Randomized Control Trial of an Animal-Assisted Intervention With Adjudicated Youth
| Status: | Completed |
|---|---|
| Conditions: | Anxiety, Depression, Psychiatric |
| Therapuetic Areas: | Psychiatry / Psychology |
| Healthy: | No |
| Age Range: | 14 - 17 |
| Updated: | 4/21/2016 |
| Start Date: | May 2012 |
| End Date: | June 2015 |
RCT of an Animal-Assisted Intervention With Adjudicated Youth
The project involves testing the efficacy of an animal-assisted intervention (AAI). The AAI
consists of a 10-week program in which adjudicated adolescents train shelter dogs and will
be compared to a dog walking control group matched for educational content and dog contact
time. The investigators expect that the AAI will result in improved empathy skills and that
dog attachment will explain these findings. The investigators also explore the extent to
which the AAI will improve internalizing and externalizing symptoms in these adolescents.
consists of a 10-week program in which adjudicated adolescents train shelter dogs and will
be compared to a dog walking control group matched for educational content and dog contact
time. The investigators expect that the AAI will result in improved empathy skills and that
dog attachment will explain these findings. The investigators also explore the extent to
which the AAI will improve internalizing and externalizing symptoms in these adolescents.
Adjudicated adolescents (i.e., teens who have committed criminal offenses and are
incarcerated in juvenile detention centers) have deficits in emotion regulation, including
empathy skills, and are at risk for a host of poor outcomes including repeat offenses,
internalizing symptoms (e.g., depression, anxiety), externalizing symptoms (e.g., lying,
truancy, fighting). Many of these problems stem from a lack of secure attachment to parents
and peers. There is a need for novel and innovative programs to help these teens develop
more secure attachments and better empathy skills to prevent poor outcomes. One type of
intervention is animal-assisted interventions such as dog training programs. These programs
appear to build empathy skills in at-risk youth, which may translate into better peer
relations, less psychological distress, and less recidivism. The goal of this study is to
test an existing animal-assisted intervention program that is already being used in juvenile
detention centers to determine whether it is efficacious in improving adjudicated
adolescents' empathy skills and psychological symptoms through building a secure attachment
to the training dog.
incarcerated in juvenile detention centers) have deficits in emotion regulation, including
empathy skills, and are at risk for a host of poor outcomes including repeat offenses,
internalizing symptoms (e.g., depression, anxiety), externalizing symptoms (e.g., lying,
truancy, fighting). Many of these problems stem from a lack of secure attachment to parents
and peers. There is a need for novel and innovative programs to help these teens develop
more secure attachments and better empathy skills to prevent poor outcomes. One type of
intervention is animal-assisted interventions such as dog training programs. These programs
appear to build empathy skills in at-risk youth, which may translate into better peer
relations, less psychological distress, and less recidivism. The goal of this study is to
test an existing animal-assisted intervention program that is already being used in juvenile
detention centers to determine whether it is efficacious in improving adjudicated
adolescents' empathy skills and psychological symptoms through building a secure attachment
to the training dog.
Inclusion Criteria:
- must be a resident of participating juvenile justice center in Michigan
Exclusion Criteria:
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