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Frontiers in veterinary science2018; 5; 268; doi: 10.3389/fvets.2018.00268

Reliability and Validity Assessment of the Observation of Human-Animal Interaction for Research (OHAIRE) Behavior Coding Tool.

Abstract: The Observation of Human-Animal Interaction for Research (OHAIRE) is a coding tool developed to capture the behavior of children when interacting with social partners and animals in naturalistic settings. The OHAIRE behavioral categories of focus are emotional displays, social communication behaviors toward adults and peers, behaviors directed toward animals or experimental control objects, and interfering behaviors. To date, the OHAIRE has been used by 14 coders to code 2,732 min of video across four studies with a total of 201 participants ages 5 to 18 years ( = 10.1, = 2.5). Studies involved animal-assisted intervention with three species (i.e., dogs, horses, and guinea pigs) and three populations (i.e., autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and typically developing children) in a school, a therapeutic horseback riding program, a group therapy program, and the hospital setting. We explored the psychometric properties of the OHAIRE through analyses of its inter-rater reliability, intra-rater reliability, convergent and divergent validity, and internal structure, using data from these four human-animal interaction studies. The average inter-rater reliability was excellent (kappa = 0.81), with good reliability in most of the behavioral categories coded. Intra-rater reliability was consistently excellent (0.87 ≤ kappa ≤0.96). Internal structure analyses with Cronbach's alpha supported the exploratory use of subscales to measure social communication behaviors toward peers (α = 0.638) and adults (α = 0.605), and interactions experimental control objects (α = 0.589), and the use of a subscale to measure interactions with animals (α = 0.773). Correlation analyses with multiple questionnaires showed a convergence between positive emotional display and social behaviors as assessed by the OHAIRE and social skills as assessed by the Social Skills Rating System (SSRS) and the Social Communication Questionnaires (SCQ). Little concordance was found between the OHAIRE and the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) or the Aberrant Behavior Checklist-Community (ABC). The OHAIRE shows promise for wider use in the field of Human-Animal Interaction, with a need for generalization across more settings and ages.
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Publication Date: 2018-11-08 PubMed ID: 30467548PubMed Central: PMC6237017DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2018.00268Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

This research involved testing and assessing the reliability and validity of the Observation of Human-Animal Interaction for Research (OHAIRE), a coding tool used to observe children’s behavior when interacting with animals and social partners. The researchers found that OHAIRE reliably captures behavioral categories and shows promise for broader use in the field of Human-Animal Interaction.

OHAIRE Behavior Coding Tool

OHAIRE is a behavioral coding tool used to record children behavior in natural settings when interacting with social partners as well as animals. It focuses on aspects such as emotional displays, social communication behavior towards adults and peers, behaviors directed towards animals or experimental control objects and interfering behaviors. Until this research, OHAIRE has been employed by 14 coders to code 2732 minutes of video involving four studies and a total of 201 participants aged 5 to 18 years.

Usage of OHAIRE

  • The studies involving the use of OHAIRE included animal-assisted intervention with three distinct species: dogs, horses, and guinea pigs.
  • The populations involved in these studies are children with autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and typically developing children.
  • Settings for these studies ranged from a school, a therapeutic horseback riding program, a group therapy program to a hospital.

Assessment of OHAIRE

The researchers evaluated OHAIRE’s psychometric properties using:

  • Inter-rater reliability: Agreement between different individuals coding the same data.
  • Intra-rater reliability: Agreement between repeated codings by the same individual.
  • Convergent and divergent validity: Measure of how closely the new scale is related to other variables and measures.
  • Internal structure: Degree to which elements of a test are interrelated.

The average inter-rater reliability was found to be excellent while intra-rater reliability was consistently rated as outstanding.

Reliability and Validity Assessment Results

  • Analysis of internal structure with Cronbach’s alpha showed support for the exploratory use of subscales to measure various behaviors.
  • Correlation analysis with multiple questionnaires showed a convergence between a positive emotional display and social behaviors as assessed by OHAIRE and social skills by other tested rating systems.
  • However, little agreement was found between OHAIRE and the Social Responsiveness Scale or the Aberrant Behavior Checklist-Community.

Overall, OHAIRE shows potential for wider application in the field of Human-Animal Interaction research but needs further generalization across more settings and age groups.

Cite This Article

APA
Guérin NA, Gabriels RL, Germone MM, Schuck SEB, Traynor A, Thomas KM, McKenzie SJ, Slaughter V, O'Haire ME. (2018). Reliability and Validity Assessment of the Observation of Human-Animal Interaction for Research (OHAIRE) Behavior Coding Tool. Front Vet Sci, 5, 268. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2018.00268

Publication

Frontiers in veterinary science
ISSN: 2297-1769
NlmUniqueID: 101666658
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 5
Pages: 268
PII: 268

Researcher Affiliations

Guérin, Noémie A
  • Department of Comparative Pathobiology, Center for the Human-Animal Bond, College of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States.
Gabriels, Robin L
  • Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Colorado, Denver, CO, United States.
Germone, Monique M
  • Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Colorado, Denver, CO, United States.
Schuck, Sabrina E B
  • Child Development Center, Pediatrics School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States.
Traynor, Anne
  • Department of Educational Studies, College of Education, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States.
Thomas, Katherine M
  • Department of Psychological Sciences, College of Health and Human Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States.
McKenzie, Samantha J
  • Institute for Teaching and Learning Innovation, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
Slaughter, Virginia
  • School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
O'Haire, Marguerite E
  • Department of Comparative Pathobiology, Center for the Human-Animal Bond, College of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States.

Grant Funding

  • R03 HD070683 / NICHD NIH HHS

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Citations

This article has been cited 6 times.
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  2. Holder TRN, Nichols C, Summers E, Roberts DL, Bozkurt A. Exploring the Dynamics of Canine-Assisted Interactions: A Wearable Approach to Understanding Interspecies Well-Being. Animals (Basel) 2024 Dec 16;14(24).
    doi: 10.3390/ani14243628pubmed: 39765532google scholar: lookup
  3. Nieforth LO, Guerin NA, Stehli A, Schuck SEB, Yi K, O'Haire ME. Observation of human-animal interaction for research (OHAIRE) behavior coding in a randomized control trial of children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and a canine-assisted intervention. Front Psychiatry 2024;15:1327380.
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  4. De Santis M, Filugelli L, Mair A, Normando S, Mutinelli F, Contalbrigo L. How to Measure Human-Dog Interaction in Dog Assisted Interventions? A Scoping Review. Animals (Basel) 2024 Jan 26;14(3).
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