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Pet Dogs: Does their presence influence preadolescents' emotional responses to a social stressor?
Kathryn A Kerns1, Kaela L Stuart-Parrigon1, Karin G Coifman1
1Department of Psychological Sciences, Kent State University.
Insights
Children experienced increased positive emotions when completing a stressful task with their pet dog present. Physical contact with the dog further enhanced these positive feelings, suggesting benefits of human-animal interaction.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Human-Animal Interaction
- Child Development
Background:
- Human-animal interaction is of growing interest.
- Limited research exists on dogs facilitating children's emotional responses.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if a dog's presence influences children's emotional responding during a social stress test.
- To examine the relationship between physical contact with a dog and emotional affect.
Main Methods:
- Preadolescents (n=99) were randomly assigned to complete the Trier Social Stress Test with or without their pet dog.
- Children's positive and negative affect were self-reported.
- High frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV) was measured throughout the session.
Main Results:
- Children reported higher positive affect when their dog was present during the task.
- No significant differences were found in negative affect or HF-HRV between groups.
- Greater physical contact with the dog at baseline correlated with higher positive affect.
Conclusions:
- The presence of a pet dog can enhance positive emotional experiences in children during stressful situations.
- Physical contact with pets appears to be associated with improved positive affect in children.
Abstract:
Despite interest in human-animal interaction, few studies have tested whether the presence of a dog facilitates children's emotional responding. Preadolescents (n = 99) were randomly assigned to complete the Trier Social Stress Test either with or without their pet dog. Children rated their positive and negative affect, and high frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV) was assessed throughout the session. Children reported higher positive affect when they completed the task with their pet dog, although there were no differences for negative affect or HF-HRV. Children who had more physical contact with their dog at baseline reported higher positive affect. The findings suggest contact with pets is associated with enhanced positive affect.