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Humans are adept at extrapolating emotional information from the facial expressions of other humans but may have difficulties identifying emotions in dogs. This can increase risk for compromised dog and human welfare. Experience with dogs, and beliefs in animal minds, may influence interspecies emotional communication, yet limited research has investigated these variables. In this study, participants (n = 122 adults) were asked to identify human and dog emotional facial expressions (happiness, fearfulness, anger/aggression) through an online experimental emotion recognition task. Experience with dogs (through dog ownership and duration of current dog ownership), emotion attribution (through beliefs about animal mind), and demographics were also measured. Results showed that fear and happiness were more easily identified in human faces, whereas aggression was more easily identified in dog faces. Duration of current dog ownership, age, and gender identity did not relate to accuracy scores, but current dog owners were significantly better at identifying happiness in dog faces than non-dog owners. Dog ownership and duration of ownership related to increased beliefs about, and confidence in, the emotional ability of dogs. Additionally, belief in animal sentience was positively correlated with accuracy scores for identifying happiness in dogs. Overall, these exploratory findings show that adult humans, particularly current dog owners and those who believe in the emotionality of dogs, can accurately identify some basic emotions in dogs but may be more skilled at identifying positive than negative emotions. The findings have implications for preventing negative human-animal interactions through intervention strategies that target animal emotionality.

Companion animals can both protect against, and increase risk for, coercive control and abuse, yet have not been considered in existing UK COVID-19 reports of domestic abuse. This study aimed to explore the nature and frequency of animal-related calls received by UK domestic abuse helpline staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, examine any lockdown-related changes, identify potential commonalities across helpline organisations, and explore perspectives about ongoing animal-related issues in the context of domestic abuse. Semi-structured virtual interviews were conducted with 11 domestic abuse helpline staff workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were subjected to thematic analysis. The analysis revealed four overarching themes. Theme 1) Lockdown-related changes in the frequency and nature of animal-related calls received. Theme 2) Animals as tools for abuse during lockdown, with subthemes a) Manipulating the family-animal bond, and b) Fears over animal safety. Theme 3) Animals as barriers to refuge during lockdown, with subthemes, a) Lack of animal-friendly accommodation, b) Lack of social support systems, and c) Animals as coping mechanisms. Theme 4) Helpline staffs’ awareness of and links to animal friendly accommodation and fostering services. The findings can inform decision making regarding appropriate long-term support needs for multi-species families with complex needs, both during and post-pandemic.

To facilitate long-term engagement with social robots, emerging evidence suggests that modelling robots on social animals with whom many people form enduring social bonds – specifically, pet dogs – may be useful. However, scientific understanding of the features of pet dogs that are important for establishing and maintaining social bonds remains limited to broad qualities that are liked, as opposed to specific behaviours. To better understand dog behaviours that are perceived as important for facilitating social bonds between owner and pet, we surveyed current dog owners (n = 153) with open-ended questions about their dogs’ behaviours. Thematic analysis identified 7 categories of behaviours perceived as important to human-dog bonding, including: 1) attunement, 2) communication, 3) consistency and predictability, 4) physical affection, 5) positivity and enthusiasm, 6) proximity, and 7) shared activities. We consider the feasibility of translating these behaviours into a social robotic platform, and signpost potential barriers moving forward. In addition to providing insight into important behaviours for human—dog bonding, this work provides a springboard for those hoping to implement dog behaviours into animal-like artificial agents designed for social roles.

Adult attitudes toward animals have received extensive research attention. By contrast, despite the importance of child-animal interactions for children’s development and animal welfare, children’s attitudes toward animals have not been fully explored. The aim of this study was to examine Spanish children’s attitudes toward animals. A twelve-item scale named the 'Brief Attitudes Towards Animals scale for Children (BATAC) was designed and completed by 416 Spanish primary school children aged between 6 and 13 years. Analyses revealed that the attitude scale had very good internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.75; Revelle's omega = 0.75; Sijtsma's glb = 0.84) and three factors, referred to here as ‘compassion’, ‘friendship’ and ‘opinion on ownership’, explained 56.47% of the variance. The sub-scales were used in subsequent analyses alongside the total score. Demographic variables such as age, school year group, ownership of a companion animal, and children's beliefs about animal mind were shown to be associated with children's attitudes toward animals. Being older, being in a higher school year, having a dog or a small mammal at home, and scoring animals higher on sentience capabilities were associated with higher pro-animal attitudes. Other pet types (i.e. cats, birds, reptiles or fish) and children's gender were not associated with attitudes to animals. This study is the first to explore attitudes toward animals among Spanish primary school children, and it highlights attitudinal differences regarding animal species and child demographic variables.

Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is increasingly researched as a potential treatment for physical and mental illness, including schizophrenia. The aim of the current paper is to systematically review randomised controlled trials (RCTs) to assess the effectiveness of AAT for schizophrenia and related disorders. We searched PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL, EMBASE, The Cochrane Library, CAB Abstracts, and Web of Science for RCTs of AAT for schizophrenia and related disorders. Primary outcomes were mental state and behaviour, clinical global response, and quality of life and wellbeing. Studies were eligible if they were RCTs that had compared AAT, or other animal-assisted intervention, to any control group using any participants with a clinical diagnosis of schizophrenia (or related disorder), regardless of age, gender, setting, or severity and duration of illness. Seven studies were identified for the review. Meta-analysis was not possible due to heterogeneity of studies, including marked differences in outcome measures and interventions. Five out of seven studies included symptoms as an outcome measure, with one reporting improvements in negative symptoms and one study reporting improvements in positive and emotional symptoms. The remaining studies reported no significant effects of AAT. Three studies included quality of life as an outcome measure but did not find any significant effects. Two studies did, however, report improvements in various measures of self-view. The use of AAT for schizophrenia remains inconclusive and there is currently not enough evidence to draw any firm conclusions due to heterogeneity of studies, risk of bias, and small samples. Rigorous, large-scale RCTs are needed to assess the true impact of AAT on schizophrenia.

Contact with animals has been increasingly recognized as being beneficial to mental health and wellbeing due to their therapeutic function, with “animal-assisted therapies” gaining in popularity. There is less research exploring how companion animals within the home impact upon mental health and wellbeing. This qualitative study explores people’s experiences of the role of their pets in reducing or exacerbating their mental health symptomology and general wellbeing. One hundred and nineteen adults, 41 with a diagnosed mental health condition, and 70 recently struggling with their mental health, completed an online survey with open and closed questions to explore their experiences of their pets and mental health. Through thematic analysis, seven key themes were identified. Six themes encompassed benefits of pets; increased hedonic tone; increased motivation and behavioral activation; reduced anxiety symptoms and panic attacks; increased social connections and reduced loneliness; reduced risk behaviors; and coping and aiding the recovery process. One theme encompassed negative impacts: increased negative feelings and emotional strain. Notably, pets reduced urges of self-harm, and prevented onsets of panic attacks and suicide attempts. Both direct mechanisms (e.g., lowering physiological anxiety through physical touch) and indirect mechanisms (e.g., elevating mood through humor, increased mindfulness and disrupting rumination) were identified. These findings encapsulate the complex roles that pets can play in people’s mental health and wellbeing, and highlights that even when the human–pet relationship is regarded positively, pets cannot “treat” mental health difficulties, and should not be viewed as such. Mental health practitioners should be aware and considerate of the importance of pets in people’s lives as well as individual differences in the potential capability of pets to both reduce or exacerbate mental health symptomology and overall wellbeing.

Beliefs concerning the mental experiences of non-human animals have been related to how people treat, see and take care of non-human animals. Whereas this issue has been the subject of several studies on adults, few have been conducted with children. Taking advantage of a recently published scale, the Child-BAM questionnaire, we aimed to explore the beliefs in animal minds of Spanish primary school children. The study also considered the effects of a child’s age, school year group, gender, and pet ownership on their beliefs in animal mind. The Child-BAM questionnaire, concerning the mental capabilities of eight different species (human, chimpanzee, dog, cow, otter, sparrow, frog and fish), was distributed at a primary school sited in Cordoba, Spain. A total of 416 participants were included aged between six and thirteen years. Each child provided scores for animals’ ability to have intelligence, experience pain, fear, happiness, and sadness, and total scores for the eight species. The results showed that children’s beliefs about animal minds differed depending on the type of animal, and that children were more likely to believe in emotional capacities of animals rather than their cognitive capabilities. Dogs achieved similar scores to humans regarding all capabilities, and higher than any other species, while the cow, fish and frog generally scored the lowest. Age, school year group, and having a companion animal at home affected beliefs in animal minds, whereas gender had no effect. This study highlights cultural similarities in children’s beliefs about animal minds and the potential importance of this variable for future research in child-animal interactions.

