Assessing mechanisms of anxiety reduction in animal-assisted interventions for adolescents with social anxiety

项目摘要 青春期和青春期是社交焦虑发展的关键时期，社交焦虑往往与 其他精神健康挑战，如抑郁、情绪障碍和药物滥用。初步证据表明 与动物互动可以减少压力和焦虑，但还没有研究测试这种益处是否延伸到 青少年有社交焦虑症的风险。此外，研究人员和临床医生并不了解 在动物辅助干预(AAIs)中负责减少焦虑。因此，这项研究的目标是 探索与治疗犬互动减少焦虑的具体机制，并测试这种 互动减少了社交焦虑程度不同的青少年的焦虑。 这个项目的具体目标是(1)测试人工智能降低焦虑的机制，以及(2)确定 社交和身体互动的焦虑效果被预先存在的社交焦虑水平所缓和。要实现 这些目标，75名青少年(13-17岁)将接受以实验室为基础的良好验证的社会评估应激源，Trier 儿童的社交压力任务，并被随机分配到以下三种情况之一：1)不与狗互动(对照组 条件)，2)仅与治疗犬进行社会互动(无身体互动)；或3)社会互动+身体互动 与治疗犬互动。使用多变量方法，将收集三个水平的结果数据：a)自我 报告的经历(焦虑)，b)自主神经生理(心率)，以及c)行为表现(精神错误率 数学任务)。此外，互动将被录像，并将使用行为编码来探索特定的 参与者和狗之间的社交行为可能会预测焦虑的减少(例如频率或类型 社交参照或身体接触)。 这项拟议的研究代表了对一种新方法的探索，该方法扩大了关于动物如何辅助的知识 对于患有社交焦虑的青少年来说，干预可能是降低焦虑的一种潜在有效策略。这部作品 代表着将假设的效果转化为社交焦虑症患者的新治疗选择的关键一步。 由于焦虑是一种情感障碍，是许多精神健康诊断的普遍组成部分，因此 这项研究将对其他诊断类别(如广泛性焦虑症、抑郁症、后焦虑症)产生影响。 创伤性应激障碍)。这项研究也将为今后进行纲领性的研究探索奠定基础 AAI治疗益处的持续时间和广度。

Project Summary Adolescence and young adulthood is a critical period for the development of social anxiety, which is often linked to other mental health challenges such as depression, mood disorders, and substance abuse. Initial evidence suggests that interacting with animals can reduce stress and anxiety, but no research has tested whether this benefit extends to adolescents at risk for social anxiety disorder. Additionally, researchers and clinicians do not understand what mechanism is responsible for anxiety reduction in animal-assisted interventions (AAIs). Therefore, the objectives of this study are to explore the specific mechanisms by which interacting with a therapy dog reduces anxiety, and to test whether such an interaction reduces anxiety in adolescents with varying levels of social anxiety. The specific aims of this project are to (1) test the mechanisms by which AAIs reduce anxiety, and (2) determine if the anxiolytic effect of social and physical interaction is moderated by level of pre-existing social anxiety. To achieve these aims, 75 adolescents (age 13-17) will undergo a well-validated laboratory-based social evaluative stressor, the Trier Social Stress Task for Children, and be randomly assigned to one of three conditions: 1) no interaction with a dog (control condition), 2) social interaction only (no physical interaction) with a therapy dog; or 3) social interaction plus physical interaction with a therapy dog. Using a multivariate approach, three levels of outcome data will be collected: a) self- reported experience (anxiety), b) autonomic physiology (heart rate), and c) behavioral performance (error rates on mental math task). In addition, the interactions will be videotaped and behavioral coding will be used to explore the specific social behaviors between the participant and the dog that may predict anxiety reduction (such as frequency or type of social referencing or physical contact). The proposed study represents exploration into a novel method of expanding knowledge about how animal-assisted interventions can be a potentially effective strategy for anxiety reduction for adolescents with social anxiety. This work represents a critical step in translating a hypothesized effect into a new treatment option for those with social anxiety. Because anxiety is an affective disturbance that is a prevalent component of many mental health diagnoses, the findings of this study will have implications for other diagnostic categories (e.g., generalized anxiety disorder, depression, post- traumatic stress disorder). This study will also lay the groundwork for pursuing programmatic future research to explore the duration and breadth of the therapeutic benefits of AAIs.