Feasibility of using ecological momentary assessment to measure the effects of interactions with pet dogs on psychophysiological reactivity in adolescents with social anxiety
Abstract Adolescence is a key developmental period for the onset of social anxiety, as it is a time of social transitions and stressors. Therefore, it is important to identify protective factors within the environment that can prevent and/or reduce the effects of social anxiety in addition to existi...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
CABI
2023-10-01
|
| Series: | Human-Animal Interactions |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/hai.2023.0036 |
| _version_ | 1797280058129252352 |
|---|---|
| author | Erin K. King Eli D. Halbreich Eric C. Anderson Megan K. Mueller |
| author_facet | Erin K. King Eli D. Halbreich Eric C. Anderson Megan K. Mueller |
| author_sort | Erin K. King |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Adolescence is a key developmental period for the onset of social anxiety, as it is a time of social transitions and stressors. Therefore, it is important to identify protective factors within the environment that can prevent and/or reduce the effects of social anxiety in addition to existing evidence-based treatments. The presence of a supportive pet dog may be one way of reducing the effects of acute social stressors for youth, but these effects have not been tested robustly in real-world settings. This study aimed to assess the feasibility of using ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to assess physiological responses to pet interactions in real-life scenarios among adolescents with social anxiety (n = 37). Results indicated that this protocol was perceived as feasible by youth participants and allowed for integration across different data streams. Participant use of a wearable sensor to collect electrodermal activity was generally successful, with an average of 12 h of data collected per participant. However, the use of a timestamp button on the sensor was not an effective strategy for data collection. These findings suggest that EMA using self-report activity diary data combined with continuous psychophysiological measurement using wearable sensors is generally a feasible person-centered approach for measuring adolescent-dog interactions in a way that maintains ecological validity. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T16:34:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b5584b6b2bfc44f595e3bf7642fd71f0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2957-9538 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T16:34:45Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | CABI |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Human-Animal Interactions |
| spelling | doaj.art-b5584b6b2bfc44f595e3bf7642fd71f02024-03-03T09:49:25ZengCABIHuman-Animal Interactions2957-95382023-10-01202310.1079/hai.2023.0036Feasibility of using ecological momentary assessment to measure the effects of interactions with pet dogs on psychophysiological reactivity in adolescents with social anxietyErin K. King0Eli D. Halbreich1Eric C. Anderson2Megan K. Mueller3Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, North Grafton, MA, USA;Department of Psychological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA;MaineHealth Institute for Research, Portland, ME, USA;Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, North Grafton, MA, USA;Abstract Adolescence is a key developmental period for the onset of social anxiety, as it is a time of social transitions and stressors. Therefore, it is important to identify protective factors within the environment that can prevent and/or reduce the effects of social anxiety in addition to existing evidence-based treatments. The presence of a supportive pet dog may be one way of reducing the effects of acute social stressors for youth, but these effects have not been tested robustly in real-world settings. This study aimed to assess the feasibility of using ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to assess physiological responses to pet interactions in real-life scenarios among adolescents with social anxiety (n = 37). Results indicated that this protocol was perceived as feasible by youth participants and allowed for integration across different data streams. Participant use of a wearable sensor to collect electrodermal activity was generally successful, with an average of 12 h of data collected per participant. However, the use of a timestamp button on the sensor was not an effective strategy for data collection. These findings suggest that EMA using self-report activity diary data combined with continuous psychophysiological measurement using wearable sensors is generally a feasible person-centered approach for measuring adolescent-dog interactions in a way that maintains ecological validity.http://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/hai.2023.0036human-animal interactionsocial anxietycompanion animalsadolescentsecological momentary assessmentpsychophysiology |
| spellingShingle | Erin K. King Eli D. Halbreich Eric C. Anderson Megan K. Mueller Feasibility of using ecological momentary assessment to measure the effects of interactions with pet dogs on psychophysiological reactivity in adolescents with social anxiety Human-Animal Interactions human-animal interaction social anxiety companion animals adolescents ecological momentary assessment psychophysiology |
| title | Feasibility of using ecological momentary assessment to measure the effects of interactions with pet dogs on psychophysiological reactivity in adolescents with social anxiety |
| title_full | Feasibility of using ecological momentary assessment to measure the effects of interactions with pet dogs on psychophysiological reactivity in adolescents with social anxiety |
| title_fullStr | Feasibility of using ecological momentary assessment to measure the effects of interactions with pet dogs on psychophysiological reactivity in adolescents with social anxiety |
| title_full_unstemmed | Feasibility of using ecological momentary assessment to measure the effects of interactions with pet dogs on psychophysiological reactivity in adolescents with social anxiety |
| title_short | Feasibility of using ecological momentary assessment to measure the effects of interactions with pet dogs on psychophysiological reactivity in adolescents with social anxiety |
| title_sort | feasibility of using ecological momentary assessment to measure the effects of interactions with pet dogs on psychophysiological reactivity in adolescents with social anxiety |
| topic | human-animal interaction social anxiety companion animals adolescents ecological momentary assessment psychophysiology |
| url | http://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/hai.2023.0036 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT erinkking feasibilityofusingecologicalmomentaryassessmenttomeasuretheeffectsofinteractionswithpetdogsonpsychophysiologicalreactivityinadolescentswithsocialanxiety AT elidhalbreich feasibilityofusingecologicalmomentaryassessmenttomeasuretheeffectsofinteractionswithpetdogsonpsychophysiologicalreactivityinadolescentswithsocialanxiety AT ericcanderson feasibilityofusingecologicalmomentaryassessmenttomeasuretheeffectsofinteractionswithpetdogsonpsychophysiologicalreactivityinadolescentswithsocialanxiety AT megankmueller feasibilityofusingecologicalmomentaryassessmenttomeasuretheeffectsofinteractionswithpetdogsonpsychophysiologicalreactivityinadolescentswithsocialanxiety |