Assessing Mechanisms of Anxiety Reduction in Animal-assisted Interventions

Tufts University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Social Anxiety; Social Anxiety Disorder of Childhood; Social Anxiety Disorder

Treatments: Other: animal-assisted intervention; Other: active control

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03249116

1R03HD091892-01

Details and patient eligibility

About

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.

Full description

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).

Enrollment: 75 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 13 to 17 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Low, mid-range, and high levels of social anxiety

Exclusion criteria

• Fear of dogs
• Allergy to dogs

Trial design

Primary purpose: Basic Science

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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75 participants in 3 patient groups

Control - interaction with a stuffed dog

Active Comparator group

Description:

Active control - interaction with a stuffed dog

Treatment:

Other: active control

Therapy dog - social

Experimental group

Description:

animal-assisted intervention - social interaction only with therapy dog during stress task.

Treatment:

Other: animal-assisted intervention

Therapy dog - Social + physical

Experimental group

Description:

animal-assisted intervention - Social interaction and physical interaction with therapy dog during stress task.

Treatment:

Other: animal-assisted intervention