They Call it Puppy Love: Epidemiology and Biology of the Child-Dog Bond

描述（由申请人提供）：越来越多的证据表明，宠物的饲养和人与动物的互动（HAI）以及儿童与宠物的依恋可能对自闭症和其他残疾儿童有益。然而，在有其他行为和情绪障碍风险的社区儿童样本中，HAI和依恋是否具有类似的保护作用尚不清楚。同样，儿童与狗之间的关系的潜在保护作用是否会受到儿童的环境、社会和心理特征的影响，目前还没有得到系统的评估。最后，儿童宠物依恋的积极影响的潜在神经生物学机制在很大程度上尚未被发现。使用基于社区的10至18岁儿童样本，这些儿童来自一个正在进行的、目前资助的项目（“从社区到神经元及其他”，5DP2 OD003021），本提案旨在通过对儿童-狗纽带的流行病学和心理和生物学基础的三阶段研究来解决我们知识中的这些空白。在第一阶段，我们将以社区为基础，对1200 - 1500个有6 - 8年级青少年儿童的家庭的宠物拥有量进行特征描述，这些家庭之前参加了一项以学校为基础的青少年问题行为研究。在第二阶段，我们将确定孩子与狗关系质量的个体差异是否与攻击性、犯罪、药物使用和抑郁的个体差异有关，以及儿童气质和/或环境条件是否调节或缓和这些关系，这些样本来自第一阶段的200名儿童及其兄弟姐妹和照顾者，他们都参与了PI正在进行的研究。最后，我们将通过功能磁共振成像（fMRI）研究48名儿童对宠物狗图片的大脑激活反应，开始探索儿童-狗纽带潜在的神经生物学机制，并将通过比较催产素、抗利尿激素、抗利尿激素和抗利尿激素的变化，进一步探索儿童-狗纽带潜在保护作用的生物学机制。养狗的孩子（N = 24）和不养宠物的孩子（N = 24）在轻度压力后的皮质醇水平。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): There is growing evidence that pet ownership and human-animal interaction (HAI) and child-pet attachment may be beneficial for children with autism and other disabilities. However, whether HAI and attachment confers similar protective effects among a community sample of children at-risk for other behavioral and emotional disorders is unknown. Similarly, whether the potential protective effects of the child-dog bond are moderated by environmental, social, and psychological characteristics of children has not been systematically evaluated. Finally, the underlying neurobiological mechanisms of the positive effects of child-pet attachment are largely undiscovered. Using a community-based sample of children aged 10 to 18 from an ongoing, currently funded project ("From Neighborhoods to Neurons and Beyond," 5DP2 OD003021), the present proposal seeks to address these gaps in our knowledge through a three-phase study of the epidemiology and psychological and biological basis of the child-dog bond. In Phase I, we will characterize the incidence of pet ownership among a community-based sample of 1,200-1,500 families with adolescent children in 6th - 8th grade who have participated in a prior school-based study of adolescent problem behaviors. In Phase II, we will determine whether individual differences in the quality of child-dog relationships are related to individual differences in aggression, delinquency, substance use, and depression, and whether child temperament and/or environmental conditions mediate or moderate these relationships in a sample of 200 children from Phase I and their siblings and caregivers, all of whom are participating in the PI's ongoing study. Finally, we will begin to explore the underlying neurobiology of the child-dog bond through a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study of brain activation in response to pictures of pet dogs in a sample of 48 children, and will further explore biological mechanisms underlying the potential protective effects of the child-dog bond by comparing changes in oxytocin, vasopressin, and cortisol following a mild stressor in children who own dogs (N = 24) versus non- pet owning children (N = 24). PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: There is growing evidence that pet ownership and human-animal attachment and interaction may be beneficial for children with autism and other disabilities. However, whether human-animal attachment and interaction through pet ownership confers similar protective effects among a community sample of children at-risk for other behavioral and emotional disorders is unknown. This study will address this question by linking new measures of child-dog attachment to existing behavioral measures from a large community sample of adolescents, and will also help us to better understand neurobiological pathways that underlie individual differences in the child-dog bond that may further serve as protective influences for child development.