Animal Assisted Therapy for Incarcerated Youth: A Randomized Controlled Trial
| Autor: | Dana K May, Rita J. Casey, Annmarie Cano, Amy Johnson, Nicholas P. Seivert |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2016 |
| Předmět: |
medicine.medical_treatment
media_common.quotation_subject 05 social sciences education Animal-assisted therapy Poison control 050109 social psychology Empathy Suicide prevention Article law.invention Randomized controlled trial law Injury prevention Developmental and Educational Psychology medicine Juvenile delinquency 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences Brief intervention Life-span and Life-course Studies Psychology Applied Psychology 050104 developmental & child psychology Clinical psychology media_common |
| Popis: | Teacher's Pet, an animal assisted therapy (AAT) was assessed in a randomized controlled trial with incarcerated youth from two Midwestern United States detention facilities. The AAT was expected to increase empathy and reduce behavior problems. Participants trained dogs one hour, twice weekly for 10 weeks. A control group walked but did not train dogs for the same duration. Both groups attended one hour, twice weekly animal didactics. Of 138 participants, 117 provided complete data, and 21 had some missing data imputed. Contrary to expectation, both groups increased slightly in self-reported empathy, and staff and youth rated internalizing problems. The time youth spent with dogs plus animal didactics may have increased empathy. Increased internalizing problems could be attributed to youth gaining greater emotional awareness. Alternately, this brief intervention may not have any immediate effects, given the small changes observed. Additional follow-up of these youth and other comparison groups are needed. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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