Why robotic pets?
Between 2013 and 2019 the National College Health Assessment found significant increases in the proportion of Canadian post-secondary students seeking help and self-reporting stress, psychological distress, and diagnosed mental illnesses. Despite increased efforts to provide supports, Canadian post-secondary institutions report demands for mental health treatment services continue to significantly outpace resources (Linden, Boyes, & Stuart, 2021; Ng & Padjen, 2019). Poor mental health outcomes are associated with increased dropout rates, absenteeism, decreasing academic performance, and suicide (Monaghan, Linden, & Stuart, 2020). Given that research also indicates that engineering students are more reluctant to seek help than students in other disciplines (Lipson, Zhou, Wagner, Beck, & Eisenberg, 2016), it is vitally important to find innovative wellness solutions to support students within the FoE.
Live Therapy Dog Interventions:
- Have been found to be a cost-effective, time efficient, accessible, and wide-reaching strategy, while not being associated with the same stigma as other forms of help seeking (Peel, Nguyen, & Tannous, 2023; Spruin, Dempster, Islam, & Raybould, 2021).
- Benefits of therapy dogs including decreases in self-reported anxiety, stress, and loneliness and improved mood among postsecondary students (Moores, Button, Fawcett, & Whelan, 2022; Peel et al., 2023; Spruin et al., 2021).
- A dog therapy session has been shown to be as effective as a 30-minute mindfulness session for reducing anxiety and improving mood (Spruin et al., 2021, p. 597).
- Live therapy dog sessions held within the FoE continue to be a student favorite (POETS, MME, ECE, School of Architecture).
- There is currently a shortage of therapy dogs in Waterloo Region, as a result, the number of campus visits are limited.
- Live therapy dog interventions may not be suitable for students with allergies or a fear of dogs (Ali & Watson, 2016; Melson, Kahn, Beck, & Friedman, 2009).
Robotic Pet Interventions:
- Robotic pets have been found to improve psychological outcomes including reduction in loneliness, stress, and anxiety in older adults with and without cognitive disorders (Banks, Willoughby, & Banks, 2008; Horstmann, 2023; Petersen, Houston, Qin, Tague, & Studley, 2017; Shoesmith, Surr, & Ratschen, 2023).
- Social robotic interventions have been used in educational settings for children with neurodevelopmental disorders including Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) for developing and enhancing social and communication skills and improving engagement in learning activities (Azizi et al., 2022; Breazeal, Dautenhahn, & Kanda, 2016; Pivetti et al., 2020).
- Preliminary studies in post-secondary settings have been promising (Edwards, et al., 2020; Geva, Uzefovsky& Levy-Tzedek, 2020).
Given FoE students’ affinity for technology, AI, and social robotics, it is logical to explore how robotic pets could be incorporated into FoE wellness initiatives.