Pet Partners for Promotion of Academic Life Skills

NCT ID: NCT03530943

Last Updated: 2018-05-21

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: UNKNOWN
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 300 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2016-08-31
• Study Completion Date: 2018-12-31

Brief Summary

The current study utilized a randomized controlled trial, conducted in a real-life setting, to determine whether, how, under which conditions, and for whom, infusing various levels of human-animal interaction (HAI) in a 4-week, university-based stress prevention program provides an effective approach to prevent negative ramifications of university students stress, promote student executive functioning and learning, while safeguarding animal welfare. This study will examine effects of sole exposure to evidence-based stress prevention content, hands-on HAI with registered PET Partner teams, or combinations thereof on students' moment-to-moment well-being and longer-term functioning in socioemotional, cognitive and physiological domains.This study will also develop a comprehensive coding system and measure the dynamic nature of behavior of participants, handlers and animals during university- based animal assisted activities, as well as the HAI environment. The data and analyses will then be utilized to inform the development of a quantitative measure to capture of the quality of human animal interaction in various settings to experimentally determine causal pathways underlying program effects on humans and animals.

Conditions

Stress Prevention; Cortisol; Anxiety Disorders and Symptoms; Depression Disorders and Symptoms; Executive Functioning; Motivation and Learning; Momentary Emotion; Study Strategies; Perceived Stress; Animal Behavior; Animal Stress; Dyadic Interaction; Alpha-amylase

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: PREVENTION
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Academic Stress Management

Students assigned to the Academic Stress Management (ASM) condition will attend a series of once weekly, one hour long workshops over four consecutive weeks during which time they will receive 100% exposure to various evidence-based academic stress management tools.

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Academic Stress Management tools

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Evidence-based workshops focus on evidence-based content and activities designed to enhance academic stress management knowledge and skills, motivation and learning, adaptive sleep, and study and test-taking behavior through strengthening physiological, emotion and behavioral regulation

Human Animal Interaction Enhanced

Students assigned to the Human Animal Interaction - Enhanced (HAI-E) condition will attend a series of once weekly, one hour long workshops over four consecutive weeks. This group receives 50% exposure to structured and unstructured animal assisted activities and 50% exposure to various evidence-based academic stress management tools.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Animal Assisted Activities

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Students interact with canines in small group settings under the supervision of their handlers during structured and semi-structured activities designed to strengthen physiological, emotion and behavioral regulation

Academic Stress Management tools

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Evidence-based workshops focus on evidence-based content and activities designed to enhance academic stress management knowledge and skills, motivation and learning, adaptive sleep, and study and test-taking behavior through strengthening physiological, emotion and behavioral regulation

Human Animal Interaction only

Students assigned to the Human Animal Interaction - only (HAI-O) condition will attend a series of once weekly, one hour long workshops over four consecutive weeks. This group will be receive 100% exposure to structured and semi-structured animal assisted activities.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Animal Assisted Activities

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Students interact with canines in small group settings under the supervision of their handlers during structured and semi-structured activities designed to strengthen physiological, emotion and behavioral regulation

Interventions

Animal Assisted Activities

Students interact with canines in small group settings under the supervision of their handlers during structured and semi-structured activities designed to strengthen physiological, emotion and behavioral regulation

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Academic Stress Management tools

Evidence-based workshops focus on evidence-based content and activities designed to enhance academic stress management knowledge and skills, motivation and learning, adaptive sleep, and study and test-taking behavior through strengthening physiological, emotion and behavioral regulation

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Current enrollment at the campus

Exclusion Criteria

• Children under 18 years old
• Prior history of animal abuse
• Participation in an an academic stress management workshop within 6 months of study participation

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 30 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Washington State University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Patricia Pendry, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Washington State University

Locations

Washington State University

Pullman, Washington, United States

Site Status: RECRUITING

Countries

United States

Central Contacts

Patricia Pendry, PhD

Role: CONTACT

ppendry@wsu.edu

509-335-8365

Facility Contacts

Patricia Pendry, PhD

Role: primary

ppendry@wsu.edu

509-335-8365

References

Pendry P, Carr AM, Gee NR, Vandagriff JL. Randomized Trial Examining Effects of Animal Assisted Intervention and Stress Related Symptoms on College Students' Learning and Study Skills. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Mar 15;17(6):1909. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17061909.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 32183453 (View on PubMed)

Pendry P, Kuzara S, Gee NR. Evaluation of Undergraduate Students' Responsiveness to a 4-Week University-Based Animal-Assisted Stress Prevention Program. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 Sep 10;16(18):3331. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16183331.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 31509993 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

126634-001

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id