Therapeutic Horseback Riding Crossover Effects of Attachment Behaviors with Family Pets in a Sample of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Abstract: The unique needs of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have implications for animal welfare. This nested pilot study examined the effects of a randomized trial of 10-week therapeutic horseback riding (THR) intervention versus a no-horse barn activity (BA) control group on children's behaviors with family pets. Sixty-seven (THR = 31; BA = 36) participants with ASD (ages 6-16 years) with one or more family pet, were enrolled from a larger trial ( = 116) following their randomization to intervention groups, stratified by nonverbal intellectual ability. A consistent caregiver completed questionnaires about participants' interactions with their household pets pre- and post-intervention. Caregivers of THR group participants reported significant improvements in participants' caring actions with the family pet compared with the BA group ( = 0.013; effect size = 0.74). Engaging with horses during a standard THR intervention protocol may generalize to improving caring actions toward family pets in children and adolescents with ASD.
Publication Date: 2017-03-03 PubMed ID: 28273822PubMed Central: PMC5369092DOI: 10.3390/ijerph14030256Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Randomized Controlled Trial
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.
The research was conducted to study if therapeutic horseback riding (THR) could have a positive impact on the interaction of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with their family pets.
Study Objective and Structure
- The study aimed to investigate the effect of a 10-week therapeutic horseback riding (THR) intervention on the behavior of ASD diagnosed children with their family pets.
- The study chose 67 participants with ASD, aged between 6 to 16 years, who owned one or more pets. These participants were drawn from a larger pool of 116 individuals and were split into the THR and control group (barn activity (BA)) based on their nonverbal intellectual ability.
- The intervention group went through THR, while the control group participated in alternative barn activities without the involvement of horses.
Methodology
- Questionnaires were completed by consistent caregivers about the participants’ interactions with their pets. These questionnaires were administered before and after the intervention to measure any changes in behaviour.
- The change in participants’ caring actions towards their pets was used as the key parameter to understand the effect of the intervention.
Results
- The study found that caregivers of participants who undertook THR reported a significant improvement in their caring actions towards family pets. This was in contrast to the control group which didn’t undergo THR.
- Additionally, the effect size of 0.74 highlights a medium to large effect of THR intervention on caring actions.
Conclusion
- The results showed that engaging with horses in a standard THR protocol could possibly improve empathy and caring actions towards family pets in children and adolescents with ASD.
- This suggests that the benefits of THR could extend beyond the therapy setting, positively affecting other aspects of life such as pet care and potentially interpersonal relationships.
Cite This Article
APA
Petty JD, Pan Z, Dechant B, Gabriels RL.
(2017).
Therapeutic Horseback Riding Crossover Effects of Attachment Behaviors with Family Pets in a Sample of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Int J Environ Res Public Health, 14(3), 256.
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14030256 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Children's Hospital Colorado, 13123 E. 16th Ave, Aurora, CO 80045, USA. jessie.petty@childrenscolorado.org.
- Children's Hospital Colorado, 13123 E. 16th Ave, Aurora, CO 80045, USA. Zhaoxing.pan@childrenscolorado.org.
- Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, 13001 E. 17th Place, Aurora, CO 80045, USA. Zhaoxing.pan@childrenscolorado.org.
- Children's Hospital Colorado, 13123 E. 16th Ave, Aurora, CO 80045, USA. briar.dechant@childrenscolorado.org.
- Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, 13001 E. 17th Place, Aurora, CO 80045, USA. briar.dechant@childrenscolorado.org.
- Children's Hospital Colorado, 13123 E. 16th Ave, Aurora, CO 80045, USA. robin.gabriels@childrenscolorado.org.
- Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, 13001 E. 17th Place, Aurora, CO 80045, USA. robin.gabriels@childrenscolorado.org.
MeSH Terms
- Adolescent
- Animals
- Autism Spectrum Disorder / psychology
- Autism Spectrum Disorder / therapy
- Caregivers
- Child
- Child Behavior
- Cross-Over Studies
- Equine-Assisted Therapy
- Female
- Human-Animal Bond
- Humans
- Male
- Pilot Projects
- Surveys and Questionnaires
- Treatment Outcome
Grant Funding
- R01 NR012736 / NINR NIH HHS
Conflict of Interest Statement
The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funding sponsors had no role in the design of the study; in collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, and in the decision to publish the results.
References
This article includes 14 references
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Citations
This article has been cited 3 times.- Nieforth LO, Schwichtenberg AJ, O'Haire ME. Animal-Assisted Interventions for Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review of the Literature from 2016 to 2020.. Rev J Autism Dev Disord 2023 Jun;10(2):255-280.
- Schwarzmueller-Erber G, Maier M, Kundi M. Pet Attachment and Wellbeing of Older-Aged Recreational Horseback Riders.. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020 Mar 13;17(6).
- Fine AH, Beck AM, Ng Z. The State of Animal-Assisted Interventions: Addressing the Contemporary Issues that will Shape the Future.. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2019 Oct 18;16(20).
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