Publication Date
9-23-2024
Document Type
Article
Organizational Units
Graduate School of Social Work, Institute for Human-Animal Connection
Keywords
Trier social stress test, Pets, Dogs, Plasma cortisol, Alpha-amylase, Heart rate, Anxiety
Abstract
Acute and chronic stress each have physical manifestations in the human body that can lead to many negative health impacts. Today, reported stress levels worldwide are at an all-time high, spurring the search for non-pharmaceutical interventions to maintain healthy stress levels. In this study, we examined whether a pet dog’s presence influences healthy adults’ acute stress responses as assessed through self-reports, heart rate, plasma cortisol, and salivary alpha-amylase. Participating pet dog owners were randomly assigned to undergo the Trier Social Stress Test either with their pet dog or alone. While there was no group difference in perceived anxiety levels, participants undergoing the acute psychological stressor with their pet dogs present had significantly lower heart rates, lower plasma cortisol responses, and higher salivary alpha-amylase responses than people without their dogs. Those who participated without their dogs had a statistically flat alpha-amylase response, which is typically associated with extreme or pathological stress. These findings extend the potential effects of pet dogs beyond merely lowering their owner’s stress levels to maintaining a healthier, balanced response across the sympathoadrenal medullary axis and hypothalamic–pituitary-adrenal axis.
Copyright Date
9-23-2024
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Rights Holder
Jaci Gandenberger, Aurélie Ledreux, Ashley Taeckens, Kerry Murphy, Jenni Forkin, Anah Gilmore, and Kevin N. Morris
Provenance
Received from author
File Format
application/pdf
Language
English (eng)
Extent
16 pgs
File Size
1.66 MB
Publication Statement
Copyright is held by the authors. User is responsible for all copyright compliance. This article was originally published as:
Gandenberger, J., Ledreux, A., Taeckens, A., Murphy, K., Forkin, J., Gilmore, A., & Morris, K.N. (2024). The presence of a pet dog is associated with a more balanced response to a social stressor. Stresses, 4(3), 598–613. https://doi.org/10.3390/ stresses4030038
Publication Title
Stresses
Volume
4
Issue
3
First Page
598
Last Page
613
ISSN
2673-7140
Recommended Citation
Gandenberger, Jaci; Ledreux, Aurélie; Taeckens, Ashley; Murphy, Kerry; Forkin, Jenni; Gilmore, Anah; and Morris, Kevin N., "The Presence of a Pet Dog Is Associated with a More Balanced Response to a Social Stressor" (2024). Institute for Human-Animal Connection: Faculty Scholarship. 2.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/ihac_faculty/2
https://doi.org/10.3390/stresses4030038