Salivary cortisol and behavior in therapy dogs during animal-assisted interventions: A pilot study
Salivary cortisol and behavior in therapy dogs during animal-assisted interventions: A pilot study
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DOI：
10.1016/j.jveb.2014.02.005
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发表时间：
2014-05-01
影响因子：
1.8
通讯作者：
Baran, Halina
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Glenk, Lisa Maria;Kothgassner, Oswald David;Baran, Halina
动物辅助干预（AAI）与人类心理和生理健康的积极影响有关。虽然AAI的质量标准的看法是高的，只有少数调查集中在潜在的福利影响治疗犬与他们的性能在AAI。在成人精神卫生保健中开展了标准化的“多专业动物辅助干预（MTI）”项目，显著改善了患者的亲社会行为。在本研究中，我们监测唾液皮质醇和行为措施的治疗狗参加MTI组治疗会议在住院药物滥用治疗设施。工作相关活动（lay，sit，stand，walk，and run），行为（舔唇、打哈欠、举爪、身体摇晃、摇尾巴和喘息），对人类行为的反应（进食和服从命令），和唾液皮质醇水平在5个随后的MTI工作阶段的过程中在有经验的治疗犬（N = 5）中进行分析，年龄5.4 +/- 2.8岁（平均标准差）。唾液皮质醇水平下降，从presession到postsession在会议1，2和3。然而，只有在第4和第5次会议，会后皮质醇水平显着低于会前水平（P = 0.043）。在非工作日在家和工作相关的水平在治疗现场采样唾液皮质醇水平没有差异。在5个MTI会话的过程中，没有任何行为参数显著变化。舔唇（P = 0.038）和身体抖动（P = 0.021）与第5次会议期间皮质醇的下降呈正相关。研究结果表明，经过训练的狗不会因为反复参加住院药物滥用治疗而感到压力。进一步研究动物辅助治疗对犬的生理指标和行为的影响是必要的。(C)2014爱思唯尔公司All rights reserved.
Animal-assisted interventions (AAIs) have been associated with positive effects on human psychological and physiological health. Although the perception of quality standards in AAIs is high, only few investigations have focused on potential welfare implications for therapy dogs linked to their performance in AAIs. The standardized program "multiprofessional animal-assisted intervention (MTI)" has been carried out in adult mental health care, significantly improving patients' prosocial behaviors. In the present study, we monitored salivary cortisol and behavioral measures in therapy dogs that participated in MTI group therapy sessions in an in-patient substance abuse treatment facility. Work-related activity (lay, sit, stand, walk, and run), behavior (lip licking, yawning, paw lifting, body shake, tail wagging, and panting), response to human action (taking food treats and obeying commands), and salivary cortisol levels were analyzed over the course of 5 subsequent MTI working sessions in experienced therapy dogs (N = 5), aged 5.4 +/- 2.8 years (mean standard deviation). Salivary cortisol levels decreased from presession to postsession in sessions 1, 2, and 3. However, only in session 4 and 5, postsession cortisol levels were significantly lower than presession levels (P = 0.043). There was no difference between salivary cortisol levels sampled on a nonworking day at home and work-related levels sampled at the therapy site. None of the behavioral parameters varied significantly over the course of the 5 MTI sessions. Both lip licking (P = 0.038) and body shake (P = 0.021) were positively correlated with the decline in cortisol during session 5. The study results suggest that trained dogs are not being stressed by repeated participation in in-patient substance abuse therapy sessions. Further investigation into the effects of animal-assisted therapy on dogs' physiological markers and behavior is warranted. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.