• animal abuse
• callousness
• general deviance theory
• general strain theory
• self control
• sensation seeking
• social bond theory

• Male
• Humans
• Female
• Adult
• Animals
• Young Adult
• Risk Factors
• Adolescent
• France
• Middle Aged
• Violence/psychology

• Critical window
• Distributed lag model
• JECS
• Japan
• Pets
• Time-varying exposure
• Wheezing

• Humans
• Pets
• Japan/epidemiology
• Child, Preschool
• Respiratory Sounds
• Female
• Male
• Ownership/statistics & numerical data
• Animals
• Environmental Exposure/adverse effects
• Prospective Studies
• Infant
• Models, Statistical
• Longitudinal Studies
• Logistic Models

• Ministry of the Environment, Government of Japan

• assessment
• children
• empathy
• psychometric properties
• questionnaire measurement
• reliability
• validity

• Child
• Humans
• Empathy
• Self Report

• Mental illness in adolescence
• Pet attachment
• Pet cat
• Pet dog
• Pet exposure in childhood

• Animals
• Cohort Studies
• Dogs
• Female
• Follow-Up Studies
• Humans
• Male
• Mental Disorders/diagnosis
• Mental Disorders/epidemiology
• Pets
• Retrospective Studies

• R21 HD101078 NICHD NIH HHS
• Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Emerging evidence suggests that pet dogs can offer features of a secure attachment which has been associated with healthy psychological development across the lifespan. Limited research has investigated the underpinning mechanisms that may contribute to the benefits and risks of child–dog attachment during childhood. This study aimed to test the potential mediating role of caregiver-observed positive and negative child–dog behaviours, on the relationship between child-reported child–dog attachment, and caregiver-reported child psychopathology and emotion regulation. Data from 117 caregiver reports and 77 child self-reports were collected through an online survey in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Parallel mediation analyses indicated that child–dog attachment had a significant indirect effect on conduct problems through negative child–dog behaviours only. Child–dog attachment had a significant indirect effect on emotional symptoms, peer problems, prosocial behaviour, emotion regulation, and emotional lability/negativity through both positive and negative child–dog behaviours. Although this study found modest effect sizes, the findings suggest that the types of interactions that children engage in with their pet dogs may be important mechanisms through which pet attachment contributes to psychological development throughout childhood, and therefore further attention is warranted. Positive and safe child–dog interactions can be facilitated through education and intervention, which may have implications for promoting positive developmental outcomes.

• Adolescent
• Assessment
• Autistic disorder
• Child
• Conduct disorder
• Empathy

• Children
• Development
• Dog
• Dog play
• Dog walking
• Physical activity
• mHealth

• Animals
• Child
• Child, Preschool
• Dogs
• Humans
• Parent-Child Relations
• Parents
• Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
• Text Messaging
• Walking
• Western Australia

• EP-C-17-017 EPA
• G1002402 Medical Research Council
• HAB17-017 Human Animal Bond Research Institute
• 24219 Healthway

Although previous research has shown that the features of an attachment bond are fulfilled in human–dog dyads, it is still unclear if people may have horses as attachment figures. This paper examines whether adolescents’ contact with horses can result in attachment bonds and whether these forms of attachment hold any potential for motivating adolescents in professional care. The paper is based on a time-limited session where six girls and three boys, aged 16–17, were observing and interacting with free-roaming horses at a farm. The results suggest that the presence of horses may activate the development of attachment in adolescents in the same way people do. The four criteria of an attachment bond—proximity maintenance, safe haven, secure base, and separation distress—may be fulfilled in the interaction between a human and a horse. This promotes a therapeutically favorable environment for professional care that is appealing, unique, and accurate. The study provides insights into horses’ therapeutic potential in dealing with adolescents in need of professional therapy or care.

Previous research has shown features of an attachment bond to be fulfilled in, for instance, human–dog dyads; however, there is a considerable lack of research on the potential attachment in human–horse relationships. Employing Bowlby’s criteria of an attachment bond and Pierce’s model of therapeutically powerful activity, this article studies whether short-term exposure to horses brings about elements of emerging attachment for adolescents and if this interaction holds potential in creating a favorable early-stage setting for professional care. It draws from group discussions carried out with nine 16–17-year-old adolescents who participated in an EASEL (Equine-Assisted Social and Emotional Learning) session when visiting a farm with a youth worker. A qualitative content analysis of the discussions revealed that some characteristics of the four principal criteria of an attachment bond—proximity maintenance, safe haven, secure base, and separation distress—were identifiable in the adolescents’ expressed experiences of observing and interacting with horses. Moreover, the three main sources of therapeutic power—appeal, accuracy, and intactness—intersected with the emerging development of the adolescents’ attachment to horses. Additionally, space for self-reflection was enhanced by the presence of the horses. The study offers insights into the potential of human–horse attachment in dealing with adolescents with and without special needs for various therapy and care purposes.

