Pet Your Stress Away Study

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The purpose of this study is to determine whether an animal visitation programs on college campuses are effective in the treatment of college student stress reduction during preparation for final examinations.

Conditions
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Stress, Physiological, Stress, Psychological

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Animal assisted activity
* Behavioral: Animal photos
* Behavioral: Observing human-animal interaction


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Undergraduate status Exclusion Criteria: None

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Prevention
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Stress reduction method<br>Participants randomized into the PYSA group engaged in a 10 minute direct interaction with the animals (dogs and cats) of the Pet Your Stress Away program | Behavioral: Animal assisted activity<br>* Allowed to interact (e.g. talking, petting, scratching, feeding treats, playing with) live animals<br>|
| Placebo Comparator: Control<br>Participants randomized into the Control group watched a 10 minute slide show of dog and cat photos | Behavioral: Animal photos<br>* A 10 minute, silent, PowerPoint slide show of a variety of dogs and cats<br>|
| No Intervention: Non-treatment<br>Participants randomized into the No-treatment group silently waited for 10 minutes without engaging in any physical or electronic social interactions. | |
| Placebo Comparator: Observation<br>Participants randomized into the observation group observed 10 minutes of others in the general PYSA program petting cats and dogs, while they 'waited in line' for there turn. | Behavioral: Observing human-animal interaction<br>* Participants watched others participate in petting dogs and cats, while they waited in line for 10 minutes. Participants did not physically touch any animals during this time.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Change in physiological stress measured via salivary cortisol | Salivary cortisol was measured three times on the day of program participation: immediately upon waking, and immediately before and after participation in the assigned 10 minute intervention | On the day of program participation: Once immediately upon waking up, and immediately before and after participation in the assigned 10 minute intervention | 
| Change in momentary emotion using the experience sampling method questionnaire |  | Momentary emotion was measured twice, immediately before and after participation in the assigned 10 minute intervention | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Change in physiological stress measured via salivary Alpha-amylase | Salivary alpha-amylase was measured three times on the day of program participation: immediately upon waking, and immediately before and after participation in the assigned 10 minute intervention | On the day of program participation: Once immediately upon waking up, and immediately before and after participation in the assigned 10 minute intervention |