Krause-Parello Cheryl A, Thames Michele, Ray Colleen M, Kolassa John
a College of Nursing , University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus , Aurora , CO , USA.
b SafeSpot Child Advocacy Center , Fairfax , VA , USA.
J Child Sex Abus. 2018 Apr;27(3):305-320. doi: 10.1080/10538712.2018.1443303. Epub 2018 Mar 13.
Disclosure of child sexual abuse can be a stressful experience for the child. Gaining a better understanding of how best to serve the child, while preserving the quality of their disclosure, is an ever-evolving process. The data to answer this question come from 51 children aged 4-16 (M = 9.1, SD = 3.5), who were referred to a child advocacy center in Virginia for a forensic interview (FI) following allegations of sexual abuse. A repeated measures design was conducted to examine how the presence of a service-trained facility dog (e.g. animal-assisted intervention (AAI) may serve as a mode of lowering stress levels in children during their FIs. Children were randomized to one of the two FI conditions: experimental condition (service-trained facility dog present-AAI) or control condition (service-trained facility dog not present- standard forensic interview). Stress biomarkers salivary cortisol, alpha-amylase, immunoglobulin A (IgA), heart rate, and blood pressure, and Immunoglobulin A were collected before and after the FI. Self-report data were also collected. Results supported a significant decrease in heart rate for those in the experimental condition (p = .0086) vs the control condition (p = .4986). Regression models revealed a significant decrease in systolic and diastolic blood pressure in the experimental condition (p = .03285) and (p = .04381), respectively. Statistically significant changes in alpha-amylase and IgA were also found in relation to disclosure and type of offense. The results of this study support the stress reducing effects of a service-trained facility dog for children undergoing FI for allegations of child sexual abuse.
披露儿童性虐待事件对儿童来说可能是一段压力巨大的经历。更好地理解如何在保护儿童披露质量的同时，以最佳方式为他们提供服务，是一个不断发展的过程。用于回答这个问题的数据来自51名年龄在4至16岁之间的儿童（M = 9.1，标准差 = 3.5），这些儿童因遭受性虐待指控而被转介到弗吉尼亚州的一个儿童权益保护中心接受法医面谈（FI）。研究采用重复测量设计，以检验配备经过服务训练的机构犬（例如动物辅助干预（AAI））是否可以作为一种降低儿童在法医面谈期间压力水平的方式。儿童被随机分配到两种法医面谈条件之一：实验条件（有经过服务训练的机构犬在场——动物辅助干预）或对照条件（没有经过服务训练的机构犬在场——标准法医面谈）。在法医面谈前后收集压力生物标志物唾液皮质醇、α-淀粉酶、免疫球蛋白A（IgA）、心率和血压以及免疫球蛋白A。还收集了自我报告数据。结果表明，与对照条件（p = 0.4986）相比，实验条件下的儿童心率显著下降（p = 0.0086）。回归模型显示，实验条件下收缩压和舒张压分别显著下降（p = 0.03285）和（p = 0.04381）。在α-淀粉酶和IgA方面，也发现了与披露内容和犯罪类型相关的具有统计学意义的变化。这项研究的结果支持了经过服务训练的机构犬对因遭受儿童性虐待指控而接受法医面谈的儿童具有减轻压力的作用。
