The effects of Animal Assisted Therapy on autonomic and endocrine activity in adults with autism spectrum disorder:A randomized controlled trial
| Autor: | Carolien Wijker, Annelies Spek, Nina Kupper, Marie-José Enders-Slegers, Ruslan Leontjevas |
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| Přispěvatelé: | Medical and Clinical Psychology, RS-Research Line Methodology & statistics (part of UHC program), Section Methodology & Statistics, Department of Clinical Psychology, RS-Research Line Clinical psychology (part of UHC program) |
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
Acute effects
medicine.medical_specialty SEX-DIFFERENCES medicine.medical_treatment Animal-assisted therapy SALIVARY ALPHA-AMYLASE Stress law.invention 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Dogs Endocrinology Randomized controlled trial law Animal Assisted Therapy Heart Rate Internal medicine Intervention (counseling) Intellectual disability medicine Heart rate variability Endocrine system Animals Humans Adults 030212 general & internal medicine Autism spectrum disorder Cardiac autonomic control HEART-RATE-VARIABILITY business.industry CORTISOL medicine.disease SELF REACTIVITY 030227 psychiatry Psychiatry and Mental health INDIVIDUALS CAREGIVERS business RESPONSES STRESS REDUCTION |
| Zdroj: | Wijker, C, Kupper, N, Leontjevas, R, Spek, A A & Enders-Slegers, M J 2021, ' The effects of Animal Assisted Therapy on autonomic and endocrine activity in adults with autism spectrum disorder : A randomized controlled trial ', General Hospital Psychiatry, vol. 72, pp. 36-44 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2021.05.003 General Hospital Psychiatry: Psychiatry, Medicine and Primary Care, 72, 36-44. Elsevier Inc. General Hospital Psychiatry, 72, 36-44. Elsevier Inc. |
| ISSN: | 0163-8343 |
| Popis: | Objective: Stress and its sequelae are very common in adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) without an intellectual disability (ID). Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) has shown physiological stress-reductive effects in children with ASD. The aim of the current study was to examine the acute psychophysiological response to an AAT session, and to examine the longer-term stress-physiological effects of the intervention, up until 10 weeks post-treatment, in comparison to waiting-list controls. Method: A randomized controlled trial with pre-intervention (T0), post-intervention (T1: 10 weeks) and followup (T2: 20 weeks) measurements of neuroendocrine and cardiovascular measures, was conducted in 53 adults with ASD (N = 27 in intervention arm; N = 26 in control arm). Within the intervention group, stressphysiological data were collected during the 5th therapy session (acute effects). Data were analyzed with mixed models for outcome measures cortisol, alpha-amylase, heart rate variability and sympathetic activity. Results: The AAT interventional session was significantly associated with reduced cortisol levels (beta = -0.41, p = .010), while parasympathetic and sympathetic cardiovascular activity remained unaltered. No significant changes were found for stress-physiological measures at post-treatment time points. Conclusions: Acute stress reduction, reflected in significant reduction in cortisol levels, was found during an AAT session in adults with ASD, without ID. More research is needed to explore to what extent the specific factors of AAT have contributed to the decrease in cortisol and whether stress reduction is possible for the longer-term. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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