PSII-10 Comparison of short- and long-term equine interaction for promoting perceived skill development, stress reduction, and self-perception within college students
Authors: Farnlacher Emma , McCullough Cassidy , Nicodemus Molly , Friend Molly , Cavinder Clay A , Holtcamp Katie , Jousan Dean 
Published: September 2024

The mental health crisis across college campuses became evident with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the pandemic, research showed an uptick in depression, anxiety, and substance abuse within the college student population. This trend led to campuses expanding therapeutic intervention opportunities for students to promote mental health including the introduction of campus-based equine interaction programs. However, research concerning the required length of curriculum utilizing equine interaction for promoting student mental health is conflicting. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to compare a short-term, 1-d equine interaction program to that of a long-term, semester-long program for promoting skill development, stress reduction, and self-perception among college students. College students selected between participation in one of the following non-therapeutic based equine interaction programs: 1) short-term (n = 8): a 1-h session taking place on 1 d, or 2) long-term (n = 32): a 10-hh program spread out across a semester (15 wk). Each group performed ground-based equine handling activities working with the same mental health professional. Both groups completed a pre- and post- survey instrument with questions targeting equine-based skill development (18 questions), academic-related stress levels (6 questions), and views associated with self-perception (7 questions). Data were analyzed using a two-tailed t-test to determine differences between pre- and post- survey instrument responses. Additionally, a mixed linear model in SAS was utilized to determine differences between the two groups. Significance was set at P ≤ 0.05. While long-term equine interaction did not significantly promote skill development within the student participants (P &gt; 0.05), the students within the short-term equine interaction perceived a significant improvement in basic handling skills working with specific breeds (P = 0.029). As for student stress levels, the short-term equine interaction resulted in students perceiving a reduction in stress associated with the following four areas: typical daily stress levels (P = 0.009), stress levels concerning grades (P = 0.033), studying for finals (P = 0.019), and taking finals (P = 0.005). Students in the long-term equine interaction reported perceived stress reduction in only two areas: overall grade point average (P = 0.044) and general test anxiety (P = 0.029). While students in the short-term equine interaction reported no improvement in self-perception (P &gt; 0.05), students in the long-term equine interaction perceived significant improvements in three areas of self-perception: confidence (P = 0.028), assertiveness (P = 0.035), and goal pursuit (P = 0.012). Nevertheless, no significant differences were found between the two groups for pre-responses (P = 0.312), post-responses (P = 0.604), nor pre-post -response differences (P = 0.962). These survey results suggest long-term equine interaction improved self-perception but did not offer additional benefits from that of the short-term equine interaction. This conclusion allows for colleges to offer programming that is more conducive to the schedule of the students allowing for scheduling that targets specific timepoints where mental health challenges may be heightened.