POST-SECONDARY PAW PATROL: Effects of Animal-Assisted Activities on Students’ Stress, Happiness and Well-being

Abstract

Two hundred forty-two students, including 76 college students and 166 university students from Canadian post-secondary schools, participated in a pre-post study of the effects of animal-assisted activities on their stress, happiness, and well-being. Findings showed that those students who had recently experienced a negative event showed significantly greater positive effects of the animal-assisted activities on all three dependent variables when compared with other students, although all students benefitted from participating in terms of desired effects on their stress, happiness, and well-being. In keeping with Keyes’ model of mental wellness, these school-based, animal-assisted activities are supported as low-cost, low-stigma, universal approaches to mental health promotion.