Medical service dogs for diabetes and seizure alert/response were rarely studied [16, 35], and were assessed in conjunction with mobility service dogs rather than on their own. When reporting statistical results, 78% of studies (21/27) provided estimates of variability for outcomes, including confidence intervals, standard deviations, or standard error of the mean. To assess methodological rigor, a total of 15 extracted items were sourced from methodological assessment tools including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Study Quality Assessment Tools [24], the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) checklist [25], the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) checklists [26], and the Specialist Unit for Review Evidence (SURE) Checklists [27]. The discussion section aims to review the findings from each aim and to provide targeted suggestions for future research. Future studies should provide detailed researcher-specified criteria for participation as well as organizational-specified criteria for placing/receiving an assistance dog, if applicable. We found that studies reported mostly psychological outcomes (74%), followed by social outcomes (67%), quality of life outcomes (70%), and vitality (26%) outcomes. A total of 254 records were screened via full text, of which 230 were excluded. [17] found an effect of having an assistance dog on mental health. MEDLINE search terms and search strategy. Ethical Considerations and Advances in the Understanding of Animal Cognition. John Capitanio, PhD, is a research psychologist in the department of psychology at the University of California, Davis, and a core scientist at the California National Primate Research Center. [32] found that participants reported worse occupational functioning 7-months after receiving a hearing dog while Davis [44] found that individuals with a mobility service dog reported worse occupational functioning compared to a control group. The sub-category of loneliness had 19 comparisons in which only 1/19 (5%) was significant. Discuss the Strengths and Weaknesses of the Use of Animals for The principle disadvantage with animal experiments is the problem of generalisability. In methods sections, only 16/27 (59%) of studies indicated whether ethical approval for conducting human subjects research was sought and received. He is the former associate director for research at the Primate Center, a past president of the American Society of Primatologists, a recipient of the Patricia R. Barchas Award in Sociophysiology from the American Psychosomatic Society, a fellow of several professional societies, and in 2012, he received the Distinguished Primatologist Award from the American Society of Primatologists. This effect may be compounded by the possibility that those who apply for an assistance dog may inherently have certain positive characteristics (e.g., stable housing, stable finances, has a familial support system) that contribute to overall psychosocial health. Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. Animal models are a fundamental tool in the life sciences. We found that most studies were conducted in either the United States or the United Kingdom, but there was international representation of the research in Canada, Sweden, New Zealand, and Japan. Overall, most (68%) of comparisons made across studies were null in which no statistical difference was found in the outcome compared to before getting an assistance dog or compared to a control group. Humans share common ancestry with the species most commonly studied in psychology: mice, rats, monkeys. The most commonly used measure was the Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Technique [CHART; 58] which assesses how people with disabilities function as active members of their communities. Interestingly, only one included study [16] assessed outcomes from participants under the age of 18. S1 Table. Studies made an average of 5.4 statistical comparisons on psychosocial outcomes, ranging from 115 comparisons. Even if we accept evolutionary psychology, humans have evolved to be very different from most other animals, perhaps all other animals. Finally, most studies (21/27;78%) compared outcomes to a control or comparison condition. This poses a severe threat to the validity of findings as group differences in outcomes could be caused by underlying differences in certain demographics or characteristics and cannot be confidently attributed to the presence of the assistance dog. Additionally, research suggests the relationship between an assistance dog and its owner may also serve as a reciprocal attachment and caregiving relationship characterized by secure and strong attachments [18, 19]. A total of 1,830 records were screened via title and abstract in which 1,576 records were excluded due to irrelevancy (see Fig 1 for PRISMA diagram). Many times animals have been tested on a drug and the drug was considered not harmful. As mentioned above, a surprisingly high number of studies did not ensure that assistance dog and control groups were statistically equal across demographic