• adolescent
• attachment
• equine-assisted therapies
• human-horse relations
• professional care

Socially-assistive robots (SAR) have been used to reduce pain and distress in children in medical settings. Patients who perceive empathic treatment have increased satisfaction and improved outcomes. We sought to determine if an empathic SAR could be developed and used to decrease pain and fear associated with peripheral IV placement in children.

We conducted a pilot study of children receiving IV placement. Participating children were randomized to interact with (1) no robot, or a commercially available 3D printed humanoid SAR robot programmed with (2) empathy or (3) distraction conditions. Children and parents completed demographic surveys, and children used an adapted validated questionnaire to rate the robot's empathy on an 8-point Likert scale. Survey scores were compared by the t-test or chi-square test. Pain and fear were measured by self-report using the FACES and FEAR scales, and video tapes were coded using the CHEOPS and FLACC. Scores were compared using repeated measures 2-way ANOVA. This trial is registered with NCT02840942.

Thirty-one children with an average age of 9.6 years completed the study. For all measures, mean pain and fear scores were lowest in the empathy group immediately before and after IV placement. Children were more likely to attribute characteristics of empathy to the empathic condition (Likert score 7.24 v. 4.70; p=0.012) and to report that having the empathic vs. distraction robot made the IV hurt less (7.45 vs. 4.88; p=0.026).

Children were able to identify SAR designed to display empathic characteristics and reported it helped with IV insertion pain and fear. Mean scores of self-reported or objective pain and fear scales were the lowest in the empathy group and the highest in the distraction condition before and after IV insertion. This result suggests empathy improves SAR functionality when used for painful medical procedures and informs future research into SAR for pain management.

• animal abuse
• cultural contexts
• domestic violence
• violence exposure

• Adolescent
• Adolescent Behavior/psychology
• Aggression/psychology
• Animal Welfare/statistics & numerical data
• Animals
• Domestic Violence/psychology
• Empathy
• Female
• Germany
• Humans
• Male
• Risk Factors
• Romania
• Rural Population/statistics & numerical data
• Surveys and Questionnaires

With many children and young adolescents reporting strong emotional bonds with their pets, the impact of pet ownership on child/adolescent health—especially on their emotional development—has garnered increasing scientific interest. We examined the association between pet ownership in toddlerhood (age 3.5 years) and poor emotional expression in later childhood (age 5.5 years) using propensity score matching within a longitudinal cohort dataset from Japan (n = 31,453). A propensity score for pet ownership was calculated by logistic models based on a comprehensive list of each child’s observed characteristics, including sex, household income, parental education, mother’s employment status, residential environment, number of siblings, and living arrangement. Log-binomial regression analyses using matched samples revealed that children who owned pets during the toddler years were 6% less likely to have a poor emotional expression in later childhood (prevalence ratio = 0.94, 95% confidence interval = 0.90–0.99) compared to those without pets. This suggests that owning pets may provide children with opportunities to control their emotions, and lead to a lower prevalence of poor emotional expression. Pet ownership in toddlerhood may contribute to the development of expression.

• Japan
• Pet ownership
• child development
• emotional regulation
• propensity score matching

• Animals
• Child
• Child Behavior/psychology
• Child Development
• Child, Preschool
• Cohort Studies
• Emotions
• Female
• Human-Animal Bond
• Humans
• Japan
• Male
• Parents/psychology
• Pets/psychology
• Propensity Score

• ADHD
• Animal Assisted Intervention
• Human Animal Interaction
• school-based interventions
• self-awareness
• self-esteem
• social skills training
• therapy dogs

• Adolescent
• Adult
• Affect
• Animals
• Attitude
• Awareness
• Cats
• Dogs
• Empathy
• Female
• Human-Animal Bond
• Humans
• Male
• Sex Factors
• Surveys and Questionnaires

• Human animal interaction
• canis familiaris
• children
• dogs

• R03 HD071288 NICHD NIH HHS

• Child
• Child, Preschool
• Female
• Human-Animal Bond
• Humans
• Male
• Personality Development
• Personality Tests
• Social Adjustment