Exploring Dog-Assisted Interventions in Higher Education: Students' Attitudes and Perceived Effects on Well-Being.

Cathrin Rothkopf,Silke Schworm

doi:10.3390/ijerph18094492

Abstract

Both, in the transition to university and during it, students experience a multitude of different changes. Thus, it is no surprise that many students in higher education report suffering from mental health problems. To address their concerns, animal-assisted interventions (AAIs) have gained more and more attention over the past few years. Nonetheless, AAIs have neither yet been used nor researched at German universities. Two studies were carried out to address this issue. In Study I, 709 university students answered a questionnaire evaluating their attitude towards dogs, AAIs and interest in its use at their home university. In Study II, 27 students participated in a dog-assisted intervention (DAI) in which they were allowed to interact with a qualified dog for 15 min. To gain information about their well-being, blood pressure was measured and the Basler Befindlichkeitsskala had to be answered before and after the intervention. Results showed a positive attitude among German students toward dogs, AAIs, and the use of DAIs at their home university. Although an effect on physical well-being could not be found, results showed that a 15-min DAI can improve students’ psychological well-being. Thus, higher education administrators should consider using DAIs as a way to improve student well-being.

Highlights

Pierluigi Diotaiuti andGoing to college or university can be challenging for many students worldwide. do a lot of things change when entering university, and new difficulties keep appearing
The results showed that participants had a higher overall well-being after the dog-assisted intervention (DAI)
Results revealed that students in Germany have a positive attitude towards dogs, animal-assisted interventions (AAIs) and the use of DAIs at their home university

Summary

Introduction

Do a lot of things change when entering university, and new difficulties keep appearing. University students have reported experiencing, amongst others, increasingly high levels of academic stress, depressive symptomology, anxiety, and suicidal ideation [3,4] due to academic pressure, external and internal expectations, time and financial management, geographic locations, new social environments, and family circumstances [5,6,7,8]. Stress levels increase upon entry to university and does not decrease throughout their time there. In turn, have a negative impact on students’ learning capacity, academic performance, education and employment attainment, sleep quality and quantity, substance use, as well as on psychological and physical well-being [10]

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Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion