New Research to Study Effects of Service Dogs on Post 9-11 War Veterans with PTSD

Results of a just-published study led by researchers at The University of Western Australia and Telethon Kids Institute and funded by the Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) demonstrate that young children from dog-owning households are less likely to experience difficulties with their emotions and social interactions compared to children in households without a pet dog. The study was published in the journal Pediatric Research. “Our research found that having a family dog in the household was positively associated with young children’s social-emotional development,” said Dr. Hayley Christian, Associate Professor at The University of Western Australia and Telethon Kids Institute and Principal Investigator of the study. “Our research also supports spending time walking and playing with the dog for added benefits, and we hope these results will help parents, children and pets remain active at home during this time of physical distancing.” “Findings of this study demonstrate that, starting from a young age, the human-animal bond can play an important role in a child’s social and emotional development,” said Steven Feldman, Executive Director of HABRI. “HABRI is proud to support this important research, which will encourage more families to consider the benefits of dog ownership and more dog-owning families to spend quality time with their beloved pets.” The team of researchers at The University of Western Australia and Telethon Kids Institute, led by Dr. Christian, collected survey data from 1,646 households, taking into account children’s age, biological sex, sleep habits, screen time and parents’ education levels. Findings indicate that dog ownership is associated with improvements in wellbeing and social-emotional development in children. Specifically, in comparison to children in non-dog-owning households, children from dog-owning households were 23 percent less likely to have difficulties with their emotions and social interactions...

The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) announced today it has awarded a grant to the Institute for Human-Animal Connection, Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver for a new study, Exploring the impacts of animal-assisted interventions on positive youth development for adolescents in residential treatment. The study aims to better understand the clinical, behavioral and educational impacts of the Animal-Assisted Intervention (AAI) programs at Green Chimneys, a therapeutic school and treatment center for children facing social, emotional, and behavioral challenges. “In conducting this study, we hope to better understand the impacts of the Green Chimneys AAI programs on student outcomes from the perspectives of the students who regularly participate in them,” explained the study’s Principal Investigator, Kevin Morris, PhD, Director of Research of the Institute for Human-Animal Connection, University of Denver. “The findings from this project will be combined with an array of other qualitative and quantitative studies underway at Green Chimneys, which we hope will create a more detailed understanding of the impacts of these programs.” The research team, led by Dr. Morris and Dr. Megan Mueller, Co-Director of the Tufts Institute for Human-Animal Interaction, and including Erin Flynn, MSW, and Jaci Gandenberger, MSW, both from the Institute for Human-Animal Connection at the University of Denver, will conduct semi-structured interviews with 20 5th-7th grade Green Chimneys students across both residential and day programs. After conducting the interviews, key themes will be identified and reviewed for common meanings and then grouped together via identified constitutive content that links the themes to one another. These student themes will be combined with the findings of previous qualitative studies conducted with Green Chimneys teaching, clinical and animal program staff to create a nuanced understanding of the mechanisms by which...

The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) today announced funding for five new research projects focused on the positive effects of human-animal interaction on human health. These new studies will examine the influence of pet ownership, pet caretaking or animal-assisted therapy on a wide array of health conditions among a varied group of populations, including older adults, children with pediatric cancer, and suicidal adolescents. “With human-animal interaction research more clearly documenting the impact of the human-animal bond on mental and physical health, it is important to support research on how companion animals can benefit vulnerable and at-risk populations,” said Bob Vetere, HABRI President and Chair of the Board of Trustees. “This new group of research projects is particularly exciting as two of the studies will add to existing HABRI research results on the benefits of dog walking for physical activity and the impact of therapy animal visitation on the quality of life of pediatric cancer patients. Two studies will look at mental health and preventing suicide among teenagers, a population that is often overlooked.” Out of a total of more than 40 proposals received, HABRI has funded the following five research projects: Emmanuel Stamatakis, PhD (University of Sydney): Increasing Dog-walking in the Community: What is the Potential of Wearable Dog Trackers? The PAWalks Trial Megan MacDonald, PhD and Monique Udell, PhD (Oregon State University): Joint Physical and Social Well-being for Adolescents and Their Family Dog Mary Jo Gilmer, PhD, RN-BC, FAAN (Vanderbilt University): Pilot Study of the Effects of Animal-Assisted Interactions (AAI) on Quality of Life in Children with Life-Threatening Conditions (LTC) and their Parents Sandy Branson, PhD, MSN, RN (Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth): Pet Caretaking and Risk of Cognitive Impairment and Dementia in Older U.S. Adults Participating in a Nationwide Longitudinal Probability Cohort Study Alexander...