To what extent does the interaction between
dogs and humans improve human health and
well-being?
Abstract
The growing interest into the therapeutically healing interactions of dogs
and humans has been fuelled more strongly in recent years due to the
increased challenges of modern living. The dominant exploration of this
fascination thus far has been more heavily focused on animal-assisted
therapies within formal mental and physical health care settings. Earlier
research has failed to highlight the informal service of care that dogs can
supply therapeutically, within the modern home. When investigating this,
structured, quantitative data from changes in the DASS-21 scores of
participants will be used. Unstructured data from observations of human-
dog interactions will additionally be used, and correlational graphs
exploring causal links between mental health improvements and dog
interactions will be produced. Contrary to what has previously been
assumed, I hope to find that intrinsically dogs are able to improve the
mental health and well-being of humans, this being vital in the current
strains of our society. After research of this kind is conducted, the
exertion and burden currently put on healthcare providers can be
lessened a significant amount.
Introduction
“The only, absolute and best friend that a man has, in this selfish world,
the only one that will not betray or deny him, is his Dog” [1]. This
statement, first recorded in 1789 by King Frederick of Prussia, has
become a common statement in modern life. Archaeological evidence
dates the domestication of dogs to approximately 15,000 years ago, with
“man’s best friend” laying, even in death, beside his companion [2]. Why
has this loyalty and friendship between man and dog been so common?
Dog’s first aid to man was within hunting, supplying an irreplaceable
benefit to the survival of hunter-gathers [3]. Since then, a dog’s role in
human life has been studied in regard for their psychosocial healing, and
calming properties within the physical healthcare industry [4] [5]. Such
studies have highlighted the positive correlation between an increase in
physical health and the interactions between dogs. Additionally, the use
of canine assisted therapy in the rehabilitation of prisoners has increased
substantially in recent years, with greater evidence exploring the mental
and physical benefits from the intervention [6]. Female offenders are
typically found to have more severe mental health problems than male
offenders, acting in more aggressive manners, putting greater pressure
, on police officials. After the introduction of repeated exposure to canine
therapy sessions, the severity of these behaviours and mental health
problems decreased significantly, clearly emphasising the pragmatic use
of human-dog interactions in a formal mental healthcare setting.
Within an informal setting, dogs are largely owned for their social benefits
[7]; having a companion is arguably human nature, and aids to prevent
loneliness, particularly in the modern-day setting of increased isolated
living [8]. I aim to discover if this companionship is due to the mental
health and wellbeing benefits that ownership of a dog may produce for
the general public. I will specifically evaluate this hypothesis on members
of the public currently in temporary employment positions within multiple
major cities within the UK. Studies have found that this demographic of
the population has a significantly lower mental health score than other
members of the public, who have permanent employment positions [9].
Particularly in recent years, temporary employment has increased in
multiple countries, largely because of the COVID-19 pandemic [10]. Once
the study is completed, I believe the findings will concur to show that this
demographic’s mental health will aid from ownership of a dog.
Method
Participants
The target population for my experiment will include those currently in
temporary employment. A sample will be taken based on volunteers to
the study through an online advertisement campaign. To produce my
sample, I will purposively choose participants who did not seem to have
experiences which could alter their DASS-21 score at the time of
completion, to control extraneous variables. I have more specifically
outlined my sampling method under materials. I would aim for my
participants to have an extensive range of genders, ages, and ethnicities,
to improve the generalisability of my findings, however as participants
are self-selected, this cannot be controlled.
Materials
Self-produced questionnaire. During the application process, potential
participants will be given a short questionnaire to assess their current
emotional state. The self-produced questionnaire will include a 5-point
Likert scale including options from strongly disagree to strongly agree.
Potential questions may include “I have experienced an event today
which is unusual, causing emotional distress”, and “My experiences today
have altered my emotional state very strongly in relation to the rest of
the week”. This questionnaire will be short, taking under five minutes to
complete.
