Two Experimental Trials Examining Effects of Animal Assisted Activities on College Campuses

Introduction 

Stress is considered an inevitable part of college life, yet unmanaged stress can lead to mental health issues. Effective prevention programs are needed to reduce the impact of stress on students’ wellbeing. College-based stress reduction programs incorporating the petting of animals (referred to as Animal Assisted Activities [AAA]) have proliferated despite the lack of causal evidence on their efficacy. The present work represents the first randomized controlled trials (RCTs) examining effects of a campus-based animal-assisted stress reduction program.

Method 

In 2014-2015, we conducted two RCTs on an existing AAA at a University in the Pacific Northwest. Both studies examined effects on self-reported moment-to-moment emotional states. In Study 1, participants were randomly assigned to 10 minutes of either AAA participation (N=68), watching a slideshow of cats and dogs (N=57), or quietly waiting for program participation in an adjacent room (N=57). In Study 2, participants were randomly assigned to 10 minutes of AAA participation (N=73) watching a slideshow of cats and dogs (N=57) or waiting in line and watching others participate in the AAA (N=62). One-way ANOVAs with ITT analysis were conducted on pre-test and post-test data.

Results

In Study 1, 10 minutes of AAA resulted in significantly higher levels of positive emotion (F_content(2,166)=9.00, p<.01) and significantly lower levels of negative emotion (F_anxious(2,166)=5.55, p<.01; F_irritable(2,166)=4.25, p=.02) when compared to 10 minutes of viewing a slideshow of pets (d_content=0.65, p<.01; d_anxious=-0.55, p<.01; d_irritable=-0.47, p=.03) or quietly waiting (d_content=0.78, p<.01; d_anxious=-0.49, p=.03; d_irritable=-0.64, p=.02).

In Study 2, results were replicated (F_content(2,181)=9.30, p<.01; F_anxious(2,181)=5.74, p<.01; F_irritable(2,181)=5.44, p<.01) when comparing AAA participation to viewing a slideshow of pets (d_content=0.60, p<.01;  d_anxious=-0.59, p<.01; d_irritable=-0.49, p=.01); however, no significant difference emerged between participation in AAA and waiting and watching the program (d_content=0.21, p=.49; d_anxious=-0.11, p=.84; d_irritable=-0.13, p=.77). No significant pretest differences on emotion ratings were found between AAA and wait-and-watch groups; therefore, study authors hypothesize the result indicates a meaningful positive effect on students’ emotionality.

Conclusion

Though much research is needed to establish the efficacy of AAAs, these RCTs lend evidence of positive effects on student emotionality. Implications of these results for program design, implementation and evaluation will be discussed.