Kertes Darlene A, Hall Nathan, Bhatt Samarth S
Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States.
Genetics Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States.
Front Psychol. 2018 Sep 5;9:1472. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01472. eCollection 2018.
Human-animal interaction (HAI) research has increasingly documented the important role of pet dogs in children's lives. The quality of interaction between children and their pet dogs, however, is likely influenced by individual differences among children as well as their perceived relationship with their pet dog. Ninety-seven children aged 7-12 years and their pet dogs participated in a laboratory protocol during which the child solicited interaction with their dog, from which time petting and gazing were recorded. Children reported on their perceived relationship with the pet dog via interview. Children provided saliva samples, from which a polymorphism in the oxytocin receptor, rs53576, which has long been implicated in social behavior, was genotyped. The results showed that genotype and children's perceived antagonism with the pet dog predicted the amount of petting, but not gazing, between children and their pet dogs. This research adds to the growing body of HAI research by documenting individual differences that may influence children's interactions with animals, which is key to research related to pet ownership and understanding factors that may impact therapeutic interventions involving HAI.
人与动物互动（HAI）研究越来越多地证明了宠物狗在儿童生活中的重要作用。然而，儿童与其宠物狗之间互动的质量可能受到儿童个体差异以及他们对宠物狗的感知关系的影响。97名7至12岁的儿童及其宠物狗参与了一项实验室实验，在此期间，儿童主动与他们的狗互动，同时记录抚摸和凝视行为。通过访谈，儿童报告了他们对与宠物狗关系的感知。儿童提供了唾液样本，对其中长期以来与社会行为有关的催产素受体多态性rs53576进行了基因分型。结果表明，基因型以及儿童对宠物狗的感知敌意预测了儿童与其宠物狗之间的抚摸量，而非凝视量。这项研究通过记录可能影响儿童与动物互动的个体差异，为不断增加的HAI研究增添了内容，这对于与宠物饲养相关的研究以及理解可能影响涉及HAI的治疗干预的因素至关重要。