and disability characteristics prior to outcome analyses. The most common provider organizations represented were Canine Companions for Independence (CCI; six mobility service dog studies), Paws with a Cause (four mobility service dog studies), and Hearing Dogs for Deaf People (HDDP; four hearing dog studies). An analysis of 147 statistical comparisons across the domains of psychological health, quality of life, social health, and vitality found that 68% of comparisons were null, 30% were positive in the hypothesized direction, and 2% were negative. One of the main considerations in understanding the potential variability across findings is the aspect of time since assistance dog placement. The authors concluded that although results are promising, conclusions drawn from the results must be considered with caution [9]. Of 147 comparisons, 44 (30%) were positive (improved or better functioning in comparison to pre- or control conditions), 100 (68%) were null (no observed difference), and 3 (2%) were negative (decreased or worse functioning in comparison to pre- or control conditions). Two studies from the a single thesis [29] made the remaining 14 comparisons on measures of loneliness distress and complementary loneliness, finding no significant changes to loneliness six months after receiving a hearing dog and no significant group differences in loneliness compared to those without a hearing dog. Other self-evaluation outcomes assessed with null findings included no differences in self-concept between control groups and those with mobility service dogs [37] or guide dogs [46], no differences in attitude towards a disability 4-months after receiving a mobility service dog [28] or among guide dog users compared to a control group [38], and no differences in flourishing among guide dog users compared to a control group [46]. Human participants in these studies included those with hearing or visual impairments, diabetes, and seizure disorders. If youve taken an introductory psychology class, then you have probably read about seminal psychological research that was done with animals: Skinners rats, Pavlovs dogs, Harlows monkeys. This practice was instrumental in our evolution and in the emergence of civilization. Register for the early bird rate. In addition to poor methodological reporting, many studies were restrained by statistical weaknesses. Using the Psychosocial Impact of Assistive Devices Scale [PIADS; 54], Vincent et al. For example one could not look at the effects of maternal deprivation by removing infants from their mothers or conduct isolation experiment on humans in the way that has been done on other species. Specifically, this review sought to systematically identify, summarize, and evaluate studies assessing psychosocial outcomes from owning an assistance dog (including service, guide, hearing, and/or medical alert or response dogs) with measures tested for reliability and validity among individuals with physical disabilities. Studies compared outcomes of individuals with an assistance dog to before they received the dog (six longitudinal studies), to participants on the waitlist to receive an assistance dog (five longitudinal and seven cross-sectional studies), or to participants without an assistance dog (eight cross-sectional studies). Grayson D.S., Bliss-Moreau E., Machado C.J., Bennett J., Shen K., Grant K.A., Fair D.A., Amaral, D.G. To achieve the second aim of the reviewto evaluate the methodological rigor of studieseach study was assessed if they met a set of 15 methodological rating items using a scale of yes, no, or N/A (Table 2). For full functionality of this site, please enable JavaScript. Abstract. Neither of these early reviews employed a formal methodological assessment of studies, but limitations were listed for each included study. Conducting periodic systematic reviews of this research is crucial to both disseminate knowledge as well as to identify knowledge gaps for future studies [20]. Guide dogs were only assessed in four studies (all of which were cross-sectional, and one of which was an unpublished thesis [46]). Authors JG and KR independently coded 20% of the included articles to establish adequate inter-rater reliability (alpha = 0.822). Using the CHART, both Milan [41] and Davis [44] found no group differences in social integration among those with a mobility service dog control groups. Studies on psychiatric service dogs, emotional support dogs, and pet dogs were excluded. Discover a faster, simpler path to publishing in a high-quality journal. The rationale for excluding qualitative studies from inclusion was to focus on outcomes using standardized measures to facilitate quantitative comparisons across studies. As the field of animal-assisted intervention is multidisciplinary, a wide and extensive search was conducted encompassing medical and scientific databases. Will this monkey study, which enabled such a discovery to be made, be described? For the study of most cognitive functions, lesion studies in animals have and will likely continue to provide insights that cannot be obtained through research