Method: The project consists of two parts: - In the first part of the project, work will be done with healthy test persons in a standardized experimental setup, where the persons are exposed to dog contact with different intensities - both in terms of eye contact, possibility of touch, and other physical interaction with the dog. After this, the persons must be tested in either relaxing, stressful or physically demanding situations, where interaction with the dog is part of the test situation, but where the persons themselves choose how much they want to interact with the dog. In this way, researchers are given the opportunity to compare a range of physiological, psychometric (eg goals for depression, anxiety, personality type) and behavioral biology goals in a homogeneous group of people and acquire basic knowledge. The physiological goals that the researchers will collect are i.a. persons' blood pressure, heart rate and saliva samples for measuring the hormones cortisol and oxytocin. Using wireless equipment, the persons' so-called "galvanic skin response" is also measured. The latter is a measure of emotional response, and is known i.a. from lie detectors.
- The project includes two case studies - partly with nursing home residents and partly with war veterans: 1) The first case study measures (based on the parameters that are found suitable in the initial experimental setup) the physiological and behavioral responses of nursing home residents who receive visits with and without dog. Here, the residents' reactions to contact with a visiting dog are identified. 2) In the second case study, the selected measurement parameters are used to examine the effect of a service dog's presence in war veterans with PTSD (post traumatic stress diagnosis) - both in challenging and non-challenging situations - ie. with high and low stress loads. Here, goals for physical activity will also be included, and in this part of the experiment there will also be a special focus on the dog's reactions. In all phases of the project, psychological and psychometric data are collected on the trial participants - both to understand how contact with animals affects these goals, but also to gain knowledge about whether humans' mental state affects their response to contact with dogs.
The project also has a number of collaborators, including The Military Veterans Center, TrygFonden and the participating nursing homes. | | | | | | |

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Result: By identifying any connections between contact with animals and humans' immediate responses, one can obtain the knowledge that is much needed in this field of research. In addition, one can identify the relationship between the immediate effects as well as long-term effects in groups of people with disorders of various kinds. With this, the project provides both knowledge and techniques to clarify which treatment elements have the greatest effect in a therapeutic context. The project can contribute to the further development of animal-assisted therapy, as well as other types of help from animals, on a solid scientific basis. This can benefit many vulnerable people and patients with psychiatric diagnoses. |
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