Artemiou Elpida, Hutchison Pippa, Machado Marcus, Ellis Daria, Bradtke Jennifer, Pereira Mary Mauldin, Carter Julia, Bergfelt Don
Department of Clinical Sciences, Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Positive Imprint, Kilcreggan, United Kingdom.
Front Vet Sci. 2021 Aug 23;8:701302. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2021.701302. eCollection 2021.
There has been an increased interest in evaluating human-animal interactions and assessing the mutual health and wellbeing. In this study, first-year female and male veterinary school students not paired ( = 58) or paired ( = 25) with immature (≤9 mo) donkeys ( = 13) were engaged in three different types of interactions (1st, hands-off remote learning, 2nd, hands-on passive learning, and 3rd, hands-on active learning) for 30 min each during Week 2 (Time 1), Weeks 5-8 (Time 2), and Week 12 (Time 3) over three, 15-week periods. Student psychological data involved the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) scores collected from the interactive (student-donkey pairs) and non-interactive (no student-donkey pairs) groups and modified Comfort from Companion Animals Scale (CCAS) scores collected from the interactive group during Times 1, 2, and 3. Donkey physiological data involved collection of saliva within 10 min pre- and post-interaction during Times 1, 2, and 3 in association with the different types of interactions for immunoanalysis of cortisol. There were no significant effects of the various times and types of interactions on CCAS scores. While there were no significant effects of group and types of interactions on PSWQ scores, there was an effect ( = 0.01) of time. Overall mean PSWQ scores were significantly lower during Week 12 versus Week 2. Correspondingly, while there were no effects pre- vs. post-interaction within or among times on saliva cortisol concentrations in donkeys, there was an effect ( = 0.02) of the type of interaction. Mean concentrations were significantly lower with the hands-on passive and hands-on active learning versus the hands-off remote learning. In conclusion, while this study provides preliminary evidence surrounding student donkey interactions, future studies are required with more comprehensive designs to clarify these benefits and better understand the advantages and challenges surrounding student-donkey interactions.
人们对评估人与动物的互动以及相互的健康和福祉越来越感兴趣。在本研究中，未配对（n = 58）或与未成熟（≤9个月）的驴子配对（n = 25）的一年级兽医专业男女学生（n = 13），在三个为期15周的时间段内，于第2周（时间1）、第5 - 8周（时间2）和第12周（时间3）分别进行三种不同类型的互动（第一种，非接触式远程学习；第二种，接触式被动学习；第三种，接触式主动学习），每次互动30分钟。学生的心理数据包括从互动组（学生 - 驴子配对组）和非互动组（无学生 - 驴子配对组）收集的宾夕法尼亚州立大学忧虑问卷（PSWQ）得分，以及在时间1、2和3期间从互动组收集的改良版动物陪伴舒适度量表（CCAS）得分。驴子的生理数据包括在时间1、2和3期间，与不同类型互动相关的互动前10分钟和互动后10分钟内采集的唾液，用于皮质醇的免疫分析。不同时间和互动类型对CCAS得分没有显著影响。虽然组和互动类型对PSWQ得分没有显著影响，但时间有影响（p = 0.01）。第12周的总体平均PSWQ得分显著低于第2周。相应地，虽然在不同时间内或不同时间之间，互动前与互动后对驴子唾液皮质醇浓度没有影响，但互动类型有影响（p = 0.02）。接触式被动学习和接触式主动学习的平均浓度显著低于非接触式远程学习。总之，虽然本研究提供了关于学生与驴子互动的初步证据，但未来需要更全面设计的研究来阐明这些益处，并更好地理解学生与驴子互动的优势和挑战。
