Going to the dogs: A quasi-experimental assessment of animal assisted therapy for children who have experienced abuse
Incorporating dogs in therapeutic approaches for children who have been sexually abused seems to reduce post-traumatic stress disorder symptomology
This quasi-experimental study examined the efficacy of an animal assisted therapy (AAT) program in reducing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology in children who experienced sexual abuse. The program included structured sessions with dogs followed by social worker delivered sessions with no dogs. The study also examined the efficacy of, and adherence to, the AAT intervention program for specific demographics, particularly by gender and ethnicity (Indigenous Australian vs non-Indigenous).
The focus of this study was on PTSD-related symptoms as measured by the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Young Children (TSCYC) — a 90-item caregiver-report designed to assess trauma symptoms in children following experiences of abuse. Items on the TSCYC address the frequency of a range of behavioral indicators such as “Looking sad,” “Bad dreams or nightmares,” and “Living in a fantasy world.” At the end of the program, caregivers were also asked to respond to several questions about the program’s impact on their child.
Twenty children (age 5-12) were included in this study. All (except for one for whom Time 1 data were unavailable) were assessed at three points in time: at intake (Time 1), at pre-intervention (Time 2), and at the completion of the 10 weeks of the AAT program (Time 3). For the first 3 weeks of the program, the children visited the local Royal Society for the Protection of Children and Animals shelter where they interacted with a trained therapy dog for approximately 20–30 minutes. Each session had specific therapeutic objectives and activities. These three weeks were followed by seven weeks of social worker delivered sessions (with no dogs) that specifically referred back to the skills and concepts gained while working with the dogs. These skills and concepts focused on human-directed empathy, body language and feelings, managing emotions, nonverbal and verbal communication, self-soothing, developing and respecting boundaries, and asking for support and developing support networks.
When change scores between Time 1 and Time 2 were compared to those between Time 2 and Time 3, the combined program resulted in a statistically and clinically significant decrease in all the PTSD clusters assessed by the TSCYC. Additional caregiver feedback after the program indicated that they had all seen positive changes in their child’s behavior. Half of the caregivers also indicated improvements at school. Caregivers noted that the increase in their children’s kindness/empathy towards animals often carried over to improvements in family relations. They also mentioned increased communication with their child. The overall intervention was equally effective for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous children and for both genders.
This research suggests that incorporating dogs in therapeutic approaches for children who have been sexually abused may reduce post-traumatic stress disorder symptomology. This approach may also promote high levels of treatment adherence.
Citation
Signal, T., Taylor, N., Prentice, K., McDade,M., Burke, K.J., (2017). Going to the dogs: A quasi-experimental assessment of animal assisted therapy for children who have experienced abuse. Applied Developmental Science, 21(2),
