Social and emotional therapy dog-assisted interventions in mainstream school settings: a systematic review

ObjectiveThe purpose of this systematic review is to synthesise the available evidence of the impact of therapy dog-assisted interventions on the social and emotional wellbeing of students in mainstream school settings through the use of the biopsychosocial framework.MethodThe PRISMA 2020 guidelines were followed, and the inclusion criteria included primary outcomes related to social and emotional wellbeing, such as social competencies and mental health. The studies included were conducted in mainstream educational settings, incorporated a therapy dog, provided a comparison or control group and were in English. The quality of the evidence was assessed with the Evidence Project Risk of Bias tool.ResultsOf 405 studies identified, seven studies with sufficient rigour met the inclusion criteria of evidence to support the use of therapy dog-assisted interventions to improve social and emotional wellbeing within a school setting. Outcomes consisted of psychological, biological, and social variables contributing to overall wellbeing, such as improved self-perceptions, decreased cortisol levels and improvement in social behaviour and empathy.ConclusionsFindings suggest that therapy dog-assisted interventions can have a positive impact on social behaviours and reducing stress in a school setting; however, there is a need for more rigorous and current research investigating therapy dog-assisted social and emotional wellbeing interventions in mainstream educational settings. What is already known about this topic:Therapy dogs can impact psychological, biological, and social aspects of human wellbeing.Growing interest in including therapy dogs as educational partners in school settings.Evidence in school settings has been impeded by methodological limitations, particularly for therapy dog-assisted social and emotional wellbeing interventions.What this topic adds:Synthesises evidence of therapy dog-assisted social and emotional wellbeing interventions in schools.Identifies the outcomes of these studies: improved self-perceptions, decreased cortisol levels and improvement in social behaviour and empathy.Identifies the need for more rigorous and current research investigating therapy dog-assisted social and emotional wellbeing interventions in mainstream educational settings.