on humans. Part of the justification for why nonhuman animals are studied in psychology has to do with the fact of evolution. Table 4 summarizes the social outcomes across studies within the sub-categories of general social functioning, loneliness, and social participation. Other studies assessed outcomes from hearing dogs (7/27; 26%), guide dogs (4/27; 15%), and medical alert/response service dogs (2/27; 7%). One of the first reviews published by Modlin in 2000 [7] summarized nine published quantitative and qualitative studies on the benefits of guide dogs, hearing dogs, and mobility service dogs on their handlers (omitting unpublished theses). In addition, many studies did not account for confounding variables such as having a pet dog, the progressiveness or type of disability, or relationship status. In total, 147 comparisons were made across the 27 studies that examined the effect of having an assistance dog on a standardized scale or sub-scale on a psychosocial outcome: 58 (39%) psychological outcomes, 43 (29%) social outcomes, 34 (23%) quality of life outcomes, and 12 (8%) energy/vitality outcomes. First, only 59% of studies stated whether ethical approval for human subjects was sought and received. found significantly lower depression and anxiety using the POMS and GHQ-30, respectively, 6-months after receiving a hearing dog [13]. However, only 1/6 (17%) found a significant effect, in which Yarmolkevich found higher life satisfaction among those with a guide dog compared to a control group. The other four studies reported no changes in participants mental health 3-months after receiving a mobility, hearing, or medical service dog [35], 4-months after receiving a mobility service dog [28], and 7-months after receiving a hearing or mobility service dog [32]. Increased research on this topic is likely in parallel with the increased roles and demands for different types of assistance dogs worldwide [2] as well as increased interest in the benefits of animal interaction for human health and wellbeing [60]. An important question for the field moving forward will be to determine for whom an assistance dog may confer the most significant psychosocial health benefits for, and under what contexts or conditions. Neuron. The roles of dogs to assist in improving human wellbeing continue to expand. The third aim of the review was to summarize psychosocial outcomes of studies. However, positive findings were found in depression using the POMS by a different study [13]. Only 6/27 (22%) reported any estimates of effect size in their results. Most studies reported adequate detail on participant demographics such as age and sex or gender identity (23/27; 85%) as well as disability characteristics such as primary diagnoses or severity (22/27; 81%). PDF American Psychological Association (APA) 29 Major Pros & Cons Of Animal Testing - E&C Summary of quality of life outcomes across studies ordered by sub-category. alerting or responding to medical crises such hypoglycemia or seizures), and individuals with mental health disorders (e.g. As research on the assistance animal-handler relationship continues to increase, there is a need for an updated, comprehensive collation of the literature encompassing studies on the effects of all varieties of assistance dogs (guide dogs, hearing dogs, and both mobility and medical service dogs) including both published studies and unpublished theses and dissertations. Using the Reintegration to Normal Living Index [RNLI; 59], Hubert found improvements in the ability to return to normal life after 7-months with a mobility service dog while Vincent et al. Thus, this pattern may be better explained by the file drawer effect in which there is a bias towards publishing positive findings over null findings [79]. In the self-evaluation subcategory, 5/19 (26%) outcomes found a significant effect of having an assistance dog on standardized measures of self-esteem, self-concept, and other measures of self-evaluation. Jamie Greer, r/psychology on Reddit: The price of being single: An explorative study Six comparisons were made to measure the effect of having an assistance dog on clinical measures of depression or anxiety. The three Rs. Future research should focus on assessing outcomes from these medical alert and response assistance dogs and how their roles may be similar or different than mobility, guide, or hearing dogs. Three Blind Mice, See How They Run: A Critique of Behavioral Research Using a new technique, it is now possible to temporarily inactivate the amygdala in a monkey and see how other brain areas (including those that are not directly connected to the amygdala) change their activity (Grayson et al., 2016). This page has been archived and is no longer being updated regularly. The effects of assistance dogs on psychosocial health and - PLOS Construct a Regional Innovation Ecosystem: A Case Study of the Beijing Finally, in discussion sections, most studies (22/27; 81%) stated at least two limitations of their study. Because of the broad inclusion criteria, the 27 studies were widely varied in terms of human and dog