The effects of assistance dogs on psychosocial health and wellbeing: A systematic literature review

Beyond the functional tasks that assistance dogs are trained for, there is growing literature describing their benefits on the psychosocial health and wellbeing of their handlers. However, this research is not only widely disparate but, despite its growth, has not been reviewed since 2012. Our objective was to identify, summarize, and methodologically evaluate studies quantifying the psychosocial effects of assistance dogs for individuals with physical disabilities. Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic review was conducted across seven electronic databases. Records were independently screened by two authors. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they assessed outcomes from guide, hearing, medical, or mobility service dogs, if they collected original data on handlers’ psychosocial functioning, and if the outcome was measured quantitatively with a validated, standardized measure. Studies on psychiatric service dogs, emotional support dogs, and pet dogs were excluded. Of 1,830 records screened, 24 articles were identified (12 publications, 12 theses) containing 27 studies (15 cross-sectional, 12 longitudinal). Studies assessed the effects of mobility (18), hearing (7), guide (4), and medical (2) assistance dog partnerships with an average sample size of N = 83. An analysis of 147 statistical comparisons across the domains of psychological health, quality of life, social health, and vitality found that 68% of comparisons were null, 30% were positive in the hypothesized direction, and 2% were negative. Positive outcomes included significant effects of having an assistance dog on psychological wellbeing, emotional functioning, self-esteem, and vitality. However, it is of note that several methodological weaknesses of the studies make it difficult to draw any definitive conclusions, including inadequate reporting and a failure to account for moderating or confounding variables. Future research will benefit from stronger methodological rigor and reporting to account for heterogeneity in both humans and assistance dogs as well as continued high-quality replication.

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IMPACT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH STATUS DURING LOCKDOWN PERIOD: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Romanian Journal of Neurology ◽

10.37897/rjn.2021.2.14 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 20 (2) ◽

pp. 217-223

Author(s):

Sonu Punia ◽

◽

Mohini Mohini ◽

Shailja Sharma ◽

Varun Singh ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Status ◽

Rural Community ◽

Psychological Health ◽

Online Survey ◽

Demographic Data ◽

Psychosocial Health ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Prevention Measure

Objective. The aim of this research was access the effect of lockdown on the psychological health status of people. Methods. This was an online questionnaire survey developed and circulated among people using snow-ball sampling techniques from April to mid of June 2020. The online survey collected information on demographic data and psychosocial health elements. Results. This study included 604 peoples (59.1% were female and 40.8% were females) of Haryana. Of the total respondents, 57.6% were in age group of 18-30 years, 40.8% were in 31-45 years and 1.5% was in 45-60 years group. 90% of people have normal self- reported BMI, 6.5% were overweight, 3% were underweight and 0.5% people have obesity. 74% respondents were graduate, 11.5% postgraduate, 3.2% were PhD, and 9.2% were 12th pass. 31.8% were unemployed, 35.9% were student, 15.8% regular government employee, 4.7% were self- employed and 2.5% were adhoc/contract employee. 79.5% people reside in urban community and 16% in rural community and 4.5% in semi-urban area. Most of the respondents have agree with the statement that lockdown induced constant sense of insecurity (72.9%); anxiety (58.7%),psychological stress (66.4%); work & financial stress (52.4%), phobia of infection (50.9%); stigma towards symptomatic people, which might be because of simple flu (55.2%); stress from watching & listening COVID-19 news (38.6%); stress from practice of prevention measure (31.9%). Most of people also agree with that behavior-change modification (follow preventive regulations) can improve mental stress (53.2%). Conclusion. Majority of people has realized the lockdown have significant impact on psychological health status of people.

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Raising an Assistance Dog Puppy—Stakeholder Perspectives on What Helps and What Hinders

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani10010128 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 128

Author(s):

Dac Mai ◽

Tiffani Howell ◽

Pree Benton ◽

Pauleen C. Bennett

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Thematic Analysis ◽

Support Programs ◽

Future Research ◽

Advanced Training ◽

Behavioural Development ◽

Intrapersonal Factors ◽

Assistance Dogs ◽

Stakeholder Perspectives ◽

Assistance Dog

Assistance dog puppies live with their raisers for up to 16 months before entering advanced training and, hopefully, becoming qualified to help people with a disability. Almost half of the puppies fail to meet the behavioural standards required for assistance dogs, and some puppy raisers produce more behaviourally favourable puppies than others. It is unclear what factors influence puppy-raising practice quality. To understand this, we interviewed 17 participants, including experienced puppy raisers (n = 8), provider organisation staff (n = 4), and those who have served both as puppy raisers and staff (n = 5). Results of a thematic analysis suggest three groups of influencing factors, namely intrapersonal factors, social support, and puppy characteristics. Intrapersonal factors such as expectations, competency, perseverance and passion were reported to influence puppy raisers’ experiences, puppy-raising quality, and continuity of service. Contextual factors such as availability of social support (informational and emotional supports) and less-demanding puppies both led to positive puppy-raising experiences, while the former also contributed to puppy raisers’ perceptions of competency. Future research should quantitatively examine the interrelationships of these factors concerning puppies’ behavioural development. Meanwhile, organisations could consider these factors when developing their recruitment and puppy-raiser support programs.

