Clinical trial NCT03625297: Shelter Cat Adoption in Families of Children With Autism (Feline Friends)
Official title: Shelter Cat Adoption in Families of Children With Autism: Impact on Cat Stress and Children's Social Skills and Anxiety ("Feline Friends")
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Social Skills
Anxiety
Lead sponsor: University of Missouri-Columbia
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Winn Feline Foundation
name: Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI)
First posted: 2018-08-10
Enrollment: 11
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 6
Maximum age (years): 17
Standard ages: CHILD
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: CROSSOVER
Intervention model description: This study uses a two-group randomized, repeated measures design with a delayed treatment control group.
Primary purpose: OTHER

Brief summary: The overall purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of the introduction of a shelter cat into the family of a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder on the social skills and anxiety of the child, and to examine stress in the cat.

Detailed description: Many families in the United States live with cats as companion animals, including families of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). One in 68 children are diagnosed with ASD. There is no cure for ASD, and no one treatment works for all children. Symptoms of ASD include a lack of social skills and anxiety. Companion animals have been helpful for children with ASD. However, no one has studied stress of cats living in families of children with ASD. This study will place 64 pre-screened shelter cats in pre-screened homes and monitor the stress of the cats. Cats ages 10 months to four years that have been screened for calm behavior using a temperament, test will be adopted by families in the study. Families will also be screened for pet issues. No cat will be placed in a home with a child who has a history of aggression to animals. The study will also examine the social skills and anxiety of the children with ASD, and bonding of the parents and children with their cats. Five to eight million dogs and cats are relinquished to animal shelters in the United States each year. Thirty-eight percent of cats are given up for behavioral reasons. Studying cat stress and the placement of cats, with calm and non-aggressive characteristics into homes of families of children with ASD may help shed light on the likely success of the relationships between shelter cats and these families.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* child with diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder
* no cat currently living with the family
* willingness to adopt a shelter cat
* English speaking
* live within 125 miles of Columbia, Missouri

Exclusion Criteria:

* child with Autism Spectrum Disorder having any history of animal aggression
* children with cat allergies

Primary outcomes:
measure: Change in Social Skills of child with autism over time from baseline to 6, to 12 and to 18 weeks
timeFrame: Control: Baseline, 6, 12 and 18 weeks Treatment: Baseline, 6, 12 and 18 weeks
measure: Change in Anxiety of child with autism over time from baseline to 6, to 12 and to 18 weeks
timeFrame: Control: Baseline, 6, 12 and 18 weeks Treatment: Baseline, 6, 12 and 18 weeks
Secondary outcomes:
measure: change in parent Human-animal Bonding over time from 2-3 days, to 6, to 12 and 18 weeks
timeFrame: Baseline, 6, 12 and 18 weeks Treatment: Baseline, 2-3 days, 6, 12 and 18 weeks
measure: change in child Human-animal Bonding over time from 2-3 days, to 6, to 12 and 18 weeks
timeFrame: Baseline, 6, 12 and 18 weeks Treatment: Baseline, 2-3 days, 6, 12 and 18 weeks
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Columbia
country: United States
facility: University of Missouri
state: Missouri
Study officials:
affiliation: University of Missouri-Columbia
name: Gretchen K Carlisle, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: