Horizons Fall 2016

8 NSU HORIZONS outside the Don Taft University Center. Their study— awarded an honorable mention at NSU’s 2016 Undergradu- ate Student Symposium—measured whether interacting with the dogs had an impact on the students’ level of stress, anxiety, or sustained attention. “I love dogs, and I saw this was a growing topic,” said McCoy, a biology major, Honors student, and 2016 gradu- ate of NSU’s Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography. “We had golden retrievers, a German shepherd, a beagle, and a Havanese. Everyone was having a really good time. The students were having a blast.” In the NSU study, students played with the dogs outside before completing pencil-and-paper work and computer tasks in a laboratory. The students who interacted with the dogs for 10 minutes had lower levels of perceived stress and states of anxiety, although there was no impact on cogni- tive performance. (Another group of students were part of a control group that did not interact with the dogs.) “This topic has grown dramatically in the last decade,” Banks said, noting that, “In the current study, there was a significant, real-world effect” on the students’ level of stress and anxiety. “It’s quite possible that by reducing stress, we will see the cognitive benefits later. We might see an effect on exam performance the next day, or just in the ability to study. You might not pick up that effect immediately.” Today, colleges and universities nationwide are recogniz- ing the therapeutic benefits of bringing four-legged friends to campus. Kathleen Adamle, Ph.D., nurse practitioner and professor emerita at Kent State University, was one of the first to recognize the therapeutic benefits when she founded the trademarked Dogs on Campus Pet Therapy Program in 2004. The program brings students and trained, certified therapy dogs together during campus visits that also help educate students about mental-health outreach programs. Adamle started the program after her research found that 94 percent of incoming, first-semester freshmen considered their dogs part of their families and missed them as much as other family members. “My goal was to try and bridge the gap between leaving their dog at home and having a dog to pet—to see if I could bridge that chasm of what they were missing so they could move on. This gives them a bridge to think, ‘I’m not that far from home,’ ” Adamle said. “It also gives them an hour of relief. I’ve heard a student say, ‘I was stressed, and I feel so much better now.’ Not that the stress has disappeared, but for one hour they didn’t think about it. They’re smiling and happy. As a nurse practitioner, I can say that one hour with the dogs increases endorphins, happiness, and the ability to cope.”