Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Oxytocin has been proposed as a neuroendocrine mechanism that may mediate the relationship between dog ownership and positive health outcomes and be linked to human-dog interactions and is thought to be a mechanism of interspecies bonding. While the role of oxytocin in human bonding behaviours and social behaviour, in general, is becoming well-established the role of oxytocin in human-animal interaction and Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAI) remains unclear. This research gap calls for more high-quality research investigating this possible neuroendocrine underlying mechanism to advance knowledge about AAI. If oxytocin indeed might be involved in interspecies bonding, intranasally administered oxytocin should not only enhance trust toward a human but also towards a dog.
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
| Label | Type | Description | Intervention Names |
|---|---|---|---|
| Condition 1: Oxytocin + dog present | Experimental |
| |
| Condition 2: Oxytocin + no dog present | Experimental |
| |
| Condition 3: Placebo + dog present | Experimental |
| |
| Condition 4: Placebo + no dog present | Placebo Comparator |
|
| Name | Type | Description | Arm Group Labels | Other Names |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oxytocin nasal spray | Drug | Syntocinon nose spray is usually applied in the context of labour and breast feeding. In this study, however, it will be used to induce an oxytocin (OT) release. Participants will apply three sprays in each nostril which will result in a dose of 24 I.U of oxytocin per participant |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Trust in the therapist | The main outcome is trust in the therapist, measured by the Trust and Respect Scale. The current questionnaire contains 8 items, four for trust and four for respect. Each item is measured on a 7-point Likert scale (1 = "strongly disagree" to 7 = "strongly agree"), of which 4 are formulated negatively. High values indicate high trust toward the therapist for the positively framed items, and for the negatively framed items low values mean high trust toward the therapist. | immediately after the intervention |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Trust in the dog | The secondary outcome "trust in the dog" will be measured with a Visual Analog Scale (VAS). The following extremes will be used: no trust to complete trust. High values indicate high trust in the dog. | immediately after the intervention |
| perceived emotional closeness to the dog |
Not provided
Inclusion Criteria:
Exclusion Criteria:
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
| Name | Role | Phone | Extension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karin Hediger, Prof. Dr. | Contact | +41 (0)61 207 65 80 | elena.pauli@unibas.ch | |
| Elena Pauli, MSc | Contact | +41 (0)61 207 69 58 | elena.pauli@unibas.ch |
Not provided
| Facility | Status | City | State | ZIP | Country | Contacts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Basel | Recruiting | Basel | Canton of Basel-City | 4055 | Switzerland |
| PubMed Identifier | Type | Citation | Retractions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28968183 | Background | Algoe SB, Kurtz LE, Grewen K. Oxytocin and Social Bonds: The Role of Oxytocin in Perceptions of Romantic Partners' Bonding Behavior. Psychol Sci. 2017 Dec;28(12):1763-1772. doi: 10.1177/0956797617716922. Epub 2017 Oct 2. | |
| 23695233 | Background | Bakermans-Kranenburg MJ, van I Jzendoorn MH. Sniffing around oxytocin: review and meta-analyses of trials in healthy and clinical groups with implications for pharmacotherapy. Transl Psychiatry. 2013 May 21;3(5):e258. doi: 10.1038/tp.2013.34. |
Not provided
Not provided
We are planning on sharing the anonymized data on a openly assess platform.
