As the field of animal-assisted intervention is multidisciplinary, a wide and extensive search was conducted encompassing medical and scientific databases. Studies compared outcomes of individuals with an assistance dog to before they received the dog (six longitudinal studies), to participants on the waitlist to receive an assistance dog (five longitudinal and seven cross-sectional studies), or to participants without an assistance dog (eight cross-sectional studies). The results of Harlow's experiments indicated that this early maternal deprivation led to serious and irreversible emotional damage. In this review, we have provided a primer on permanent and reversible lesion techniques currently in use in animal research, and a brief discussion of how they might . Limitations of Animal Tests - Humane Society International For full functionality of this site, please enable JavaScript. After the initial title and abstract review, articles were screened based on full text. In fact, nine new articles were identified (three theses, six publications) that had been published since the last review on this topic in 2012 [9]. The findings from Lorenz's research (as outlined below) offers support for the idea that infants have an attachment gene and that they imprint on a caregiver not long after birth. This means that any studies on animals cannot be accurately related to humans, making them invalid. Lorenz, animal studies of attachment: Lorenz's research investigates the Evolutionary Explanation of attachment suggesting that infants are pre-programmed to form an attachment from the second that they are born. Animal models are used in experiments in the behavioural neurosciences that aim to contribute to the prevention and treatment of cognitive and affective disorders in human beings, such as anxiety and depression. Another potential explanation for inconsistent findings across studies lies in the inherent variability of the assistance dog intervention itself. Still, some harms will remain, and ethically, one must weigh those harms against the potential benefits (for humans and for the animals themselves) to be obtained from the research. Medical service dogs for diabetes and seizure alert/response were rarely studied [16, 35], and were assessed in conjunction with mobility service dogs rather than on their own. Why Kids With Pets Are Better Off | Psychology Today Thus, this pattern may be better explained by the file drawer effect in which there is a bias towards publishing positive findings over null findings [79]. PDF American Psychological Association (APA) Some connect animal testing to racism or sexism, arguing that all living creatures are worthy of respect and that making animals suffer for any reason is morally wrong. [45] found higher health-related quality of life among those with a mobility service dog compared to a control group, but not among those with a hearing dog. Case study advantages and disadvantages. Case Study Advantages and Exclusions included those based on population, outcomes, and methodology. Service dogs can assist individuals with physical disabilities (e.g. Many times animals have been tested on a drug and the drug was considered not harmful. alerting or responding to medical crises such hypoglycemia or seizures), and individuals with mental health disorders (e.g. [16] found that those with a mobility or medical service dog reported significantly higher work/school functioning than a control group. On the other hand, Donovan [28] found no change in emotional functioning 4-months after receiving mobility service dog. [15] found a significant increase in pep, energy, and feeling less worn out 3- and 6-months after receiving a mobility service dog while three studies found no relationship between the vitality domain and having a mobility service dog [17, 28] or a mobility, hearing, or medical service dog [35]. Citation: Rodriguez KE, Greer J, Yatcilla JK, Beck AM, OHaire ME (2020) The effects of assistance dogs on psychosocial health and wellbeing: A systematic literature review. Four studies found no effect of having a hearing dog [29] or mobility service dog [39, 41] on the UCLA Loneliness Scale. Experiments can take place to determine if a product or idea will work as intended. Other null findings included no effect of having a guide dog on social conflict stress and interactions with others [42], no improvement in social relationships 12-months after receiving a mobility service dog, and null findings regarding self-reported friendship and companionship with a mobility or medical service dog [16] or 4-months after receiving a mobility service dog [28]. [32] found that participants reported worse occupational functioning 7-months after receiving a hearing dog while Davis [44] found that individuals with a mobility service dog reported worse occupational functioning compared to a control group. Kerri E. Rodriguez, of Agriculture, and, at the local level by Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (IACUCs). The deprived monkeys became unable to integrate socially, unable to form attachments, and were severely emotionally disturbed. 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. Three Blind Mice, See How They Run: A Critique of Behavioral Research However, when more than one few companies uses the same resources and provide competitive parity are also known as rare resources. In addition, null findings were reported on standardized measures of family role 3-, 6-, and 12-months after receiving a mobility service dog [15], discrimination and social inclusion 12-months after receiving a mobility service dog [34], and family and social self-concept among mobility dog users compared to a control group [37]. The CES-D asks participants to rate how often they had experienced 20 depressive symptoms in the prior week using statements such as I thought my life had been a failure, while the POMS asks participants to rate from not at all to extremely how they feel right now using single words such as sad and unhappy. It is also possible that some standardized measures do not capture the intended effects from having an assistance dog. Conducting periodic systematic reviews of this research is crucial to both disseminate knowledge as well as to identify knowledge gaps for future studies [20]. However, results suggested that for most outcomes, having an assistance dog had no effect on psychosocial health and wellbeing. Discover a faster, simpler path to publishing in a high-quality journal. Of the 44 positive comparisons, 36 (82%) were from published papers and 8 (18%) were from unpublished theses. A study such as this not only helps us better understand how the brain works, but it also has enormous potential for developing treatments for people who have abnormal patterns of brain activity, such as those with epilepsy or Parkinsons disease. mobility or guide), thus restricting human participants to a single category of impairments. In these studies, positive findings (i.e., better social functioning in those with an assistance dog compared to a control group) may be partially attributed to an unmeasured variable driving the group difference [77]. At this stage, articles were excluded if they were (1) non-English; (2) written for a magazine or other non-peer-reviewed source; (3) book reviews, book chapters, editorials, letters, or opinion papers that did not collect original data; (4) conference abstracts or proceedings; (5) studies assessing companion, therapy, or emotional support animals that were not trained for tasks or work related to a specific disability. The use of animal models in behavioural neuroscience research Only 5/27 studies (19%) described dogs breeds and sources. Of the 100 null comparisons, 43 (43%) were from published papers and 57 (57%) were from unpublished theses. After receiving an assistance dog, individuals retrospectively report increases to their social, emotional, and psychological health [e.g., 1012]. Of 12 total vitality comparisons, 6 (50%) were positive (improved or better vitality in comparison to pre- or control conditions), 6 (50%) were null (no difference) and zero (0%) were negative (decreased or worse vitality in comparison to pre- or control conditions). They argue that all life is sacred and animals go through a lot of distress during experiments in which they involuntarily take part. This systematic review summarized the current state of knowledge regarding the effects of owning an assistance dog (including service, guide, hearing, and/or medical alert or response dogs) on standardized outcomes of psychosocial health and wellbeing of individuals with disabilities. You can learn more about some of this research, as well as the ethical and regulatory issues that are involved, by consulting online resources such as Speaking of Research. The remaining studies were quasi-experimental in that they did not use randomized assignment to treatment or control groups. However, Lundqvist et al. However, only 44% (12/27) of studies reported statistical values (e.g. As a final consideration, it is possible that assistance dogs may not confer significant psychosocial benefits as quantified by some of the standardized measures used. The study of nonhuman animals has actually played a huge role in psychology, and it continues to do so today. Study characteristics of N = 27 studies separated by longitudinal and cross-sectional designs, ordered by publication year. A majority of studies (18/27; 67%) assessed outcomes from mobility service dogs for individuals with physical disabilities. Another early review published by Sachs-Ericsson and colleagues in 2002 [8] summarized 14 quantitative studies on both standardized and nonstandardized outcomes following mobility service dog or hearing dog placement (omitting guide dogs). Therefore, detailed descriptions of study populations is critical for helping the field understand for whom assistance dogs are beneficial regarding social, emotional, or psychological health and under what contexts or conditions [74].
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