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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 5 page research paper that discusses pet therapy, or animal-assisted therapy (AAT), as it is also known. This brief literature review looks at how pet therapy functions in regards to the elderly, particularly as it pertains to mental health ramifications, such as the perception of loneliness. Bibliography lists 8 sources.
Page Count:
5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khaat.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
dog. Or we need a car, or a horse, or some other animal to help us through our pain and to move us toward a better place in life (Chandler,
2005, p. 1). The relationship between human beings and pets is believed to have begun roughly 200,000 years ago in the very first hunter-gather societies (McColgan and Schofield,
2007). This is when the domestication of animals began and established a hierarchical relationship between humans and specific animal species. In pet therapy, the relationship goes beyond the typical human-pet
relationship in that these animals provide a sense of companionship for their owners, which subsequently accords them the status of virtual "people," that is, they are seen as "social beings
with whom close and significant relationships can be forged" (McColgan and Schofield, 2007). This fact has been acknowledged and utilized by professionals involved with the elderly who have successfully incorporated
pet therapy into elder care. The following brief literature review looks at how pet therapy functions in regards to the elderly, particularly as it pertains to mental health ramifications, such
as the perception of loneliness. While the effect of pets on human mood and even physiology has long been acknowledged, the majority of what has been published on this
topic has been anecdotal in nature, therefore, Banks and Banks (2002) designed a study utilizing pet therapy, or as they term it, animal-assisted therapy (AAT), in order to scientifically evaluate
whether or not pets could objectively improve loneliness as perceived by elderly residents of long-term care facilities. `Participants in the study were evaluated using various validated instruments, including the
UCLA Loneliness Scale and were then randomized into three groups: one of which received no intervention, while the other two groups received AAT once a week or three times a
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