Animal-assisted Resilience Training for Children With Stressful Life Events or Autism Spectrum Disorder

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The goal of this clinical trial is to learn about the effects of an animal-assisted resilience training in children who experienced stressful life events or who have a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. The main question it aims to answer is: • Is an animal-assisted resilience training a feasible approach to increase resilience in children with a history of stressful life events or a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder? Participants will take part in 12 training sessions of a standardized resilience training. The training is group-based, takes place outdoors, and includes interactions with different animals. It focuses on self-esteem, self-perception, dealing with emotions, and social competence.

Official Title
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Effects of an Animal-assisted Resilience Training for Children With a History of Stressful Life Events or a Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Pilot Study

Conditions
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Autism Spectrum Disorder, Life Change Events

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Animal-assisted resilience training


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Age between 2 and 4 years (toddler group) or 8 and 12 years (children group) History of at least one stressful life event experience OR diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder Basic knowledge of either German or English of parents and child to follow the instructions during the training sessions and completion of interviews. Exclusion Criteria: - Medical contraindications for contact with animals, such as allergies or phobia

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 2 Years
Maximum Age: 12 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Prevention
Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Animal-assisted resilience training<br>12 sessions of group-based, animal-assisted resilience training. | Behavioral: Animal-assisted resilience training<br>* Participants take part in 12 sessions (120 minutes each), each session focuses on a topic that is related to resilience. The intervention takes part outdoors on a farm, and includes interactions with several different animals. The training takes place in small groups, and includes exercises, observations, and discussions.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Questionnaire on resources in childhood and adolescence | Pre-to-post assessment changes in resilience | 18 weeks | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Questionnaire to assess emotion regulation in children and adolescents | Pre-to-post assessment changes in emotion regulation | 18 weeks | 
| Number of attendend sessions | Number of attended sessions over the course of the training | 12 weeks | 
| Feeling secure and motivation to participate as measured on a 0-10 scale | Motivation and feeling secure as measured at the beginning and end of each session | 12 weeks | 
| Intervention satisfaction as assessed in semi-structured interview | Satisfaction with program content and structure, as measured by qualitative interview | 18 weeks (follow-up) | 
| Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) | Pre-to-post assessment changes in peer-relationship problems and prosocial behavior measures | 18 weeks |