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The Impact of Animals on Children’s Health, Development and Wellbeing
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The Impact of Animals on Children’s Health, Development and Wellbeing

A special issue of Children (ISSN 2227-9067). This special issue belongs to the section "Pediatric Mental Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (5 January 2024) | Viewed by 13254

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Nienke C. Peters-Scheffer

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands
2. Driestroom, P.O. Box 139, 6660 AC Elst, The Netherlands
Interests: intellectual disability; autism; person-centred care; applied behavior analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Robert Didden

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands
2. Driestroom, P.O. Box 139, 6660 AC Elst, The Netherlands
Interests: addiction; aggressive behavior; mild intellectual disability; borderline intellectual disabilities
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It is our pleasure to present this Special Issue of Children in which we aim to highlight the current state-of-the-art approaches that incorporate animals to contribute to children’s health and wellbeing. As the guest editors, and on behalf of the editorial team, we invite you to submit your research to this Special Issue.

There is a growing interest for the potential benefits of animal-assisted interventions (AAI). These interventions can be utilized in healthcare, education, and other services to reduce symptoms and improve the health and well-being of children with different types of behavioural and developmental disorders, including children with autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, Down syndrome, obesity, and children who were sexually abused. In AAI, a wide variety of domesticated, well-socialized, and specially trained animals are used, such as cats, dogs, horses, guinea pigs, birds, and rats.

Although a growing body of literature indicates that incorporating animals into these interventions is promising, more research on AAI is warranted to further enhance our knowledge and understanding of AAI. Therefore, in this Special Issue, we will provide insight into the various ways in which animals are perceived to contribute to children’s health and wellbeing. We welcome reviews, original articles, case reports, opinion papers, and brief reports on animal-assisted therapy, animal-assisted education, and animal-assisted activities.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education.

Dr. Nienke C. Peters-Scheffer
Prof. Dr. Robert Didden
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Children is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • animal-assisted interventions
  • children
  • health
  • wellbeing
  • development

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 602 KiB  
Article
Animal-Assisted Education: Exploratory Research on the Positive Impact of Dogs on Behavioral and Emotional Outcomes of Elementary School Students
by Riki Verhoeven, René Butter, Rob Martens and Marie-José Enders-Slegers
Children 2023, 10(8), 1316; https://doi.org/10.3390/children10081316 - 30 Jul 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3915
Abstract
For some students, school success is not a simple matter. A growing, innovative approach that supports students’ functioning at school is programs in which animals are involved in education. The involvement of animals, especially dogs, in education is known as animal-assisted education (AAE). [...] Read more.
For some students, school success is not a simple matter. A growing, innovative approach that supports students’ functioning at school is programs in which animals are involved in education. The involvement of animals, especially dogs, in education is known as animal-assisted education (AAE). A literature review of AAE indicated a positive influence of AAE programs on the quality of learning and social emotional development in children. This study explored whether AAE positively impacts the social and emotional outcomes of elementary school students aged between 8 and 13 years through mixed methods. The methods used were a survey and an observational study. The survey section of the study showed that students participating in the program with the dogs rated themselves, after the intervention period, significantly higher in terms of self-confidence and had a more positive score for relationships with other students after the intervention. As rated by their teachers, after the intervention period, students scored significantly higher in relation to work attitude, pleasant behavior, emotional stability, and social behavior. In the observational study, we analyzed the video material of students who participated in an AAE program with dogs. We concluded that all verbal and non-verbal behaviors of the students increased, except eye contact. The current study indicates future directions for theoretical underpinnings, improved understanding, and the empirical measurement of the underlying variables and mechanisms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Impact of Animals on Children’s Health, Development and Wellbeing)
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12 pages, 1607 KiB  
Article
Group Changes in Cortisol and Heart Rate Variability of Children with Down Syndrome and Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder during Dog-Assisted Therapy
by Richard E. Griffioen, Geert J. M. van Boxtel, Theo Verheggen, Marie-Jose Enders-Slegers and Steffie Van Der Steen
Children 2023, 10(7), 1200; https://doi.org/10.3390/children10071200 - 11 Jul 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3209
Abstract
Dog-assisted therapy is hypothesized to lower stress in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and children with Down syndrome (DS), which may be visible on a physiological level. In this study, we measured heart rate variability (HRV) and salivary cortisol of 20 children [...] Read more.
Dog-assisted therapy is hypothesized to lower stress in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and children with Down syndrome (DS), which may be visible on a physiological level. In this study, we measured heart rate variability (HRV) and salivary cortisol of 20 children with DS or ASD at the beginning and end of six weekly sessions of dog-assisted therapy. We found a decrease of cortisol levels during single sessions, but no overall effect after six sessions (six weeks). The effect of dog-assisted therapy on the increase of HRV could not be confirmed. This study is one of the first to use physiological measurements to test the effects of DAT. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Impact of Animals on Children’s Health, Development and Wellbeing)
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Review