Despite growing research into human-nonhuman animal relationships, little is known about childhood cruelty to nonhuman animals. The purpose of this review was to investigate the potential psychological risk factors for childhood cruelty to animals. The aim was to assemble, synthesize, and evaluate the quality and breadth of existing empirical research and highlight areas in need of further study. The review reveals a myriad of potential psychological risk factors associated with childhood animal cruelty, but highlights the decrease in publications on this topic over time and the lack of high-quality publications. Investigating the factors underlying cruel behavior toward animals has great implications for animal welfare and child wellbeing, and is vital for designing and implementing successful universal and targeted interventions to prevent cruelty to animals.

This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (Intervention). The objectives are as follows:To assess the effects of animal‐assisted therapy for improving quality of life for people with stroke. A secondary objective is to assess outcomes relating to the feasibility and potential barriers of providing animal‐assisted therapy for stroke patients, including recruitment, cost, adherence, and attrition.

Many children growing up in urban areas of Western countries have limited contact with and knowledge of farm animals and food production systems. Education can play an important role in children&rsquo, s understanding of farm animal welfare issues, however, most education provided focuses on pets. There is a need to develop new farm animal welfare interventions for young children. This study examines the process of designing, developing, and evaluating the effectiveness of a new theoretically-driven digital game to teach children, aged 6&ndash, 13 years, about farm animal welfare. &lsquo, Farm Animal Welfare&rsquo, aimed to promote children&rsquo, s knowledge about animal welfare, promote beliefs about animal sentience, and promote positive attitudes and compassion. A quasi-experimental design was carried out, using self-report questionnaires that children (n = 133, test = 69, control = 64) completed in the classroom. Test and control groups were from different schools and the control group did not engage in the intervention. Findings indicate a positive impact on beliefs about animal minds, knowledge about animal welfare needs, and knowledge about welfare in different farming systems, but there was no change in compassion or attitudes about cruelty. This study presents the first evaluation of a digital animal welfare education intervention for children, demonstrating the benefits of incorporating &lsquo, serious games&rsquo, into farm animal welfare education. The findings will inform future practice around farm animal welfare education interventions for primary school children.

Children and animals can have a great impact on each other’s lives, yet little is known about the underpinnings of these relationships. Children’s interactions with animals may be influenced by their belief in animal minds, that animals are sentient and experience thoughts and feelings. This study introduces a newly developed measure of children’s beliefs about animal minds (Child-BAM) and investigates associations between Child-BAM and factors relating to positive and negative interactions with animals. Using a questionnaire-based survey of over one thousand 6 to 13 year-olds in the UK, the results show that Child-BAM was associated with higher attachment to pets (p=.000), compassion (p=.000), humane (p=.000) and caring behaviour (p=.000) towards animals, emotional attachment to animals (p=.003) and positive attitudes towards animals (p=.000). Child-BAM was also associated with less acceptance of intentional animal cruelty (p=.001), unintentional animal cruelty (p=.007), and animal neglect (p=.01). There was a significant difference in Child-BAM between children with pets (p=.014), children who had a pet of their own (p=.016), and age group (p=.000). This study enhances our understanding of the psychological underpinnings of child-animal relationships and highlights the implications for animal welfare education and for preventing childhood animal cruelty.

Background It is estimated that more than half of children living in households where intimate partner violence (IPV) occurs are also exposed to animal cruelty (AC). Although prior research links bonds with pets with higher levels of socioemotional competence among school-age children, exposure to AC may negate the protective effects of pet ownership and/or exacerbate the potentially deleterious effect of IPV on children’s mental health. Objective The current study evaluates whether and to what extent the associations between exposure to IPV and several indicators of children’s mental health vary as a function of children’s positive engagement with pets and exposure to AC. Participants and Setting Participants included 204 children (aged 7–12 years; 47% female; 57% Latinx) and their maternal caregiver who were recruited from domestic violence agencies in a western U.S. state. Method Multiple moderation analysis evaluated whether the association between children’s exposure to IPV and internalizing and posttraumatic stress symptoms vary as a function of children’s positive engagement with pets and exposure to AC. Results Analyses revealed several moderation effects for positive engagement with pets (e.g., internalizing problems: [b = −.15, t(195) = −2.66, p = .008]; posttraumatic stress symptoms: [b = −.13, t(195) = −2.24, p = .026]), whereas exposure to AC only moderated the association between IPV and anxious/depressed symptoms (b = .32, t(195) = −2.41, p = .017). Conclusions These findings highlight the potential protective effects of positive engagement with pets and importance of screening for exposure to AC when engaging in trauma-informed work with children exposed to IPV.