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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 European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education (ISSN 2254-9625).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 November 2024) | Viewed by 6546

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 elucidate the current state-of-the-art approaches that incorporate animals into treatments in order 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 in the potential benefits of animal-assisted interventions (AAI). These interventions can be utilized in healthcare, education, and other services to mitigate symptoms and improve the health and well-being of children with various types of behavioral and developmental disorders, including children with autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, Down syndrome, obesity, and children who have been sexually abused. In AAI, a wide variety of domesticated, well-socialized, and specially trained animals are employed, such as cats, dogs, horses, guinea pigs, birds, and rats.

Although an expanding 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 insights 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 Children.

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. European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education 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 1400 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 (2 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 289 KiB  
Article
Dog-Assisted Therapy in Mental Health Care: A Qualitative Study on the Experiences of Patients with Intellectual Disabilities
by Anke van Schooten, Nienke Peters-Scheffer, Marie-José Enders-Slegers, Inge Verhagen and Robert Didden
Eur. J. Investig. Health Psychol. Educ. 2024, 14(3), 540-553; https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe14030036 - 29 Feb 2024
Viewed by 3698
Abstract
(1) Background: Dog-assisted therapy (DAT) is an experiential intervention to promote psychological, physical, and social functioning in children and adults. Only few studies have been conducted on DAT in adults with a mild intellectual disability or borderline intellectual functioning (MID-BIF). The purpose of [...] Read more.
(1) Background: Dog-assisted therapy (DAT) is an experiential intervention to promote psychological, physical, and social functioning in children and adults. Only few studies have been conducted on DAT in adults with a mild intellectual disability or borderline intellectual functioning (MID-BIF). The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of patients with MID-BIF undergoing DAT in a mental health care facility. (2) Method: Seven patients completed 13 to 15 sessions of DAT. Within two weeks of completing the program, they were interviewed using a semi-structured interview. The transcripts of the interviews were analysed using interpretational phenomenological analysis. In addition, the patients’ relatives and the DAT therapist were interviewed, and a focus group discussion took place with each patient’s treatment team. (3) Results: The patients’ experiences were predominantly positive. Physical contact with the dog calmed them down. The dog offered them emotional support and helped them to make contact inside and outside the therapy and the setting where they lived. The patients also liked the fact that DAT focused on the dog rather than their problems, that the therapy was experiential and using a positive approach, and that, during the therapy, they did not feel like a patient but a human being. DAT is a promising therapy for patients with MID-BIF in mental health care facilities, but more research into its effectiveness and cost-effectiveness and ways to implement DAT in clinical practice is needed to make more definitive statements. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Impact of Animals on Children’s Health, Development and Wellbeing)
17 pages, 764 KiB  
Article
The Impact of a School Dog on Children’s Social Inclusion and Social Climate in a School Class
by Mona M. Mombeck and Timm Albers
Eur. J. Investig. Health Psychol. Educ. 2024, 14(1), 1-17; https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe14010001 - 19 Dec 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2192
Abstract
Animal-assisted pedagogy is well known in classroom practice, but scientific evidence of its impact on teaching and learning conditions is still lacking. At the same time, the biggest challenge in education systems worldwide is the social inclusion of students. In a pre–post design, [...] Read more.
Animal-assisted pedagogy is well known in classroom practice, but scientific evidence of its impact on teaching and learning conditions is still lacking. At the same time, the biggest challenge in education systems worldwide is the social inclusion of students. In a pre–post design, 30 heterogeneous students (16 f/14 m) from four different school classes (grades 5–8) of two secondary schools and one grammar school were interviewed (in a problem-centered interview) about their social inclusion and their social climate in class before and after being taught selected subjects with a school dog for one school term. At the second measurement point, participants were also asked about their perception of animal-assisted pedagogy. The qualitative data analysis (Kuckartz) showed that the presence of a dog leads to an improved social climate, more social integration and to a change in social roles; therefore, we discussed our findings in the context of role theory (Krappmann). In addition, we found that the mutual perception of the other students and the teacher changes to a more positive and friendlier image. Through animal-assisted pedagogy, a new social role is added to the classroom, where caring and bonding are prioritized. Social interaction and norms are influenced and stereotypical and individual roles can be changed. Therefore, animal-assisted pedagogy can be key to promoting social inclusion in the school environment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Impact of Animals on Children’s Health, Development and Wellbeing)
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