Wells Deborah L
Canine Behaviour Centre, School of Psychology, Queen's University Belfast, UK.
Br J Health Psychol. 2007 Feb;12(Pt 1):145-56. doi: 10.1348/135910706X103284.
The domestic dog is one of the most commonly owned, and widely utilized, animals in today's society. This paper provides an overview of research that has explored the relationship between the domestic dog and human well-being.
The article initially concentrates on the value of dogs for physical health in humans, exploring the evidence that this species can prevent us from becoming ill, facilitate our recovery from ill-health, and even serve as an early warning system for certain types of underlying ailment including cancer, oncoming seizures and hypoglycaemia. The paper then examines the relationship between dogs and psychological health in humans, exploring the ability of this species to aid the disabled and serve as a therapist to those in institutional settings such as hospitals, residential homes and prisons. Weaknesses in the existing research in this area are highlighted throughout the article.
Taken together, the studies reviewed suggest that dogs can have prophylactic and therapeutic value for people.
家犬是当今社会最常见且被广泛饲养的动物之一。本文概述了探索家犬与人类福祉之间关系的研究。
文章首先聚焦于犬对人类身体健康的价值，探究该物种能预防我们生病、促进我们从疾病中康复，甚至能作为某些潜在疾病（包括癌症、即将发作的癫痫和低血糖症）的早期预警系统的证据。接着，本文考察犬与人类心理健康之间的关系，探究该物种帮助残疾人以及为医院、养老院和监狱等机构环境中的人充当治疗师的能力。文章自始至终都强调了该领域现有研究的不足之处。
综合来看，所综述的研究表明犬对人类具有预防和治疗价值。
