The effects of a therapy dog vs mindfulness vs a student advisor on student anxiety and well-being

There are growing concerns about the psychological well-being of university students; both in the UK and globally. In light of emerging research on the benefits of therapy dogs for student well-being, this study aimed to compare the use of therapy dogs to more conventional methods for improving students’ well-being. 94 university students were randomly assigned to one of three 30-minute treatment sessions: dog therapy, mindfulness, or the control group who were given
the university’s standard treatment – a session with a student well-being adviser. All participants completed an anxiety scale and a mood scale, both immediately before and immediately after their allocated session. The results showed that whilst all three groups showed a significant decrease in anxiety after their allocated treatment, only the dog therapy and mindfulness groups’ anxiety levels dropped to at or below normal levels. Both the dog therapy and mindfulness groups reported post-treatment anxiety levels which were significantly lower than those of the controls. The dog therapy and mindfulness groups’ mood also showed a significant improvement after treatment whereas the control group’s did not. The findings of this study therefore suggest that the use of therapy dogs is as effective as mindfulness in reducing students’ anxiety and improving their well-being. However, more research investigating the use of multiple treatment sessions and comparing the more long-term effects of the two treatments are recommended.