Service Dog Training Interventions for Veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress: Examining Gender-Based Differences in...

Background: Poor mental health is prevalent among veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other psychiatric conditions. Canine-assisted interventions may improve psychological and social health in veterans. The parent study, a randomized controlled trial, revealed improvements in PTSD following both a service dog training program and an active control condition consisting of virtual dog training lessons. Thus, in the present post hoc secondary analysis, we analyzed both groups together (pooled arms) to examine gender-based differences in the effects of the altruistic service dog training programs on psychosocial outcomes. Methods: Veterans (N = 59) participated either in hands-on (with a dog and trainer) or virtual (no dog present) dog training programs over eight weeks and completed self-reported psychosocial measures before and after the program. Mixed-effect linear models were used to assess the interaction between time and gender on a series of psychosocial outcomes in the pooled sample. Results: The findings supported greater psychosocial improvements for female participants compared to male participants, including significant improvements in PTSD, perceived stress, and perceived physical health, and feeling greater closeness and lower avoidance in close relationships (ps < 0.05). The results revealed moderate to large effect sizes among female participants, suggesting meaningful clinical effects of the interventions (ds = 0.47-0.70). Conclusions: While the secondary analysis and small sample size limit causal inferences, the exploratory evidence suggests greater improvements in psychosocial health in female veterans after participating in the service dog training programs. Future research should tailor interventions to optimize the therapeutic effects for male and female veterans and identify other individual characteristics involved, such as combat exposure or post-traumatic stress symptom severity.