Differences between Female and Male Inmates in Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) in Austria: Do We Need Treatment Programs Specific to the Needs of Females in AAT?
With the growth of female inmates worldwide, research regarding specific treatment of these has become more important. Although new programs have been started, the lack of scientific results is startling. The goal of the current study was to identify differences between participants from the men&...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-02-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/2/244 |
| _version_ | 1819071208104132608 |
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| author | Birgit U. Stetina Christine Krouzecky Lisa Emmett Armin Klaps Nora Ruck Zuzana Kovacovsky Anastasiya Bunina Jan Aden |
| author_facet | Birgit U. Stetina Christine Krouzecky Lisa Emmett Armin Klaps Nora Ruck Zuzana Kovacovsky Anastasiya Bunina Jan Aden |
| author_sort | Birgit U. Stetina |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | With the growth of female inmates worldwide, research regarding specific treatment of these has become more important. Although new programs have been started, the lack of scientific results is startling. The goal of the current study was to identify differences between participants from the men’s and women’s section in a specialized prison for criminal offenders suffering from substance dependence syndrome regarding the effects of dog-assisted group therapy. Therefore, 81 incarcerated participants (50 male, 31 female) took part in a dog-assisted group therapy targeting socio-emotional competencies. Self-report questionnaires to measure self-concept (SDQ-III), emotional status (EMI-B) and emotional competencies (SEE) were employed. Statistical analysis included General Linear Model (GLM) procedures and η<sup>2</sup> as concurrent effect size measure. Results demonstrate that participants from the women’s ward tend to benefit significantly less from the dog-assisted group therapy in most measured areas than men, especially in terms of their emotional status (e.g., aggressiveness) and emotional competencies (e.g., emotion regulation). Treatment programs specific to the needs of women might be a future challenge for practitioners and researchers in AAT. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T17:18:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-59186070265343e7855655b4de6f625c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T17:18:10Z |
| publishDate | 2020-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-59186070265343e7855655b4de6f625c2022-12-21T18:56:15ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152020-02-0110224410.3390/ani10020244ani10020244Differences between Female and Male Inmates in Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) in Austria: Do We Need Treatment Programs Specific to the Needs of Females in AAT?Birgit U. Stetina0Christine Krouzecky1Lisa Emmett2Armin Klaps3Nora Ruck4Zuzana Kovacovsky5Anastasiya Bunina6Jan Aden7Psychological Outpatient Clinic, Sigmund Freud University Vienna, 1020 Vienna, AustriaPsychological Outpatient Clinic, Sigmund Freud University Vienna, 1020 Vienna, AustriaPsychological Outpatient Clinic, Sigmund Freud University Vienna, 1020 Vienna, AustriaPsychological Outpatient Clinic, Sigmund Freud University Vienna, 1020 Vienna, AustriaFaculty of Psychology, Sigmund Freud University Vienna, 1020 Vienna, AustriaPsychological Outpatient Clinic, Sigmund Freud University Vienna, 1020 Vienna, AustriaFaculty of Psychology, Sigmund Freud University Vienna, 1020 Vienna, AustriaFaculty of Psychology, Sigmund Freud University Vienna, 1020 Vienna, AustriaWith the growth of female inmates worldwide, research regarding specific treatment of these has become more important. Although new programs have been started, the lack of scientific results is startling. The goal of the current study was to identify differences between participants from the men’s and women’s section in a specialized prison for criminal offenders suffering from substance dependence syndrome regarding the effects of dog-assisted group therapy. Therefore, 81 incarcerated participants (50 male, 31 female) took part in a dog-assisted group therapy targeting socio-emotional competencies. Self-report questionnaires to measure self-concept (SDQ-III), emotional status (EMI-B) and emotional competencies (SEE) were employed. Statistical analysis included General Linear Model (GLM) procedures and η<sup>2</sup> as concurrent effect size measure. Results demonstrate that participants from the women’s ward tend to benefit significantly less from the dog-assisted group therapy in most measured areas than men, especially in terms of their emotional status (e.g., aggressiveness) and emotional competencies (e.g., emotion regulation). Treatment programs specific to the needs of women might be a future challenge for practitioners and researchers in AAT.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/2/244gender-differencesprisonanimal-assisted therapygender-sensitive treatmentcriminal offenderssubstance dependency syndrome |
| spellingShingle | Birgit U. Stetina Christine Krouzecky Lisa Emmett Armin Klaps Nora Ruck Zuzana Kovacovsky Anastasiya Bunina Jan Aden Differences between Female and Male Inmates in Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) in Austria: Do We Need Treatment Programs Specific to the Needs of Females in AAT? Animals gender-differences prison animal-assisted therapy gender-sensitive treatment criminal offenders substance dependency syndrome |
| title | Differences between Female and Male Inmates in Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) in Austria: Do We Need Treatment Programs Specific to the Needs of Females in AAT? |
| title_full | Differences between Female and Male Inmates in Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) in Austria: Do We Need Treatment Programs Specific to the Needs of Females in AAT? |
| title_fullStr | Differences between Female and Male Inmates in Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) in Austria: Do We Need Treatment Programs Specific to the Needs of Females in AAT? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Differences between Female and Male Inmates in Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) in Austria: Do We Need Treatment Programs Specific to the Needs of Females in AAT? |
| title_short | Differences between Female and Male Inmates in Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) in Austria: Do We Need Treatment Programs Specific to the Needs of Females in AAT? |
| title_sort | differences between female and male inmates in animal assisted therapy aat in austria do we need treatment programs specific to the needs of females in aat |
| topic | gender-differences prison animal-assisted therapy gender-sensitive treatment criminal offenders substance dependency syndrome |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/2/244 |
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