DOG THERAPY TECHNICAL REPORT Written by Diana Lee Brown, BS; Shireen Ady, BS; and Laura Ross, MCHES 2015-2016 1
Table of Contents Overview 3 Figure 1: What is your sex? 4 Figure 2: What is your ethnicity? 5 Figure 3: What is your age? 6 Figure 4: What is your class standing? 7 Figure 5: Where do you live? 8 Figure 6: What is your major? 9 Figure 7: Was this your first time using dog therapy? 10 Figure 8: How did you hear about dog therapy? 11 Figure 9: Pre/ post test Comparison on Happiness 12 Figure 10: Pre/post test Comparison on Content 13 Figure 11: Top pre test themes impacting happiness ratings 14 Figure 12: Top pre test themes impacting content ratings 15 Figure 13: Ethnicity pre/post test happiness means comparison 16 Figure 14: Ethnicity pre/post test content means comparison 17 Figure 15: Class standing pre/post test happiness means comparison 18 Figure 16: Class standing pre/post test content means comparison 19 Figure 17: Age pre/post test happiness means comparison 20 Figure 18: Age pre/post test content means comparison 21 Figure 19: College pre/post test happiness means comparison 22 Figure 20: College pre/post test content means comparison 23 2
A voluntary survey was distributed among students who chose to participate in weekly dog therapy located outside of Cal State Fullerton s Student Wellness during the 2015-2016 academic school year. Out of the 608 total survey responses, only 369 included demographic questions due to a delay in IRB approval. Charts below were obtained from the individuals whose surveys included questions pertaining to demographics. 3
Figure 1: What is your sex? 20% Female 80% Male Of the 369 total participants whose surveys included demographic questions, 80% (296) were female and 20% (73) were male. 4
Figure 2: What is your ethnicity? Hispanic Asian White African American Other Native American 3% 3% 1% 25% 39% 29% Of the 369 total participants whose surveys included demographic questions, approximately 39% (146) of the respondents were Hispanic, and 29% (107) were Asian. Roughly 25% (91) of participants were White, with the remaining 6% consisting of African and Native Americans, as well as other ethnicities. 5
Figure 3: What is your age? 12% 18-19 21% 41% 20-21 22-23 26% 24 and older Of the 369 total participants whose surveys included demographic questions, 67% (249) were between the ages of 18 to 21 years old. 21% (77) of participants were 22-23 years old, and the remaining 12% (43) were 24 years of age or older. 6
Figure 4: What is your class standing? 18% 4% 2% 32% Freshman Junior Senior 21% 24% Sophomore Graduate Other 50% (183) of respondents were undergraduates comprised of freshmen and sophomores. 45% (164) of the respondents were juniors and seniors, with the remaining 6% indicating they were a graduate student or other. 7
Figure 5: Where do you live? 28% Off campus On Campus 72% Approximately 72% (265) of students who completed the demographic survey indicated that they live off campus, and roughly 28% (104) of students stated they lived on campus. 8
Figure 6: What is your major? 120 100 108 Health and Human Development Humanities and Social Sciences 80 Business and Economics 60 65 Natural sciences and Mathematics 40 20 41 38 34 33 28 15 Communications Engineering and Computer Sciences Arts 0 College Undeclared Out of the 362 students who completed the demographics portion of the survey, the largest number of respondents were Health and Human Development majors with 30% (108), followed by Humanities and Social Services with 18% (65), Business and Economics with 11% (41), as well as Natural Sciences and Mathematics with 9% (34). At least one student from every college listed in the CSUF university catalog was represented in this survey. 9
Figure 7: Was this your first time using dog therapy? 43% Yes No 57% Over half of the participants (203) who responded to the demographic questions indicated that this survey was their first time using dog therapy, while the remaining 43% (156) specified that they had previously participated in dog therapy. 10
Figure 8: How did you hear about dog therapy? 9% 8% 6% 33% Other Friend/Faculty Health Center (SHCC) 18% Banner 27% Poster Flyer Approximately 45% (161) of the respondents were notified about dog therapy through a faculty member, friend, or by visiting Student Wellness. 23% (79) of participants stated that they heard about dog therapy through a poster, banner, or flyer. The remaining 33% (117) of respondents heard about dog therapy through a different outlet. 11
Figure 9: Pre/post test comparison on happiness 450 424 400 350 320 300 250 200 150 149 150 Pre-Test Post Test 100 50 0 17 83 1 1 Sad Somewhat Sad Neutral Somewhat Happy 20 39 Happy Results from the happiness pre/post test dog therapy comparison indicated that students who pet a dog for five minutes reported feeling happier than before they pet the dog. Out of the 596 participants who completed the post test, only two people reported feeling sad or somewhat sad after petting a dog for five minutes, compared to 100 people in the pre test. Additionally, there was roughly a 67% increase in the amount of students who felt happy after dog therapy compared to five minutes prior. After running a Spearman s Correlation Coefficient test in SPSS, there was a significant association between the happiness pre test and the happiness post test (p=.00). 12
Figure 10: Pre/post test comparison on content 350 300 286 250 215 200 150 100 89 176 100 82 159 Pre-Test Post-Test 50 12 26 31 0 Stressed Somewhat Stressed Neutral Somewhat Content Content Results from the content pre/post test dog therapy comparison indicated that students report feeling less stressed and more content after petting a dog for five minutes. Out of the 593 participants who completed the pre test, 51% (304) of students reported feeling stressed or somewhat stressed after petting a dog for five minutes, as opposed to only 7% (38) of students in the post test. Furthermore, there was a 44% increase in the number of students who reported feeling content after participating in dog therapy. After running a Spearman s Correlation Coefficient test in SPSS, there was a significant association between the content pre test and the content post test (p=.00). 13
