A total of 1,830 records were screened via title and abstract in which 1,576 records were excluded due to irrelevancy (see Fig 1 for PRISMA diagram). Even if we accept evolutionary psychology, humans have evolved to be very different from most other animals, perhaps all other animals. Of 15 cross-sectional studies that surveyed individuals who owned assistance dogs for variable periods of time, 4/15 studies (27%) considered length of time of assistance dog ownership as a potential explanatory or moderating variable in analyses. PLOS ONE promises fair, rigorous peer review, They have advantages and disadvantages compared with other approaches. BBC - Ethics - Animal ethics: Experimenting on animals 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. Limitations and Benefits of Psychological Research on Animals Many people see animal testing as a cruel and inhumane practice. Unfortunately, many introductory textbooks don't give the full picture of animal research. Study designs included both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, with only one randomized longitudinal study identified [14]. Animal Studies Of Attachment: Lorenz And Harlow - Psychology Hub One of the first reviews published by Modlin in 2000 [7] summarized nine published quantitative and qualitative studies on the benefits of guide dogs, hearing dogs, and mobility service dogs on their handlers (omitting unpublished theses). The first emphasizes that the welfare of animals is important in its own right and that animals must be treated humanely. The authors found three studies reporting an association between having a seizure alert or response dog and improvements to quality of life and wellbeing, concluding a need for more research. [35] found higher health-related quality of life 3-months after receiving a mobility, hearing, or medical service dog on one of three measures used [EuroQol Visual Analog Scale; 56]. Register for the early bird rate. For example, organizations that place assistance dogs may have housing, familial, physical, or even financial requirements for potential recipients that should be subsequently reported in the manuscript to fully define the population. In one example, four studies included in this review failed to find significant results in comparisons of depression using the CES-D [28, 3941]. Table 3 summarizes psychological outcomes across studies in terms of general psychological health, emotional health, mental health, and self-evaluation. 14 Pros and Cons of Animal Research - Vittana.org Psychology Research: Psychological Research on Animals Ethical Views on the Use and Abuse of Animals | Psychology Today However, three studies collapsed analyses across several types of assistance dogs and impairments. 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. The only other positive outcome was from Allen et al. If youve taken an introductory psychology class, then you have probably read about seminal psychological research that was done with animals: Skinners rats, Pavlovs dogs, Harlows monkeys. However, Guest et al. 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). This effect may be compounded by the possibility that those who apply for an assistance dog may inherently have certain positive characteristics (e.g., stable housing, stable finances, has a familial support system) that contribute to overall psychosocial health. Of 34 total quality of life outcomes, 9 (26%) were positive (improved or better quality of life in comparison to pre- or control conditions), 22 (65%) were null (no difference) and 3 (9%) were negative (decreased or worse quality of life in comparison to pre- or control conditions). Included studies assessed psychosocial outcomes via standardized measures from assistance dogs that were trained for functional tasks related to a physical disability or medical condition (omitting psychiatric service dogs or emotional support dogs). Part of the justification for why nonhuman animals are studied in psychology has to do with the fact of evolution. The three Rs are: Reduction, Refinement . For example one could not look at the effects of maternal deprivation by removing infants from their mothers or conduct isolation experiment on humans in the way that has been done on other species. In addition, many studies did not account for confounding variables such as having a pet dog, the progressiveness or type of disability, or relationship status. 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. For example, without any animal research, effective treatments for human conditions like Alzheimers disease may very well be found, but it would certainly take decades longer to find them, and in the meantime, millions and millions of additional people would suffer. In addition to the different human and dog phenotypes that contribute to this heterogeneity, there are likely differences in the strength of the human-animal bond and attachment relationships formed between assistance dogs and handlers [19, 76]. However, more than half of all studies (16/27; 59%) had sample sizes greater than or equal to N = 50. Promising areas include psychological wellbeing, emotional wellbeing, and social participation in which several positive outcomes were identified. To achieve the second aim of the reviewto evaluate the methodological rigor of studieseach study was assessed if they met a set of 15 methodological rating items using a scale of yes, no, or N/A (Table 2). See our A-Level Essay Example on The studies carried out by Milgram, Piliavin, Haney and Gardner & Gardner, have unearthed some very important as well as surprising details about human behaviour and experience which in nearly all situation affects it., Social Psychology now at Marked By Teachers. [32] reported no relationship between the mobility domain and having a service dog or hearing dog. This occurred by either matching groups on select criteria or statistically comparing groups demographic characteristics before performing main analyses. To compare methodological rigor by study design, an independent t-test was used to compare mean scores across longitudinal and cross-sectional designs. Our objective was to identify, summarize, and methodologically evaluate studies quantifying the psychosocial effects of assistance dogs for individuals with physical disabilities. PDF American Psychological Association (APA) Author KR then coded 100% of articles. Summary of methodological ratings for N = 27 studies ordered by reporting section (. The replicated measures identified in this review can serve as a basis for future researchers to collate the existing literature when making assessment choices. However, this research is not only widely disparate but, despite its growth, has not been reviewed since 2012. In other contexts, dogs can be specially trained to provide specific benefits to individuals with impairments, disabilities, or chronic conditions as trained assistance animals. Therefore, future efforts should be made to publish null findings in peer-reviewed journals and to encourage scientific transparency [80]. Of the 44 positive comparisons, 36 (82%) were from published papers and 8 (18%) were from unpublished theses. Additionally, research suggests the relationship between an assistance dog and its owner may also serve as a reciprocal attachment and caregiving relationship characterized by secure and strong attachments [18, 19]. A total of 30% of comparisons made were positive in which having an assistance dog was associated with improved psychosocial functioning among individuals with disabilities. 