Guay Claudia, Abouzeid Nadia, Forget Jacques, Boulé Mélina
Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Disabil Rehabil Assist Technol. 2024 May;19(4):1687-1699. doi: 10.1080/17483107.2023.2227657. Epub 2023 Jun 24.
Assistance and companion dogs have numerous positive effects for family of autistic children, such as supporting their rehabilitation and improving their quality of life. To date, very few studies have compared the effects of both types of dogs. This comparison, considering the limited access to assistance dogs, could be helpful for families wanting to adopt a dog.
An explanatory sequential design with a mixed-method approach was used. First, 85 parents ( = 57; = 28) of children aged between 3 and 17 years old ( = 10.73, = 3.67) completed an online questionnaire including sociodemographic questions and the (TARF-R). Then, 17 of these participants ( = 14; = 3) completed a semi-structured interview.
The quantitative data analyses showed that parents with assistance dogs were significantly more satisfied: t (83) = -2.12, = .037, = 0.49. Significant associations between some sociodemographic variables (e.g., number of children, comorbid condition, reasons for acquiring a dog) and acceptability/satisfaction (TARF-R total scores) were found. The qualitative analysis revealed that families with both dog types observed positive effects.
In brief, having an assistance dog constitutes a significant added value; nevertheless, both types of dogs are appreciated.
辅助犬和陪伴犬对自闭症儿童家庭有诸多积极影响，比如支持他们的康复并改善他们的生活质量。迄今为止，很少有研究比较这两种犬的效果。考虑到获取辅助犬的机会有限，这种比较可能对想要养狗的家庭有所帮助。
采用了一种混合方法的解释性序列设计。首先，85名3至17岁儿童（平均年龄=10.73岁，标准差=3.67岁）的父母（n1 = 57；n2 = 28）完成了一份在线问卷，其中包括社会人口学问题和儿童与动物关系量表修订版（TARF-R）。然后，这些参与者中的17人（n1 = 14；n2 = 3）完成了一次半结构化访谈。
定量数据分析表明，拥有辅助犬的父母满意度显著更高：t（83）=-2.12，p = .037，d = 0.49。发现一些社会人口学变量（如孩子数量、共病情况、养狗原因）与可接受性/满意度（TARF-R总分）之间存在显著关联。定性分析表明，拥有这两种犬的家庭都观察到了积极影响。
简而言之，拥有一只辅助犬具有显著的附加价值；然而，这两种犬都受到喜爱。
