The Positive Impact of Dogs on College Students
As the start of the Fall 2022 semester takes hold, several college students are already beginning to feel the weight of their academic courses. Everything from tutors and workshops to free ice cream has been thrown about in a desperate attempt to relieve some if any stress from these overwhelmed college students’ lives. More recent research introduces a unique approach toward stress relief that may not only put an immediate grin on your face but also have lasting positive effects. The most effective way of reducing stress you may ask? Just a fuzzy friend with a wet nose!
In the article by Science Daily, therapy dogs are described to be increasingly common in many colleges across the United States. Despite the obvious popular demand, Science Daily explains that new research reinforces a correlation between the mood of college students with their interaction with dogs. The study was conducted by asking 264 students to fill out a questionnaire to evaluate their feelings of happiness, support, stress levels, and overall satisfaction in life. Participants were randomly split into a treatment and a control group. The control group received no interaction with dogs and went about their typical day. The treatment group attended a therapy session with seven to twelve dogs in which they were allowed to talk, pet, and hold. For the treatment group, the questionnaire was completed immediately before and after their interaction with the dogs. After a mere 90-minute session, researchers found that students’ stress decreased, and their energy and happiness levels increased. In a third questionnaire given to the treatment group 10 hours after their interaction with the dogs, students were shown to still be experiencing the positive effects they felt immediately after the encounter.
The positive impact of dogs on college students is no surprise; dogs have been having an uplifting presence on humans for ages. In another study conducted by BMC Public Health, the mental health of new dog owners was evaluated from dog acquisition to 8 months post-adoption. The acquisition group is composed of previous and new dog owners. Two additional control groups were also evaluated: a lagged control in which individuals were interested in owning a dog but did not acquire one in the 8 months and community control of individuals with no interest in having a dog. Together, all three groups were compared at the beginning of the experiment, at the 3-month mark, and at the end of the study. Overall, the individuals who recently adopted a dog showed the most drastic decrease in loneliness and psychological disease compared to the control groups. Researchers of this study emphasized that these findings have the potential to spark more experiments on human and dog companionship.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been fortunate to have the opportunity to assist a friend with her service dog; simply watching her dog run around and play is enough to make my day better. While seemingly insignificant, dogs can lower stress, loneliness, and psychological disease for longer than initially predicted. This small addition to a busy college student’s life may be enough to initiate a positive ripple effect that will then continue for long after.
“Victoria Flynn” (1)
I loved reading your post, I know when the semester starts getting rough I take a weekend to go home just to see my dogs and get a happiness boost. This has me wondering if other animals like cats would have as positive of an effect on students or are dogs really a mans best friend?
ReplyDeleteHi Alanna, thank you for the kind words. The first picture is actually one of my two dogs from back at home. You asked.a great question and I think I found a good article to spark conversation: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/04/05/dog-owners-are-much-happier-than-cat-owners-survey-finds/
ReplyDeleteDespite the various factors that separate dog owners from cat owners, this Washington Post article presents several studies in which dog owners were seen to be almost two times happier than cat owners. The most shocking statement I read was that the difference in happiness correlated to dogs vs. cats was comparable to the difference among people in middle vs. upper class as well as "fair" health vs. "excellent health."
Hi Victoria! I really enjoyed your post. I just recently got a dog and having to leave him was so hard. I've noticed for the past few weeks I've been away from him that I always feel a little better whenever I see videos or picture of him. Also, I find that when I'm home I definitely feel more at ease even when I'm stressed compared to when I'm on campus.
ReplyDeleteAlissa Ngo
Hi Alissa, that's so exciting! Leaving pets behind is so hard. It appears that there is some science behind what you mentioned. According to this CNN article, simply looking at photographs or videos of animals helps to lower anxiety, heart rate, and blood pressure: https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/27/us/watching-cute-animals-study-scn-trnd/index.html
DeleteI'm sure looking at pictures of your own animals is even more effective!
Although it was expected that dogs would have a positive impact on the mental health of college students, it was interesting to read about the officially conducted experiments. I was surprised to read that even 10 hours after the participants’ interaction with dogs, they still experienced positive effects. Does age play a role in a dog’s positive influence? For example, do you think the results would be different if the experiment was testing with older people compared to college students or quite similar?
ReplyDeleteHi Gina, I was also shocked to learn that dogs had a long lasting positive effect on the college students. However, if I were in their position I would likely feel the same way! Your question helped guide me to an interesting article on the impact of dogs on different age groups: https://www.helpguide.org/articles/pets/how-dogs-boost-mental-health.htm
DeleteThe article describes dogs help children with anxiety, adults with lifestyle and socialization, and even the elderly with Alzheimer's!
Hi Victoria! I loved reading this post because it has always been such a positive thing for almost everyone when any animals are present. Being college students, this definitely affects us and I have noticed myself that these types of interactions have typically had a positive impact on me. Why do you think that these interactions have such a positive impact on us over other things?
ReplyDelete^Comment by Caitlin Hooper
DeleteHi Caitlin, thats a great question and I think the best way to address it is with my opinion. While science and testing can help us to learn countless things, exactly why humans love dogs so much is a tough one. I believe that many people get a positive feeling from dogs because of their undeniably happy-go-lucky personalities. No matter what day, what time dogs seem to always be happy to live in the present.
DeleteI found this article really interesting because I did not realize there were actual experiments to test this! I wonder if this experiment/this positive impact happens for other animals as well or if its just dogs.
ReplyDeleteHi Sneha, I also wasn't aware of this evidence until I wrote my blog! If you're interested in the physical and emotional correlations of different animals I recommend taking a look at the article I left for Alanna.
DeleteThis was a very interesting read! I have seen a lot more service dogs on campus since the beginning of this semester. Although there are a lot of benefits of owning a dog in college there must be some negatives. What negative aspects are holding you back from owning a dog here?
ReplyDelete- Kelly Pham
Hi Kelly, I can't help but smile when I see all the puppies in training to be a service dog. I've considered taking the classes if I have extra credits next year. In terms of me not having a dog on campus comes down to space and availability. I wouldn't be able to keep both or one of my dogs on campus with me. I also unfortunately wouldn't have a lot of time to allow them to live the fullest life they deserve. For people who put in the time and effort to train the service dogs in the dorm - applaud them!
DeleteI know that for many schools have therapy dogs come in during the time of midterms and finals weeks. There have been times that UMass has also brought in dogs for the students. Even with all this, I had never considered the actual science behind it, so I really enjoyed your blog post for more insight on the subject! It's interesting that dogs can also decrease loneliness and psychological diseases; it almost seems like such a simple and effective way to combat these things! I wonder if these same effects are also similar with other animals/pets or if it just limited to dogs?
ReplyDeleteRitika Koirala
DeleteHi Ritika, similar effects are seen with other animals as well! Take a peak at the article I left for Alanna! Not only does it mention cats' correlation to mood but it compares which is more positive.
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