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 Sad Truth About Pet Ownership and Depression - Psychology Today Human participants in these studies included those with hearing or visual impairments, diabetes, and seizure disorders. Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York, United States of America, Affiliation: The other four studies reported no changes in participants mental health 3-months after receiving a mobility, hearing, or medical service dog [35], 4-months after receiving a mobility service dog [28], and 7-months after receiving a hearing or mobility service dog [32]. Kerri E. Rodriguez, Using another measure of energy and fatigue, Craft [40] found no difference in those with or without a mobility service dog. Copyright: 2020 Rodriguez et al. of Agriculture, and, at the local level by Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (IACUCs). As mentioned above, a surprisingly high number of studies did not ensure that assistance dog and control groups were statistically equal across demographic and disability characteristics prior to outcome analyses. Of the 100 null comparisons, 43 (43%) were from published papers and 57 (57%) were from unpublished theses. S2 Table. Undergraduates sometimes ask what the value of animal research is in psychology. Studies on psychiatric service dogs, emotional support dogs, and pet dogs were excluded. r/psychology How to get your children to eat more fruits and vegetables: Children will eat more fruits and vegetables if families take more time to eat meals. However, because case studies are often based on a single individual or small group, they may not be representative of the larger population. Only a single study [16] assessed outcomes from child participants under the age of 18 (an additional study [38] had a minimum inclusion age of 16, but the youngest participant was 19). The latter offers a more cynical take on animal welfare, namely that. Guide dogs were only assessed in four studies (all of which were cross-sectional, and one of which was an unpublished thesis [46]). Subjectivity Researchers working with dolphins and primates have been criticised for becoming overly attached to the research and exaggerating findings. A final potential reason for outcome discrepancies is variation in methodological rigor across studies. While there are no legal requirements specifying that an assistance dog must be certified, registered, or receive any specialized training to receive public access rights, independent organizations such as ADI, the International Association of Assistance Dog Partners (IAADP), and the International Guide Dog Federation (IGDF) define a set of minimum training and behavior standards for public access that help guide the assistance dog industry. The search strategy was adapted to the other databases, including mapping terms to each databases thesaurus or prescribed vocabulary, as appropriate. [17] found better functioning among those with a mobility service dog compared to a control group. Equally important is the consideration of the potential harms to humans of not doing the research. However, due to large heterogeneity and poor reporting of effect sizes and raw data, a narrative synthesis of findings in comparison to unpublished theses and published articles was pursued instead. Data from 5,191 children were included in the study; 2,236 lived in homes with a dog or cat, and 2,955 lived in households that did not include any animals. As the field of animal-assisted intervention is multidisciplinary, a wide and extensive search was conducted encompassing medical and scientific databases. However, only 44% (12/27) of studies reported statistical values (e.g. Compared to those on the waitlist, individuals with an assistance dog report better psychosocial functioning and wellbeing [16, 17]. Of five studies using a version of the UCLA Loneliness Scale [55] only Yarmolkevich [46] found significantly lower self-reported loneliness in those with a guide dog compared to a control group. The remaining four longitudinal studies assessed participants 35 times with final follow-up ranging from 924 months after receiving an assistance dog. Part of that approval process requires the scientist to identify whether there might be less invasive ways to do the same thing. In fact, positive findings were identified in all domains and sub-domains of psychosocial health and wellbeing. Most articles were published in the 2010s, indicating an increasing publication interest in this topic over time. However, it is of note that several methodological weaknesses of the studies make it difficult to draw any definitive conclusions, including inadequate reporting and a failure to account for moderating or confounding variables. Although this tendency occurs in many fields, the file-drawer bias may especially be prevalent in human-animal interaction research due to the preconceived notion that animals are beneficial for humans [80]. Nine studies assessed self-esteem as a primary outcome, with four studies [14, 32, 36, 46] finding a significant effect of having a guide, hearing, mobility, or medical service dog on self-esteem as measured by the Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale [RSES; 53]. Moderator analyses will be useful in determining the potential explanatory effects that handler-service dog relationships have on psychosocial outcomes. For example, the benefits of an assistance dog for a socially isolated individual who experiences periodic anxiety and depression may be significantly different than an individual without these characteristics. John Capitanio, PhD, is a research psychologist in the department of psychology at the University of California, Davis, and a core scientist at the California National Primate Research Center. Future longitudinal research in this population is necessary to understand the complex psychosocial and physical roles that guide dogs play in the lives of their handlers. Exclusion criteria were then used to select articles based on the following (in order): (1) irrelevant to study topic; (2) assessed an excluded study population (psychiatric service dogs, therapy dogs, emotional support dogs, or companion dogs); (3) did not report quantitative outcomes from assistance dog placement (literature reviews, instrument development, not original research); (4) reported unrelated outcomes (puppy raising, service dog training, or animal-related outcomes); (5) reported only non-psychosocial outcomes (medical or physical); (6) methodological exclusions (qualitative, case studies, single-subject design); (7) no full text available.
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