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The effects of service dogs on psychosocial health and wellbeing for individuals with physical disabilities or chronic conditions

Disability and Rehabilitation ◽

10.1080/09638288.2018.1524520 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 42 (10) ◽

pp. 1350-1358 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Kerri E. Rodriguez ◽

Jessica Bibbo ◽

Marguerite E. O’Haire

Keyword(s):

Chronic Conditions ◽

Physical Disabilities ◽

Psychosocial Health ◽

Service Dogs ◽

Health And Wellbeing

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Impact of Family Conflict on the Psychosocial Behaviour in Male Adolescents

Journal of Nepal Paediatric Society ◽

10.3126/jnps.v32i2.6147 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 32 (2) ◽

pp. 124-131 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

GS Chhabra ◽

MK Sodhi

Keyword(s):

Family Involvement ◽

Family Relationships ◽

Psychosocial Functioning ◽

Parental Monitoring ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Future Research ◽

Childhood And Adolescence ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Male Adolescents ◽

Medical College

Introduction: Accepting and supportive family relationships during childhood and adolescence may have long-term associations with psychosocial functioning into adulthood. Cross-sectional studies provide evidence by which positive family relationships promote adolescent health by increasing the likelihood of positive outcomes including higher educational and occupational attainment and reducing the risk for negative outcomes including suicidal behaviour and poor health. Materials and Methods: The sample consisted of 500 male adolescents from the urban and rural field practice areas in the vicinity of Sri Guru Ram Das Medical College Amritsar. Cross sectional study was conducted to examine the relation between familial conflict problems and psychosocial/behavioural disorders in adolescents. Results: Almost one third (33%) adolescents were having parental and family dispute problems. These problems were significantly higher in middle adolescence (14-16 years), adolescents of large extended families (>8 members) and in lower socioeconomic status. Residence had no significant relation to family problems in the adolescents. On correlation, poor and unhealthy family atmosphere had more chances in adolescents of having greater academic problems, depression, suicidal thoughts, substance abuse and more sexual activity. Conclusion: Family involvement, family structure, parental values, parental monitoring and parent-child communication are important factors influencing critical life choices in teens. The family support and communication should be improved through these education programs to develop healthy psychosocial and sexual attitudes and counteract unsafe behaviours in the adolescents. Future research is needed to identify additional pathways underlying this association, and the extent to which these factors are modifiable.J. Nepal Paediatr. Soc. 32(2) 2012 124-131 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jnps.v32i2.6147

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Service Dog Schools for PTSD as a Tertiary Prevention Modality: Assessment Based on Assistance Dogs

Edelweiss Psychiatry Open Access ◽

10.33805/2641-8991.119 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 29-41 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Claude Vincent ◽

Edouard Auger ◽

Vicky Lavoie ◽

Markus Besemann ◽

Noel Champagne ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Qualitative Content Analysis ◽

Psychiatric Service ◽

Theoretical Domains Framework ◽

The United States ◽

Tertiary Prevention ◽

Post Traumatic Stress ◽

Service Dogs ◽

Assistance Dogs ◽

Psychiatric Service Dogs

Psychiatric service dogs compensate in terms of social and physical cognition for people who suffer from chronic post-traumatic stress, reassuring them with their canine behavior in public places, at home and in relationships interpersonal skills with strangers. There are no certification and standards for schools that train service dogs in Canada and the United States. Does the fact that training is different from one school to another have an impact on the effectiveness of the assistance dog for his master? To identify all aspects that closely reflect tertiary prevention, this exploratory case study documents the processes and services supporting the assignment of service dogs to veterans with PTSD and the subsequent follow-up conducted at various dog training schools; and it evaluates and compares the processes and services in place. The case study included four data collection methods involving 31 veterans, 7 school delegates, 7 trainers and 23 dogs. Qualitative content analysis and all the information collected was rated according to the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) and Assistance Dogs International (ADI) criteria. Results indicated a TDF-scoring across 12 domains ranged from 6/24 to 16/24. The schools moderately reflected ADI-standards. Tertiary prevention recommendations were proposed for dog trainers to better address the domains that needed improving at the time of the study (knowledge about PTSD, beliefs about capabilities, behavioral regulation, environmental context and resources, beliefs about consequences, nature of behaviors).

