Clinical depression moderates effects of animal-assisted stress prevention program on college students’ emotion
| Pages | 94-101 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JPMH-10-2018-0069 |
| Published date | 17 June 2019 |
| Date | 17 June 2019 |
| Author | Patricia Pendry,Jaymie L. Vandagriff,Alexa Marie Carr |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Mental health,Public mental health |
Clinical depression moderates effects of
animal-assisted stress prevention program
on college students’emotion
Patricia Pendry, Jaymie L. Vandagriff and Alexa Marie Carr
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to examine whether clinical levels of depressionmoderated university
students’momentary emotional states (e.g. feeling content, anxious, irritable and depressed) in response to
conditions commonly experienced during universal, college-based Animal Visitation Programs (AVPs).
Design/methodology/approach –During a real-life efficacy trial, students (N ¼192) were randomly
assigned to three common AVP conditions: a hands-on condition in which participants could freely pet cats
and dogs in small groups, an observation condition in which participants observed students in the hands-on
condition while awaiting one’s turn and a control condition in which participants viewed images of the
same animals while refraining from socializing with peers. Using a checklist, students reported their
momentary emotional states (e.g. feeling content, anxious, irritable and depressed) before and after the
10-min intervention.
Findings –Multivariate regression analyses showed that clinically depressed students reported significantly
higher levels of momentary negative emotion including irritability, depression and anxiety after waiting in line
compared to non-depressed students, suggesting that clinical depression may moderate potential stress-
relieving effects of universal college-based AVPs depending on implementation practices.
Originality/value –This is the first study to examine the causal impact of a common yet unstudied feature of
college-based AVPs aimed at reducing general college student stress. Results support the utility of targeted
approaches for students presenting clinical levels of depression.
Keywords College-based animal-assisted activities, Randomized trial, Stress prevention, Student emotion
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Over the last decade, university students have reported increasingly high levels of academic
stress, depressive symptomology, anxiety and suicidal ideation (Hunt and Eisenberg, 2010). This
is a serious problem as students who report high levels of depressive symptoms and anxiety
tend to have lower GPAs and are more likely to drop out of college (Eisenberg et al., 2009).
Moreover, only half of college students who report suicidal ideation are likely to seek treatment
(Downs and Eisenberg, 2012).
Not surprisingly, campus-basedmental health centersare reporting high demandfor their services;
data from over93 institutions show thatthe growth in on-campus counseling center appointments
from 2008 to 2015(38.4 percent) was more thanseven times the growth in institutional enrollment
(5.6 percent) for that time period (Center for Collegiate Mental Health, 2016). Many of these
appointmentsreflect a response to crisissituations rather than ongoing services: theproportion of
rapid-accesshours per client has increasedby 28 percent over the last sixyears, whereas routine
hours per clienthave decreased by 7.6 percent(Center for CollegiateMental Health, 2017). In fact,
despite reporting high levels of stress, overwhelm and mental health symptomology, only
22.3 percentof students reported ever receivingpsychological or mentalhealth services from their
current university’s counseling or health services (American College Health Association, 2017).
Received 11 October 2018
Revised 11 January 2019
21 January 2019
Accepted 24 January 2019
This work was supported through
the Research Initiative in Human
Sciences Grant No. 21441312,
sponsored by Academic
Programs, Washington State
University’s Office of Research and
Extension. The authors would like
to acknowledge the Washington
State University Office of the Dean
of Students and their volunteers for
initiating and coordinating the Pet
Your Stress Away program.
Additionally, the authors would like
to acknowledge the Whitman
County Humane Society and their
volunteers for providing the dogs
and cats who participated in Pet
Your Stress Away. The authors
also thank all the Pet Your Stress
Away Study volunteers, fellow
research assistants and
participants, without whom this
study would not have been
possible.
Patricia Pendry,
Jaymie L. Vandagriff and
Alexa Marie Carr are all based
at the Department of Human
Development, Washington
State University, Pullman,
Washington, USA.
PAG E 94
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JOURNAL OF PUBLIC MENTAL HEALTH
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VOL. 18 NO. 2 2019, pp. 94-101, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1746-5729 DOI 10.1108/JPMH-10-2018-0069
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