participants, assessment time points, statistical analyses, and standardized outcomes. An important finding from this review was that most positive findings were reported in published studies, while unpublished theses were more likely to report null findings. Animal studies in psychology. [16] found that those with a mobility or medical service dog reported significantly higher work/school functioning than a control group. The search strategy was adapted to the other databases, including mapping terms to each databases thesaurus or prescribed vocabulary, as appropriate. However, Lundqvist et al. In addition, null findings were reported on standardized measures of family role 3-, 6-, and 12-months after receiving a mobility service dog [15], discrimination and social inclusion 12-months after receiving a mobility service dog [34], and family and social self-concept among mobility dog users compared to a control group [37]. Therefore, in the cases where positive outcomes were reported in these studies, it is unknown what amount of time with an assistance dog the finding was associated with (and therefore difficult to compare to findings from other studies). The remaining four longitudinal studies assessed participants 35 times with final follow-up ranging from 924 months after receiving an assistance dog. Animal psychologists have been undergoing an identity crisis, with increasingly common criticisms of the traditional field revolving around the assumption that laboratory preparations alone will reveal laws of learning having generality. Most animals, once the testing process has been completed, are euthanized. Of the 100 null comparisons, 43 (43%) were from published papers and 57 (57%) were from unpublished theses. Summary of vitality outcomes across studies ordered by sub-category, then by standardized measure. The systematic literature review was conducted according to The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines [21]. Inability to draw cause-and-effect conclusions: The biggest disadvantage of naturalistic observation is that determining the exact cause of a subject's behavior can be difficult. Of 27 studies, 18 (67%) reported outcomes a standardized measure of social health with a total of 18 different standardized measures. In the case of disagreements, inclusion or exclusion was resolved by discussion and consultation with a third independent reviewer (author MO). Summary of methodological ratings for N = 27 studies ordered by reporting section (. Other studies found increased social connectedness 3-months after receiving a mobility or hearing dog [31] and increased community integration 6, 12, 18, and 24 months after receiving a mobility service dog [14]. Animal studies in psychology - American Psychological Association However, when more than one few companies uses the same resources and provide competitive parity are also known as rare resources. mobility or guide), thus restricting human participants to a single category of impairments. Another potential explanation for inconsistent findings across studies lies in the inherent variability of the assistance dog intervention itself. Studies assessed the effects of mobility (18), hearing (7), guide (4), and medical (2) assistance dog partnerships with an average sample size of N = 83. The main reason why they are inaccurate is because of the huge differences between humans and animals. Lack of control: Another downside is that the experimenter cannot control for outside variables. However, it should be noted that this study by Allen & Blascovich has received considerable critique due to incredibly large effect sizes, unrealistic retention and response rates, and severe methodological omissions including a lack of reporting on recruitment, funding, or where assistance dogs were sourced and trained [despite repeated requests for clarification; 64, 65]. While both reviews found mostly positive findings regarding mobility, guide, and hearing dogs effects on their handlers health and wellbeing, social interactions, and activity participation [7, 8], it was concluded that the small number of studies and methodological limitations of these studies preclude any clear conclusions [8]. In the economic domain of the CHART, which assesses socio-economic independence, Davis [44] again found that those with a mobility service dog reported worse economic functioning than controls while two mobility dog studies reported null findings [30, 41]. After receiving an assistance dog, individuals retrospectively report increases to their social, emotional, and psychological health [e.g., 1012]. Disadvantages of Animal Experimentation Ethical concerns Animals have to die for our research May be considered to be cruel Animal testing may not be acceptable regarding religious aspects Humans should not play god Animal testing can be expensive Animal experimentation may lead to the development of new diseases May be done in an excessive manner The remaining studies were quasi-experimental in that they did not use randomized assignment to treatment or control groups. This systematic review identified 24 articles