Pet therapy can combat homesickness

 

The study shows that animal-assisted therapy can help students combat homesickness and could be a useful tool in lowering post-secondary drop-out rates.

"Transitioning from high school to university can prove to be a challenge for many first-year students," says Assistant Professor John Tyler Binfet of UBC's Okanagan campus.
UBC奥卡纳根校区的助理教授John Tyler Binfet说：“从高中到大学的过渡对许多一年级学生来说是一个挑战。”

 

"Given that students who experience homesickness are more likely than their non-homesick cohorts to drop out of university, universities have a vested interest in supporting students during their first-year transition."
“考虑到想家的学生比不想家的学生更有可能辍学，大学在学生一年级过渡期间支持他们有既得利益。”

 

In the study, 44 first-year university students who self-identified as homesick were given a survey to measure levels of homesickness, satisfaction with life and connectedness with campus. Half of the students completed eight weeks of dog therapy, while the other half were informed that their sessions would begin in eight weeks' time. Dog therapy included 45-minute weekly sessions involving small group interactions with the dogs and handlers, and engagement with other first-year students participating in the study.
在这项研究中，对44名自称思乡的一年级大学生进行了一项调查，以衡量他们的思乡程度、对生活的满意度以及与校园的联系。一半的学生完成了为期八周的狗狗治疗，另一半则被告知他们的疗程将在八周后开始。狗狗治疗包括每周45分钟的课程，包括与狗狗和训犬员的小组互动，以及与参与研究的其他一年级学生的互动。

 

Following the initial eight-week session, participants in both the treatment group and the non-treatment group completed the survey again.

 

Participants who completed the eight-week program experienced significant reductions in homesickness and greater increase in satisfaction with life. Participants reported that sessions "felt like they were at home chatting with friends who brought their puppies." While the non-treatment group reported an increase in their feelings of homesickness.
完成为期八周的项目的参与者思乡之情显著减少，对生活的满意度更高。参与者报告说，治疗“感觉就像在家里和带小狗的朋友聊天。”而非治疗组报告说，他们的思乡情绪增加了。

 

According to a 2009 report conducted for B.C. Stats, students who left post-secondary happy were almost twice as likely to have felt a sense of belonging compared to students who left unhappy. Students who left university unhappy were almost twice as likely to say they did not feel a sense of belonging on campus.
根据不列颠哥伦比亚省统计局2009年的一份报告，快乐地离开中学后的学生产生归属感的可能性几乎是不快乐地离开的学生的两倍。不开心地离开大学的学生说他们在校园里没有归属感的可能性几乎是其他学生的两倍。

 

A total of 29 per cent of students who dropped out cited more interactions and friendships with other students as a factor that would have influenced their decision to stay longer.
共有29%的辍学学生表示，与其他学生的更多互动和友谊是影响他们决定留校更长时间的一个因素。

 

"Many first-year university students face the challenge of integrating into their new campus community," says Binfet. "Homesick students are three times more likely than those who manage their homesickness to disengage and drop out of university."
Binfet说：“许多大学一年级的学生面临着融入新校园生活的挑战。”“想家的学生脱离大学生活和辍学的可能性是那些克服思乡情绪的学生的三倍。”

 

"Moving to a new city, I did not know anyone at the university and became very homesick and depressed," says UBC Okanagan student Varenka Kim. "I was mainly secluded¹ in my dorm room and did not feel like I belonged here. Coming to animal assisted therapy sessions every Friday gave me a sense of purpose and kept me enthusiastic about life."

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