Observation of human-animal interaction for research (OHAIRE) behavior coding in a randomized control trial of children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and a canine-assisted intervention

Front Psychiatry. 2024 Feb 27:15:1327380. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1327380. eCollection 2024.

Abstract

Introduction: Diagnosed in about 10% of children in the United States, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is characterized by symptoms including inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Traditional interventions, such as pharmacological and psychological interventions, are often used in conjunction with integrative health options, such as animal-assisted interventions. The objective of this manuscript is to report behavior coding findings from a randomized control trial of children with ADHD.

Methods: As part of a larger randomized control trial focused on the efficacy of combining a canine-assisted intervention (live therapy dog or control stuffed dog) with cognitive behavioral therapy for children with ADHD, the current manuscript focuses on video-captured behavior observations (n = 35 children, approximately 322 minutes of data). Data were extracted and coded using the Observation of Human-Animal Interaction Research (OHAIRE) Coding System. Behavior codes are reported as summary scores for the following domains: animal social interaction and human social interaction (further separated into human-adult social interaction and human-peer social interaction). Repeated measures mixed models analyses were performed using SAS PROC GLIMMIX to evaluate group differences and change across the study period.

Results: There were no significant differences in how much children interacted with the live therapy dogs versus control stuffed dogs. With respect to human-to-human social interactions, children showed greater increases over time in human-directed social interactions in the presence of live therapy dogs compared to stuffed dogs (p = .020). Over the course of the 12-week intervention, children increased in interactions with both adults (p = .006) and their peers (p = .014); however, there were more increases over time in adult-directed social interactions in the live animal condition compared to the control stuffed animal condition (p < 0.0001).

Discussion & conclusions: Findings suggest changes in social interaction when participating in this canine-assisted intervention, specifically greater increases in human-to-human social interactions over time when a live therapy dog is present compared to a control stuffed dog. Children appear to engage relatively equally with both live and stuffed dogs; however, the impact of animals on human socialization differs based on if a live animal is present. Future studies should consider incorporating behavior coding analysis into studies of canine-assisted interventions to identify how human-animal interactions may be moderators or mechanisms for psychosocial outcomes.

Keywords: animal-assisted intervention; attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder; complementary intervention; human-animal interaction; therapy dog.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This research was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and Mars-WALTHAM® Grant R01H066593. This research also was supported by funding from the National Center for Research Resources and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health (NIH), through Grant UL1 TR000153, as well as funding from the NIH Loan Repayment Program (L60MD002127). This content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).