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41 pages, 689 KiB  
Review
How Do Children and Adolescents with ASD Look at Animals? A Scoping Review
by Manon Toutain, Nicolas Dollion, Laurence Henry and Marine Grandgeorge
Children 2024, 11(2), 211; https://doi.org/10.3390/children11020211 - 6 Feb 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3524
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by interaction and communication differences, entailing visual attention skill specificities. Interactions with animals, such as in animal-assisted interventions or with service dogs, have been shown to be beneficial for individuals with ASD. While interacting with humans poses [...] Read more.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by interaction and communication differences, entailing visual attention skill specificities. Interactions with animals, such as in animal-assisted interventions or with service dogs, have been shown to be beneficial for individuals with ASD. While interacting with humans poses challenges for them, engaging with animals appears to be different. One hypothesis suggests that differences between individuals with ASD’s visual attention to humans and to animals may contribute to these interaction differences. We propose a scoping review of the research on the visual attention to animals of youths with ASD. The objective is to review the methodologies and tools used to explore such questions, to summarize the main results, to explore which factors may contribute to the differences reported in the studies, and to deduce how youth with ASD observe animals. Utilizing strict inclusion criteria, we examined databases between 1942 and 2023, identifying 21 studies in international peer-reviewed journals. Three main themes were identified: attentional engagement and detection, visual exploration, and behavior. Collectively, our findings suggest that the visual attention of youths with ASD towards animals appears comparable to that of neurotypical peers, at least in 2D pictures (i.e., eye gaze patterns). Future studies should explore whether these results extend to real-life interactions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Impact of Animals on Children’s Health, Development and Wellbeing)
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Other

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22 pages, 536 KiB  
Systematic Review
Exploring the Benefits of Dog-Assisted Therapy for the Treatment of Complex Trauma in Children: A Systematic Review
by Rebekah L. Chapman, Caitlin Baselmans, Tiffani J. Howell, Carol Ronken and David Butler
Children 2024, 11(8), 1017; https://doi.org/10.3390/children11081017 - 20 Aug 2024
Viewed by 1642
Abstract
Background: The manifestation of complex trauma results from exposure to severe and repetitive stressors occurring within the caregiver system. Frequently associated with child maltreatment, complex trauma can lead to impairments in multiple domains, including attachment, affect and behavioural regulation, and cognition. Treatments, including [...] Read more.
Background: The manifestation of complex trauma results from exposure to severe and repetitive stressors occurring within the caregiver system. Frequently associated with child maltreatment, complex trauma can lead to impairments in multiple domains, including attachment, affect and behavioural regulation, and cognition. Treatments, including Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, have been shown to be efficacious, but high attrition rates point to the need for complementary methods that boost client retention and treatment efficacy. This systematic review examines whether dog-assisted therapy has beneficial impacts on the treatment of complex trauma and whether it can decrease treatment attrition among children presenting with complex trauma exposure. Methods: We followed PRISMA guidelines to locate relevant research reports. Seven published research reports matched the inclusion criteria. Results: Dog-assisted therapy may increase the efficacy of standard interventions for complex trauma, although only one study formally assessed treatment retention. Across most studies, there is an overall lack of detailed information on the nature of therapeutic activities involving the dog and how these activities may complement or enhance therapy as usual. Studies were of varying methodological quality, impacting the reliability of findings. Conclusions: Future studies should aim to better describe and justify dog-assisted therapy techniques and evaluate these in comparison with standard evidence-based approaches to the treatment of childhood complex trauma. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Impact of Animals on Children’s Health, Development and Wellbeing)
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