1. Reducing university students' stress through a drop-in canine-therapy program.
- Author
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Binfet JT, Passmore HA, Cebry A, Struik K, and McKay C
- Subjects
- Animals, Diagnostic Self Evaluation, Dogs, Female, Humans, Male, Treatment Outcome, Universities, Animal Assisted Therapy, Stress, Psychological prevention & control, Students psychology
- Abstract
Background: Increasingly colleges and universities are offering canine therapy to help students de-stress as a means of supporting students' emotional health and mental well-being. Despite the popularity of such programs, there remains a dearth of research attesting to their benefits., Aims: Participants included 1960 students at a mid-size western Canadian University. The study's aims were to assess the stress-reducing effects of a weekly drop-in, canine-therapy program and to identify how long participants spent with therapy canines to reduce their stress., Methods: Demographic information was gathered, length of visit documented and a visual analog scale (VAS) was used to assess entry and exit self-reports of stress., Results: Participants' self-reported stress levels were significantly lower after the canine therapy intervention. Participants spent an average of 35 min per session., Conclusions: This study supports the use of drop-in, canine therapy as a means of reducing university students' stress. The findings hold applied significance for both counseling and animal therapy practitioners regarding the dose intervention participants seek to reduce their stress.
- Published
- 2018
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