Figure 11: Top pre test themes impacting happiness ratings 19 23 102 Academics/School Overall stressed Tired/Lack of sleep Participants were instructed to identify why they rated their happiness levels as they did on their pre test in open-ended question format. An overwhelming majority of students who chose to answer this question fell into the first theme of academics/school, indicating that their classes, exams, and school projects were affecting their happiness levels. The next two themes included participants specifying that their happiness levels were affected because they felt stressed as a whole, or they were tired due to lack of sleep. 14
Figure 12: Top pre test themes impacting content ratings 21 14 Academics/School Work Dogs being nearby 199 Additionally, participants were instructed to identify why they rated their content levels as they did in open-ended question format. A significantly greater number of participants specified that academics impacted their overall content levels more than any other theme. This demonstrates how overwhelming levels of stress that stem from exams, classes, and projects have the ability to drastically influence students. Additional noteworthy pre test themes pertaining to participant content levels include outside work and dogs being nearby. Students distinguished that simply having a dog in their presence had the ability to alter their content levels in a positive manner. 15
The graph above depicts a pre/post test comparison of means pertaining to participant happiness levels categorized by ethnicity. It is clear that regardless of a participant s ethnicity, happiness levels subsequently rise after engaging in five minutes of dog therapy. On aa 1-5 scale, the minimum increase in happiness levels was one full rating. White and Hispanic participant happiness levels increased roughly by 1.5, Asians by 1.6, and African/Native Americans increasing the most by a rating of 1.67. Dog therapy appears to uniformly impact the happiness levels of participants with diverse ethnic backgrounds. Happiness pre test scale did not vary by ethnicity. There was a significant increase from happiness pre test scale to post test. There were no ethnic differences for happiness post test scale. 16
The graph above depicts a pre/post test comparison of means pertaining to participant content levels categorized by ethnicity. Much like happiness level ratings, content ratings similarly increase after participants engaged in five minutes of dog therapy, regardless of ethnic background. The minimum increase in contentment in a 1-5 scale across ethnicities was a 1.3 rating. African Americans exhibited a content increase of 1.5, Asians were the second highest with an increase of 1.6, and Whites showed the largest increase in content levels by a mean rating 1.68. Dog therapy additionally appears to uniformly impact content levels of participants with diverse ethnic backgrounds. 17
The means of happiness levels were also compared based on class standing, as pictured in the graph above. Despite being a lower classman, an upper classman, or a graduate student, all of the class standing happiness means rose after participation in five minutes of dog therapy. On a 1-5 scale, post test results yielded that graduate student s happiness levels increase by one full rating. Senior happiness levels increased by 1.39, juniors by 1.44, sophomores by 1.51, and freshman with the highest mean increased by a rating of 1.71. Regardless of age, dog therapy proves to positively impact students of various class standing similarly. 18
Additionally, the graph above pictures a means comparison of content levels based on class standing. Similar to class standing happiness levels, graduate student s content levels rose by a rating of 1.19, seniors by a rating of 1.21, juniors by 1.38, sophomores by 1.65, and finally freshman rose the most in contentment levels by a rating of 1.74. Once again we see that regardless of a participant s class standing, dog therapy results in a rise of contentment levels. 19
An examination of happiness level means based on age is pictured in the graph above. Participants aged 18 and 19 exhibited the highest increase in happiness levels by a rating of 1.66. Those aged 20 and 21 rose by a rating of 1.51, and those aged 22 and 23 increased in happiness levels by a rating of 1.34. Finally, those aged 24 and older increased their happiness levels by a rating of 1.27 after participating in dog therapy for five minutes. It is critical to note that with a diversity of ages represented, their happiness level means subsequently rose in a similar fashion. 20
An examination of content level means based on age can be seen in the graph above. The largest increase in mean contentment levels can be seen in individuals aged 18 and 19, with a rating of 1.73. Next, those aged 20 and 21 increased by a mean rating of 1.42, those aged 24 and older by 1.31, and lastly 22 and 23 year olds showed a 1.27 increase in contentment levels after engaging in dog therapy. Despite a variation in the ages of participants, all of the means of the four age ranges in this survey increased in contentment levels after five minutes of interaction with a dog. 21
The graph above conveys the happiness level means of participants based on their college. After five minutes of dog therapy, students within the Business and Economics College increased their happiness level means by a rating of 1.72, with Engineering and Computer Science participants not far behind with an increased mean of 1.69. The Communication College had a mean happiness level increase of 1.67, while the college of Science and Mathematics increased by a rating of 1.58. Regardless of the college participants belonged to, mean happiness levels increased after a dog therapy post test. It is noteworthy to mention how the colleges that exhibited the largest mean increase in their post test are colleges that tend to be known for their high stress classes and material. 22
The graph above conveys the content level means of participants based on their college. Similar to happiness level means, high stress colleges such as Engineering and Computer Science exhibited a larger increase in content levels with a 1.92 rating, as well as Natural Science and Mathematics with a mean increase of 1.89. Regardless of the college or major of a participant, we see a minimum mean increase of 1.24 after five minutes of dog therapy, suggesting an overall positive impact. 23