Hoagwood Kimberly Eaton, Acri Mary, Morrissey Meghan, Peth-Pierce Robin
New York University, Child Study Center, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine. One Park Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10016.
Public Health Communications Consulting, LLC, 900 Mission Hills Lane, Columbus, OH 43235.
Appl Dev Sci. 2017;21(1):1-13. doi: 10.1080/10888691.2015.1134267. Epub 2016 Jan 25.
To systematically review experimental evidence about animal-assisted therapies (AAT) for children or adolescents with or at risk for mental health conditions, we reviewed all experimental AAT studies published between 2000-2015, and compared studies by animal type, intervention, and outcomes.
Studies were included if used therapeutically for children and adolescents (≤21 years) with or at risk for a mental health problem; used random assignment or a waitlist comparison/control group; and included child-specific outcome data. Of 1,535 studies, 24 met inclusion criteria.
Of 24 studies identified, almost half were randomized controlled trials, with 9 of 11 published in the past two years. The largest group addresses equine therapies for autism.
Findings are generally promising for positive effects associated with equine therapies for autism and canine therapies for childhood trauma. The AAT research base is slim; a more focused research agenda is outlined.
为了系统地回顾关于动物辅助疗法（AAT）对患有心理健康问题或有心理健康问题风险的儿童或青少年的实验证据，我们回顾了2000年至2015年间发表的所有AAT实验研究，并按动物类型、干预措施和结果对研究进行了比较。
纳入的研究需符合以下条件：用于患有心理健康问题或有心理健康问题风险的儿童和青少年（≤21岁）；采用随机分配或等待名单比较/对照组；并包含儿童特定的结果数据。在1535项研究中，有24项符合纳入标准。
在确定的24项研究中，近一半是随机对照试验，其中11项中有9项是在过去两年发表的。最大的一组研究涉及针对自闭症的马术疗法。
研究结果总体上显示，马术疗法对自闭症和犬类疗法对儿童创伤具有积极作用，这是很有前景的。AAT的研究基础较为薄弱；我们概述了一个更具针对性的研究议程。
