Effects of Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) Compared to Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) on Stress and Anxiety

PURPOSE: The number of students seeking mental health services is increasing across college campuses, with one-third experiencing stress significant enough to interfere with academic performance. Despite this increase, there has been no corresponding increase in the number of counseling staff members. Poorly managed stress is harmful to physical and psychological health. Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is a cost-effective intervention that is both readily available and attractive to large groups of students. AAT has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety in numerous populations. Thus, the current project objective is to conduct a pilot study comparing the effects of AAT to progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) on stress and anxiety among graduate students during finals week.

DESIGN: The proposed study is a randomized block design with repeated measures using two experimental groups. All participants were first-year occupational therapy (OT) graduate students, recruited by flyer, e-mail or in person. Participants were excluded if they had an allergy to or fear of dogs. The study received IRB approval.

METHOD: Following the consent process, participants completed a battery of baseline assessments. These included a demographic form, Westside Test Anxiety Scale(WTAS), Pet Attitude Scale-Modified (PAS-M), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP). Participants were randomly assigned to either the AAT or PMR group. During the intervention phase, which occurred the first 3 days of finals week, participants in both groups, AAT and PMR, completed the State version of the STAI, HR, and BP before and after each of 3 AAT or PMR sessions (one 20-minute session/day). Interventions consisted of a 20-minute session of quiet interaction with a group of certified therapy dogs or a 20-minute PMR session provided via audio recording. On the last day of finals week, participants completed the full battery of assessments. All data were entered into REDCap electronic data capture tool and analyzed using SPSS v23. Data collected before each intervention session was compared to baseline and post session data. Multivariate analysis determined changes in stress measures associated with the AAT and PMR interventions. In addition to STAI, HR, and BP, data collected at final baseline was analyzed to determine possible changes in attitude toward pets (PAS-M), overall exam anxiety (WTAS), or trait anxiety following the interventions.

RESULTS: Preliminary analysis shows a significant decrease in HR in both intervention groups on all three days. Overall, there was a significant decrease in state anxiety on days one and two of the intervention. However, there was no significant difference between groups. Thus, both AAT and PMR decreased measures of anxiety.

CONCLUSION: Preliminary data indicate AAT and PMR decrease stress and anxiety among college students during exam week as determined by decreased HR and state anxiety scores. The advantage of AAT is that no preparation is required by students, and students may be more likely to voluntarily participate in AAT sessions. Future studies will include a control group in addition to AAT and PMR. This study is important to the field of OT because it provides evidence of interventions to improve quality of life and health in graduate students experiencing transient periods of significant stress.

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