented at the ACA Annual Conference and Exhibition, Honolulu, HI. In VISTAS online. Retrieved from https://www. counseling. org/resources/library/vistas/2008-VOnline-MSWord-files/Chandler. pdf.
  5. Chu, C. I., Liu, C. Y., Sun, C. T., & Lin, J. (2009). The effect of animal-assisted activity on inpatients with schizophrenia. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 47(12), 42-48.
  6. Ein, N., Li, L., & Vickers, K. (2018). The effect of pet therapy on the physiological and subjective stress response: A meta‐analysis. Stress and Health.
  7. Gee, N. R., Church, M. T., & Altobelli, C. L. (2010). Preschoolers make fewer errors on an object categorization task in the presence of a dog. Anthrozoös, 23(3), 223-230.
  8. Gee, N. R., Gould, J. K., Swanson, C. C., & Wagner, A. K. (2012). Preschoolers categorize animate objects better in the presence of a dog. Anthrozoös, 25(2), 187-198.
  1. Graham, L. B. (2009). Dogs Bring Comfort in the Midst of a Natural Disaster. Reflections: Narratives of Professional Helping, 15(1), 76-84.
  2. Greenbaum, S. D. (2006). Introduction to working with Animal Assisted Crisis Response animal handler teams. International Journal of Emergency Mental Health, 8(1), 49-63.
  3. Hoagwood, K. E., Acri, M., Morrissey, M., & Peth-Pierce, R. (2017). Animal-assisted therapies for youth with or at risk for mental health problems: A systematic review. Applied Developmental Science, 21(1), 1-13.
  4. Marr, C. A., French, L., Thompson, D., Drum, L., Greening, G., Mormon, J., Henderson, I., & Hughes, C. W. (2000). Animal-assisted therapy in psychiatric rehabilitation. Anthrozoös, 13(1), 43-47. [ 12 ]
  5. Maujean, A., Pepping, C. A., & Kendall, E. (2015). A systematic review of randomized controlled trials of animal-assisted therapy on psychosocial outcomes. Anthrozoös, 28(1), 23-36.
  6. Nagengast, S. L., Baun, M. M., Megel, M., & Leibowitz, J. M. (1997). The effects of the presence of a companion animal on physiological arousal and behavioral distress in children during a physical examination. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 12(6), 323-330.
  7. Nepps, P., Stewart, C. N., & Bruckno, S. R. (2014). Animal-assisted activity: Effects of a complementary intervention program on psychological and physiological variables. Journal of Evidence-based Complementary & Alternative Medicine, 19(3), 211-215.
  8. O’Haire, M. E. (2017). Research on animal-assisted intervention and autism spectrum disorder, 2012–2015. Applied Developmental Science, 21(3), 200-216.
  1. O’Haire, M. E., Guérin, N. A., & Kirkham, A. C. (2015). Animal-assisted intervention for trauma: A systematic literature review. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 1121.
  2. Reynolds, J. A., & Rabschutz, L. (2011). Studying for exams just got more relaxing—Animal-assisted activities at the University of Connecticut Library. College & Undergraduate Libraries, 18(4), 359-367.
  3. Stewart, L. A., Bruneau, L., & Elliott, A. (2016). The role of animal-assisted interventions in addressing trauma-informed care. ACA Vistas, Spring, 15. [ 13 ]
  4. Souter, M. A., & Miller, M. D. (2007). Do animal-assisted activities effectively treat depression? A meta-analysis. Anthrozoös, 20(2), 167- 180.
  5. Trammell, J. P. (2017). The effect of therapy dogs on exam stress and memory. Anthrozoös, 30(4), 607-621.
  6. Treat, W. A. (2013). Animal-assisted literacy instruction for students with identified learning disabilities: Examining the effects of incorporating a therapy dog into guided oral reading sessions (Doctoral dissertation, UC Santa Cruz).
  7. Villalta-Gil, V., Roca, M., Gonzalez, N., Domenec, E., Cuca, Escanilla, A., … & Schi-Can group. (2009). Dog-assisted therapy in the treatment of chronic schizophrenia inpatients. Anthrozoös, 22(2), 149-159.
  8. Ward‐Griffin, E., Klaiber, P., Collins, H. K., Owens, R. L., Coren, S., & Chen, F. S. (2018). Petting away pre‐exam stress: The effect of therapy dog sessions on student well‐being. Stress and Health.