Experimental Study Of Treatment On College Students’ Depression Mood By Using Animal-assisted Therapy

Objects: Depression mood is common negative mood of college students. It hasserious damage to the physical and mental health. Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) isdefined as utilizing the human/animal bond in goal directed interventions as an integralpart of the treatment process. This study is to investigate the college students’depression mood、attachment to pets, the relationship between them; and to testeffectiveness of AAT for college students with depression mood, providing evidence forAAT.Methods:Using the Self-Rating Depression Scale(SDS)、the symptom check-list90(SCL-90)and attachment to pet scale(LAPS) to dalian medical university’s1842students of level2011, analysis the questionnaire’s result to understand the relationshipbetween college students’ mental health and pet attachment. According to the SDSresults, we selected40students with moderate depression mood. They were randomlydivided into the experimental group and control group, each20.Two students of theexperimental group gave up the experiment. The experimental group received AAT,60minutes a time, every five days time, a total of10times for50days.Did not make anydeal with the control group. SDS and SCL-90were measured respectively before andafter experiment.Students were required to record diary after each experiment.Results:1. The general analysis of the college students’ depression mood:312students have depression mood; the popular rate of depression mood is17.6%; milddepression mood is236student、moderate depression mood is70student、severedepression mood is six student. Only children (p <0.01), family education environment(p <0.01), low income families situation (p <0.05) are significantly different betweenthe depression mood.2. The relevant analysis of college students’ mental health leveland pet attachment level:Pet attachment scores and SDS、SCL-90depression factorscore has significant negative correlation.3. The depression mood before and after AAT: The scores of depression mood were decreased significantly in both groups, but theratio of decrease scores was more significant in experimental group.Conclusions:1. Pet attachment and college students’ depression mood havesignificantly negative correlation;2. Animal-assisted therapy on college students’depression mood has significant effect;3. Animal-assisted therapy can be applied toease college students’ depression mood.