containing 27 studies that assessed a psychosocial outcome of having an assistance dog (guide dog, hearing dog, mobility service dog, or medical service dog). The only other positive outcome was from Allen et al. Even procedures as simple as drawing a blood sample or testing an animal on a cognitive task must be approved by the local IACUC before the work can begin. Further, in contrast to a psychiatric service dog or an emotional support dog, the assistance dogs in this review are not explicitly trained for mental health-related support and their effects on the psychosocial health of their handlers may be variable rather than population-wide. Plants lack a nervous system and therefore cannot be used to learn about psycho- logical phenomena. [15] found a significant increase in pep, energy, and feeling less worn out 3- and 6-months after receiving a mobility service dog while three studies found no relationship between the vitality domain and having a mobility service dog [17, 28] or a mobility, hearing, or medical service dog [35]. t, F, or B values) and only 55% (15/27) of studies reported exact probability values from analyses. See our A-Level Essay Example on The studies carried out by Milgram, Piliavin, Haney and Gardner & Gardner, have unearthed some very important as well as surprising details about human behaviour and experience which in nearly all situation affects it., Social Psychology now at Marked By Teachers. One author argued that an important methodological issue is the absence of appropriate measures in measuring the effect of an assistance dog on recipients lives [32]. Table 3 summarizes psychological outcomes across studies in terms of general psychological health, emotional health, mental health, and self-evaluation. Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic review was conducted across seven electronic databases. However, even within a single category, there are differences in assistance dog breeds, temperaments, and training that may significantly contribute to observed variance across studies. Only a single study [16] assessed outcomes from child participants under the age of 18 (an additional study [38] had a minimum inclusion age of 16, but the youngest participant was 19). The rationale for excluding studies on emotional service dogs and psychiatric service dogs is that the primary benefits of these dogs are psychological in nature, rather than physical or medical, which complicated comparisons of their psychosocial effects. For example, without any animal research, effective treatments for human conditions like Alzheimers disease may very well be found, but it would certainly take decades longer to find them, and in the meantime, millions and millions of additional people would suffer. To describe study characteristics, extracted items included participant characteristics (sample size, age, gender, country of origin), assistance dog characteristics (type and provider), and details of the study (design, measurement time points, comparison conditions). Our objective was to identify, summarize, and methodologically evaluate studies quantifying the psychosocial effects of assistance dogs for individuals with physical disabilities. Assistance Dogs International (ADI) defines three types of assistance dogs, of which we use as terminology in this review: guide dogs who assist individuals with visual impairments, hearing dogs who assist individuals with hearing impairments, and service dogs who assist individuals with disabilities other than blindness or deafness [3]. Included studies assessed psychosocial outcomes via standardized measures from assistance dogs that were trained for functional tasks related to a physical disability or medical condition (omitting psychiatric service dogs or emotional support dogs). Of 34 total quality of life outcomes, 9 (26%) were positive (improved or better quality of life in comparison to pre- or control conditions), 22 (65%) were null (no difference) and 3 (9%) were negative (decreased or worse quality of life in comparison to pre- or control conditions). The study of nonhuman animals has actually played a huge role in psychology, and it continues to do so today. Kerri E. Rodriguez, In longitudinal studies, the first follow-up time point varied from 3- to 12-months after receiving an assistance dog. A total of 30% of comparisons made were positive in which having an assistance dog was associated with improved psychosocial functioning among individuals with disabilities. The findings from Lorenz's research (as outlined below) offers support for the idea that infants have an attachment gene and that they imprint on a caregiver not long after birth. APA 2023 registration is now open! Another potential reason for the inconsistencies in findings from studies assessing the same construct is disparities across standardized measures. The five studies which found that pet owners were less depressed had, on average, many fewer participants (Mean = 401 subjects ) than the studies that found no difference in depression rates (Mean .
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