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      • HARVEST
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      Paws Your Stress: Student Perspectives of An Animal Assisted Activity Program

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      GRIFFITH-THESIS-2016.pdf (848.0Kb)
      Date
      2016-08-18
      Author
      Griffith, Rebecca 1990-
      Type
      Thesis
      Degree Level
      Masters
      Metadata
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      Abstract
      This qualitative study examines an Animal Assisted Activity (AAA) program in a post-secondary setting. Basic Interpretive Qualitative Research Design (BIQRD) is utilized to provide detailed information about students’ experiences of PAWS Your Stress, a current AAA program at a Midwestern Canadian university. Four participants were interviewed about their personally significant experiences of the AAA program. Questions centred on three main areas: impact on student stress and coping, perceived meaning gained from experiences of the program, and students’ perceptions of “love and support” as part of their participation. Transcriptions from these student interviews were analyzed to identify common themes that arose from their answers. Through inductive analysis, two overarching categories - stress relief and meaningful interactions – were found to contain five main themes. Three themes – being in the moment, social benefits, and variations in coping ability are discussed in relation to stress relief and coping. Two themes – personalized interactions and reciprocity are discussed in relation to the meaning participants derived from participation in the program. Findings may improve understanding of certain aspects of the program that enable students to relieve stress and find meaning in their interactions with therapy dogs. Results may impact future implementation of similar programming on campuses and improve the quality of existing AAA programming aimed at similar demographic groups.
      Degree
      Master of Education (M.Ed.)
      Department
      Educational Psychology and Special Education
      Program
      School and Counselling Psychology
      Supervisor
      Claypool, Tim
      Committee
      Dell, Colleen; Chalmers, Darlene; McIntyre, Laureen
      Copyright Date
      August 2016
      URI
      http://hdl.handle.net/10388/7405
      Subject
      animal assisted therapy, animal assisted activity
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      • Graduate Theses and Dissertations
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