INTEGRATED PET THERAPY ON CAMPUSA case study exploration of campus community members' perceptions of the well-being benefits associated with a canine-assisted intervention.
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| Title: | INTEGRATED PET THERAPY ON CAMPUSA case study exploration of campus community members' perceptions of the well-being benefits associated with a canine-assisted intervention. |
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| Authors: | Schmitz, Rachel M. (AUTHOR), Gomez, Gabby (AUTHOR), Sainz Sujet, Paola (AUTHOR), Schachle-Gordon, Jessica (AUTHOR), Hunger, Kelva (AUTHOR), Cost, Kendria (AUTHOR), Chung, Ryan (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Journal of American College Health. May2026, Vol. 74 Issue 5, p1470-1479. 10p. |
| Subjects: | Anxiety prevention, Prevention of mental depression, Pet therapy, Mental health, Secondary analysis, Focus groups, Research funding, T-test (Statistics), Interviewing, Psychological well-being, Dogs, Descriptive statistics, Judgment sampling, Surveys, Sound recordings, Research, Psychological stress, Happiness, Inferential statistics, Analysis of variance, Psychology of college students, Data analysis software, Animal-assisted therapy |
| Abstract: | College students face many mental health struggles. Research shows the positive mental health impact of canine-assisted interventions (CAI), especially among college students. This study draws on a 2023 case study of Pete's Pet Posse (P3) at Oklahoma State University (OSU), an institutionally-integrated CAI program providing yearlong events since 2013. The exploratory study was guided by the following research question: How do campus community members perceive the well-being benefits of P3? We utilize (all data collected in 2023) feedback surveys (students n = 1,900; response rate 8.8%; P3 Handlers n = 40; response rate 66%; P3 student volunteers n = 31; response rate 87%), in-depth interviews (n = 30), and one focus group (n = 5) to descriptively document P3′s perceived benefits to the campus community. Findings reveal that P3 helps the OSU community in managing life stressors, building a sense of community, and spreading joy in their everyday lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
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| Abstract: | College students face many mental health struggles. Research shows the positive mental health impact of canine-assisted interventions (CAI), especially among college students. This study draws on a 2023 case study of Pete's Pet Posse (P3) at Oklahoma State University (OSU), an institutionally-integrated CAI program providing yearlong events since 2013. The exploratory study was guided by the following research question: How do campus community members perceive the well-being benefits of P3? We utilize (all data collected in 2023) feedback surveys (students n = 1,900; response rate 8.8%; P3 Handlers n = 40; response rate 66%; P3 student volunteers n = 31; response rate 87%), in-depth interviews (n = 30), and one focus group (n = 5) to descriptively document P3′s perceived benefits to the campus community. Findings reveal that P3 helps the OSU community in managing life stressors, building a sense of community, and spreading joy in their everyday lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| ISSN: | 07448481 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/07448481.2025.2583202 |
