The purpose of this paper is to examine whether clinical levels of depression moderated university students’ momentary emotional states (e.g. feeling content, anxious, irritable and depressed) in response to conditions commonly experienced during universal, college-based Animal Visitation Programs (AVPs).
During a real-life efficacy trial, students (N = 192) were randomly assigned to three common AVP conditions: a hands-on condition in which participants could freely pet cats and dogs in small groups, an observation condition in which participants observed students in the hands-on condition while awaiting one’s turn and a control condition in which participants viewed images of the same animals while refraining from socializing with peers. Using a checklist, students reported their momentary emotional states (e.g. feeling content, anxious, irritable and depressed) before and after the 10-min intervention.
Multivariate regression analyses showed that clinically depressed students reported significantly higher levels of momentary negative emotion including irritability, depression and anxiety after waiting in line compared to non-depressed students, suggesting that clinical depression may moderate potential stress-relieving effects of universal college-based AVPs depending on implementation practices.
This is the first study to examine the causal impact of a common yet unstudied feature of college-based AVPs aimed at reducing general college student stress. Results support the utility of targeted approaches for students presenting clinical levels of depression.