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D003863 | Depression |
| D000081762 | Human-Animal Interaction |
| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D001526 | Behavioral Symptoms |
| D001519 | Behavior |
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
Not provided
|
| Animal-Assisted Intervention | Other | The dogs involved in the study are trained and used to work with different people in animal-assisted interventions. The dog will be familiarized with the room and the material as well as the staff of the study. The dog will be specifically trained for this study. The dog will be involved for a maximum of 3 sessions per day (approx. 20 minutes in total) and 2 days per week. |
|
| Placebo | Drug | The placebo nose spray contains a saltwater solution and will be applied like the Syntocinon nose spray containing oxytocin. |
|
The Coleman Dog Attitude Scale (C-DAS) is a reliable and validated measure designed to assess attitudes towards dogs. The C-DAS is a 24-item self-report measure with an alpha ranging from 0.98 to 0.99. |
| immediately after the intervention |
| perceived stress | The secondary outcome "perceived stress" will be measured with a Visual Analog Scale (VAS). The following extremes will be used: no stress to extreme stress. High values indicate that participants perceive a lot of stress. | pre-intervention |
| perceived stress | The secondary outcome "perceived stress" will be measured with a Visual Analog Scale (VAS). The following extremes will be used: no stress to extreme stress. High values indicate that participants perceive a lot of stress. | immediately after the intervention |
| level of difficulty | The secondary outcome "level of difficulty" in talking about a selected stressful event will be measured with a Visual Analog Scale (VAS). The following extremes will be used: no difficulty to extreme difficulty. High values indicate that participants find it extremely difficult to talk about a selected stressful event. | immediately after the intervention |
| therapeutic alliance | The Therapy Session Questionnaire (in German "Therapiesitzungsbogen für Patienten und Therapeuten") will be used to assess the secondary outcome of "therapeutic alliance". The current questionnaire contains 20 items. Each item is measured on a 7-point Likert scale (-3 = "not at all" to +3 = "yes, exactly"). High values indicate high therapeutic alliance. | immediately after the intervention |
| therapeutic climate | Therapy Session Questionnaire (in German "Therapiesitzungsbogen für Patienten und Therapeuten") will be used to assess the secondary outcome of "therapeutic climate". The current questionnaire contains 20 items. Each item is measured on a 7-point Likert scale (-3 = "not at all" to +3 = "yes, exactly"). High values indicate a good therapeutic climate. | immediately after the intervention |
| psychological flexibility | The secondary outcome "psychological flexibility" will be measured with the psychological flexibility questionnaire (Psy-Flex). The Psy-Flex questionnaire consists of six items, which are representative for the six skills. Items are rated on a Likert scale (5 = "very often" to 1 = "very rarely") and are then summed up. Higher scores represent higher psychological flexibility. | pre-intervention |
| psychological flexibility | The secondary outcome "psychological flexibility" will be measured with the psychological flexibility questionnaire (Psy-Flex). The Psy-Flex questionnaire consists of six items, which are representative for the six skills. Items are rated on a Likert scale (5 = "very often" to 1 = "very rarely") and are then summed up. Higher scores represent higher psychological flexibility. | immediately after the intervention |
| 17958710 | Background | Feldman R, Weller A, Zagoory-Sharon O, Levine A. Evidence for a neuroendocrinological foundation of human affiliation: plasma oxytocin levels across pregnancy and the postpartum period predict mother-infant bonding. Psychol Sci. 2007 Nov;18(11):965-70. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.02010.x. |
| 15931222 | Background | Kosfeld M, Heinrichs M, Zak PJ, Fischbacher U, Fehr E. Oxytocin increases trust in humans. Nature. 2005 Jun 2;435(7042):673-6. doi: 10.1038/nature03701. |
| 25883356 | Background | Nagasawa M, Mitsui S, En S, Ohtani N, Ohta M, Sakuma Y, Onaka T, Mogi K, Kikusui T. Social evolution. Oxytocin-gaze positive loop and the coevolution of human-dog bonds. Science. 2015 Apr 17;348(6232):333-6. doi: 10.1126/science.1261022. Epub 2015 Apr 16. |
| Background | Powell, L., Guastella, A. J., McGreevy, P. D., Bauman, A., Edwards, K. M., & Stamatakis, E. (2018). The physiological function of oxytocin in humans and its acute response to human-dog interactions: A review of the literature. Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 30, 25-32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jveb.2018.10.008 |
| 31888759 | Background | Crits-Christoph P, Rieger A, Gaines A, Gibbons MBC. Trust and respect in the patient-clinician relationship: preliminary development of a new scale. BMC Psychol. 2019 Dec 30;7(1):91. doi: 10.1186/s40359-019-0347-3. |
| Background | Coleman, J. A., Green, B., Garthe, R. C., Worthington Jr, E. L., Barker, S. B., & Ingram, K. M. (2016). The Coleman Dog Attitude Scale (C-DAS): development, refinement, validation, and reliability. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 176, 77-86. |
| Background | Gloster, A. T., Block, V. J., Klotsche, J., Villanueva, J. E., Rinner, M. T. B., Benoy, C., Walter, M., Karekla, M., & Bader, K. (2021). Psy-Flex: A contextually sensitive measure of psychological flexibility. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 22, 13-23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2021.09.001 |