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Psychometric Properties of the Stress Control Mindset Measure in University Students from Australia and the UK

10.31234/osf.io/8x5zu ◽

2019 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jacob J Keech ◽

Sheina Orbell ◽

Martin S Hagger ◽

Frances O'Callaghan ◽

Kyra Hamilton

Keyword(s):

Psychometric Properties ◽

Convergent Validity ◽

Discriminant Validity ◽

Performance Outcomes ◽

Future Research ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Stress Control ◽

Health And Wellbeing ◽

And Performance

Introduction: Beliefs about the consequences of stress, stress mindsets, are associated with health and performance outcomes under stress. This article reports the development and examination of the psychometric properties of a measure of stress mindset: The Stress Control Mindset Measure (SCMM). The measure is consistent with theory on mindsets about self-attributes and conceptualizes stress mindset as the extent to which individuals endorse beliefs that stress can be enhancing. Methods: The study adopted a correlational cross-sectional survey design in two student samples. Undergraduate students from an Australian university (Sample 1, N = 218) and a UK university (Sample 2, N = 214) completed the SCMM and measures of health and wellbeing outcomes. Results: Confirmatory factor analyses supported a four-factor structure and strict measurement invariance across samples (ΔCFI < .01). Reliability, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and concurrent validity of the overall SCMM was supported in both samples. Incremental validity was supported for most outcomes, accounting for significantly more variance (between 2.2% and 5.9%) in health and wellbeing outcomes than an existing measure. Conclusions: Current data provide preliminary support for the SCMM as a reliable and valid measure with good psychometric properties and theoretically consistent relations with health outcomes under stress. Findings provide initial evidence supporting the potential utility of the SCMM in future research examining relations between stress mindsets and health and performance outcomes.

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The Effect of Pets on Human Mental Health and Wellbeing during COVID-19 Lockdown in Malaysia

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani11092689 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (9) ◽

pp. 2689

Author(s):

Dasha Grajfoner ◽

Guek Nee Ke ◽

Rachel Mei Ming Wong

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Psychological Health ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Positive Emotions ◽

Movement Control ◽

Psychological Wellbeing ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Health And Wellbeing ◽

Pet Owners

The adverse impact of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) on mental and physical health has been witnessed across the globe. Associated mental health and wellbeing issues include stress, social isolation, boredom, and anxiety. Research suggests human–animal interactions may improve the overall wellbeing of an individual. However, this has been less explored in Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia and the present study examined the effect of pets on the mental health and wellbeing of Malaysians during the lockdown, or movement control order (MCO), due to COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional survey was carried out, with 448 Malaysian participants, who completed online assessments for psychological outcomes, psychological wellbeing, positive–negative emotions, resilience, and coping self-efficacy. Results indicate that pet owners reported significantly better coping self-efficacy, significantly more positive emotions, and better psychological wellbeing, but contrary to expectations, there was no differences on other measures. Among pet owners, cat owners reported more positive emotions and greater wellbeing than dog owners. The results show that that pets have some impact on improved psychological health of their owners and could be integrated into recovery frameworks for promoting mental health and wellbeing.

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Alterations in psychosocial health of people affected by asbestos poisoning

Revista de Saúde Pública ◽

10.1590/s0034-8910.2015049005445 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 49 (0) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Miguel Clemente ◽

Adela Reig-Botella ◽

Juan Carlos Prados

Keyword(s):

Psychological Health ◽

Psychosocial Health ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Paranoid Ideation ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Work Related ◽

The Social ◽

Primary Measure ◽

Healthy Participants

OBJECTIVE To analyze the state of psychosocial and mental health of professionals affected by asbestos.METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted with 110 professionals working in the Ferrolterra region of Spain, who were affected by asbestos poisoning. This group was compared with a group of 70 shipyard workers with no manifestation of work-related diseases. All the participants were male with a mean age of 67 years. This study was conducted in 2013, between January and June, and used the SCL-90 questionnaire by Derogatis as its primary measure for research. This questionnaire consists of 9 variables that measure psychosomatic symptoms. In addition, an overall index of psychosomatic gravity was calculated. The participants were also asked two questions concerning their overall perception of feeling good. Data were analyzed by ANOVA and logistic regression.RESULTS Participants affected by asbestos poisoning showed high occurrence rates of psychological health variables such as somatization, obsessive-compulsive, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation, psychoticism, and global severity index.CONCLUSIONS Social interaction as a differentiating factor between workers affected by work-related chronic syndromes as compared to healthy participants will possibly aid in the development of intervention programs by improving the social network of affected individuals.

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