Buffering role of pet dogs on children's HPA stress responses

描述(申请人提供)：美国有数千万儿童与宠物狗共同生活。最近的研究表明，与狗生活或互动可以促进学习效果，对健康有好处。这些过程背后的生物学机制在很大程度上是未知的，但可能包括对应激敏感生物系统活动的保护作用。应激系统的神经内分泌臂被称为下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺皮质(HPA)轴，可能特别重要，因为1)它影响长期的神经活动和许多器官系统，2)它的紊乱与认知和情绪功能受损以及一生中一系列身体疾病有关，3)它的活动受到人类社会关系的不同性质的影响。在婴儿和儿童中，与亲密家庭成员的支持性关系对HPA轴的活动具有缓冲作用，以应对压力。与家人和密友一样，宠物狗也是孩子们的知己。目前尚不清楚宠物狗是否会缓冲HPA对压力的反应。我们建议在标准化的实验室程序中测试宠物狗的压力缓冲潜力，Trier社会压力测试已知能在儿童和成人中产生可靠的压力反应。来自养狗家庭的90名9岁儿童将接受测试，要么在他们的狗和他们的父母在场的情况下进行，要么在没有支持数字的情况下进行。到目前为止，还没有研究测试儿童、宠物或儿童与宠物关系中的个体差异，这些差异会影响宠物狗为儿童提供健康益处(缓解压力或其他)的程度。因此，我们进一步的目标是研究狗对儿童压力反应的适度影响的特征。我们假设，在基于实验室的社会应激源中，宠物狗的存在将缓冲儿童对压力测试的生物反应，这种缓冲将类似于 在支持人员--家长在场的情况下观察。我们进一步假设，在实验条件下，缓冲效应将受到儿童的气质和对狗的依恋以及狗的社交能力和对儿童手势的反应的影响。通过表征宠物饲养和宠物在场在儿童生物应激反应发展中的作用，所获得的结果将有助于我们理解儿童的应激以及如何缓冲它，也有助于我们理解人与动物的互动如何对健康有益。因此，该项目的成果将为蓬勃发展的动物互动疗法领域奠定更好的基础。 与公共健康相关：狗在西方社会无处不在，被认为是为儿童提供社会和情感支持。这项研究的目的是调查宠物狗对儿童的压力缓冲潜力，以便更好地描述狗可以帮助减轻压力的条件。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Tens of millions of children in the United States co-reside with pet dogs. Recent research suggests living or interacting with dogs promotes learning outcomes and has health benefits. Biological mechanisms underlying these processes are largely unknown but may include protective effects on the activity of stress-sensitive biological systems. The neuroendocrine arm of the stress system known as the hypothalamic-pituitary- adrenocortical (HPA) axis may be of particular importance because 1) it influences long-term neural activity and many organ systems, 2) disturbances in it are linked with impaired cognitive and emotional functioning and a range of physical diseases across the lifespan, and 3) its activity is impacted by diverse qualities of human social relationships. Among infants and children, supportive relationships with close family members have a buffering effect on HPA axis activity in response to stress. Along with family members and close friends, pet dogs are known confidantes for children. It is unknown whether pet dogs buffer the HPA response to stress. We propose testing the stress-buffering potential of pet dogs in a standardized laboratory protocol, the Trier Social Stress Test, known to produce reliable stress responses in children and adults. 90 nine-year-old children from dog-owning families will be tested either in the presence of their dog, their parent, or without a support figure. To date there are no studies testing individual differences in the child, pet, or child-pet relationship that impact the degree to which pet dogs confer health benefits (stress-reducing or otherwise) for children. Thus we further aim to examine characteristics that moderate dogs' impact on children's stress responses. We hypothesize that the presence of a pet dog during a laboratory-based social stressor will buffer the child's biological response to the stress test, and that this buffering will be similar to that observed in the presence of a support person - the parent. We further hypothesize that across experimental conditions, the buffering effect will be impacted by the child's temperament and attachment to the dog as well as the dog's sociability and responsiveness to the child's gestures. By characterizing the role of pet ownership and pet presence in the developing biological stress response in children, the results obtained will contribute both to our understanding of stress in children and how it can be buffered, and also to our understanding of how human-animal interaction may have health benefits. Thus the outcome of this project will be a better basis for the burgeoning field of animal interactive therapy. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Dogs are ubiquitous in Western society and are believed to provide social and emotional support to children. The purpose of this study is to investigate the stress-buffering potential of pet dogs for children in order to better characterize the conditions under which dogs may help reduce stress.