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Written by Diana Lee Brown, BS; Shireen Ady, BS; and Laura Ross, MCHES

2015-2016

DOG THERAPY TECHNICAL REPORT

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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

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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.

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Of the 369 total participants whose surveys included demographic questions, 80% (296) were

female and 20% (73) were male.

80%

20%

Figure 1:What is your sex?

Female

Male

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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.

39%

29%

25%

3% 3% 1%

Figure 2: What is your ethnicity?

Hispanic Asian White African American Other Native American

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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.

41%

26%

21%

12%

Figure 3:What is your age?

18-19

20-21

22-23

24 and older

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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.

32%

24%

21%

18%

4%

2%

Figure 4:What is your class standing?

Freshman

Junior

Senior

Sophomore

Graduate

Other

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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.

72%

28%

Figure 5:Where do you live?

Off campus

On Campus

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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.

Figure 6: What is your major?

108

65

4138

34 3328

15

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

College

Health and Human

Development

Humanities and Social Sciences

Business and Economics

Natural sciences and

Mathematics

Communications

Engineering and Computer

Sciences

Arts

Undeclared

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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.

57%

43%

Figure 7:Was this your first time using dog therapy?

Yes

No

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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.

33%

27%

18%

9%

8%6%

Figure 8:How did you hear about dog therapy?

Other

Friend/Faculty

Health Center (SHCC)

Banner

Poster

Flyer

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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).

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83

320

149

39

1 120

150

424

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

Sad Somewhat Sad Neutral Somewhat

HappyHappy

Pre-Test

Post Test

Figure 9: Pre/post test comparison on happiness

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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).

89

215

176

82

3112

26

100

159

286

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

Stressed Somewhat

StressedNeutral Somewhat

ContentContent

Pre-Test

Post-Test

Figure 10: Pre/post test comparison on content

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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.

102

23

19

Figure 11:Top pre test themes impacting happiness ratings

Academics/School

Overall stressed

Tired/Lack of sleep

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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.

199

2114

Figure 12:Top pre test themes impacting content ratings

Academics/School

Work

Dogs being nearby

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.