College Students' Length of Time and Canine/Handler Interactions at Drop-In Canine Therapy Program
Location
CSU Ballroom
Start Date
2-4-2019 2:00 PM
End Date
2-4-2019 3:30 PM
Student's Major
Human Performance
Student's College
Allied Health and Nursing
Mentor's Name
Michelle McAlarnen
Mentor's Department
Human Performance
Mentor's College
Allied Health and Nursing
Description
Drop-in canine-therapy programs on college campuses have grown rapidly in the United States (Crossman & Kazdin, 2015). These drop-in programs are meant to help students decrease stress, anxiety, and homesickness while increasing well-being and mood (Grajfoner, Harte, Potter, & Mcguigan, 2017; House, Neal, & Brackels, 2018). Though there is initial research on the effects of animal therapy on individuals (Binfet, Passmore, Cebry, Stuik, & McKay, 2017), the recency of this research area means there is a limited understanding of student motivation, experience, and preferred visit length. This research study aims to learn who attends, why they attend, and what students hope to gain from the experience, as well as the length of time and number of interactions students have with canines and handlers during a drop-in session. In order to address these aims, we will conduct survey and observational research during Hound Hugs & Kanine Kisses Program sessions. This poster will present initial data from only the observational research portion of this study. Observational data on students' length of time at the event and number of interactions with therapy dogs and handlers will be collected. This information can help researchers understand the length of time and number of interactions participants naturally seek out during their visit (i.e., “dose-response relationship”). With the findings from this research, we hope to give supporting statistics as to how college students engage with the canines and handlers to help inform future programming on college campuses.
College Students' Length of Time and Canine/Handler Interactions at Drop-In Canine Therapy Program
CSU Ballroom
Drop-in canine-therapy programs on college campuses have grown rapidly in the United States (Crossman & Kazdin, 2015). These drop-in programs are meant to help students decrease stress, anxiety, and homesickness while increasing well-being and mood (Grajfoner, Harte, Potter, & Mcguigan, 2017; House, Neal, & Brackels, 2018). Though there is initial research on the effects of animal therapy on individuals (Binfet, Passmore, Cebry, Stuik, & McKay, 2017), the recency of this research area means there is a limited understanding of student motivation, experience, and preferred visit length. This research study aims to learn who attends, why they attend, and what students hope to gain from the experience, as well as the length of time and number of interactions students have with canines and handlers during a drop-in session. In order to address these aims, we will conduct survey and observational research during Hound Hugs & Kanine Kisses Program sessions. This poster will present initial data from only the observational research portion of this study. Observational data on students' length of time at the event and number of interactions with therapy dogs and handlers will be collected. This information can help researchers understand the length of time and number of interactions participants naturally seek out during their visit (i.e., “dose-response relationship”). With the findings from this research, we hope to give supporting statistics as to how college students engage with the canines and handlers to help inform future programming on college campuses.
Recommended Citation
Leibham, Madeline. "College Students' Length of Time and Canine/Handler Interactions at Drop-In Canine Therapy Program." Undergraduate Research Symposium, Mankato, MN, April 2, 2019.
https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/urs/2019/poster-session-B/41
