Effectiveness of Animal Assisted Interventions for Children with Social Anxiety

Author/Creator

Author/Creator ORCID

Date

2020-05-07

Department

Program

Masters of Education

Citation of Original Publication

Rights

This work may be protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. To obtain information or permission to publish or reproduce, please contact the Goucher Special Collections & Archives at 410-337-6347 or email archives@goucher.edu.

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of Animal Assisted Interventions (AAI) for helping children with social anxiety to become more socially comfortable and confident. The subject was a kindergarten girl who was diagnosed with social anxiety at a young age. She participated in AAI sessions while using a self-reporting survey to measure the effectiveness of her social comfort and confidence. The survey was completed for two weeks prior to the intervention, as well as after each AAI session. The points for the pre- surveys were added together for a total combined pre score and the post surveys were added together for a combined post score. The father of the subject also completed a survey to parent survey prior to and after the AAI sessions. The results of the self-report questionnaire study showed that the AAI sessions that the subject participated in were beneficial to her, in making her feel more socially comfortable and confident in unfamiliar social settings. The results of the parent-completed questionnaire indicated that she was also perceived as being more socially comfortable and confident. While the results showed that AAI was successful for her, due to the case study design and small group setting for the intervention, the results may not be significant for all children who experience the social anxiety.