XV Международная студенческая научная конференция Студенческий научный форум - 2023

Today, almost every family has a pet. According to statistics, over the past three years, the number of pets has increased by 14%, and there are more and more people who want to have them. In general, most pet owners are confident that pets have a positive effect on their psychological state, help to cope with negative thoughts and cheer up. In this regard, the popularity of studies devoted to the study of the influence of animals on humans has increased.

K. Allen, a researcher at the State University of New York at Buffalo, studies the beneficial effect of animals on the psycho-emotional state of their owners. He pays special attention to dogs, which, in his opinion, can help people cope with stress, but it is not yet possible to explain the mechanism by which this happens.

In 2002, scientists conducted experiments in which they measured heart rate and blood pressure during a mathematical task in people with pets and compared them with those who did not have pets. As a result of the experiment, data were obtained according to which pet owners had lower indicators in general and were less prone to their jumps under stress.

Having studied the beneficial effects of animals on people, they began to use a new direction in therapy - Pet therapy. Pet therapy is the participation of pets in the treatment and prevention of various mental disorders. Proponents of pet therapy believe that animals help to stabilize emotions, become more relaxed and calm, develop trust in others and self-confidence, improve communication skills, self-regulation and socialization.

S. Barker and K. Dawson, teachers from the University of Virginia, conducted an experiment in which they studied the influence of therapy dogs on the anxiety level of mentally ill people. According to the data obtained, it turned out that pet therapy is more effective than traditional psychotherapy. The level of anxiety in the patients who participated in the experiment decreased significantly thanks to the animals. The exception was people with severe clinical manifestations.

In addition, pets relieve feelings of loneliness. For most owners, their pets are close friends or even family members. They help not to feel lonely, provide support and help to cope with difficulties. Rather, our interpretation of the pet's behavior and the subjective feeling of support are important. Pet stroking calms down, reduces anxiety and stress, and this trick works even with those who do not consider themselves to be lovers of cats and dogs. Animals have a beneficial effect on the emotional state of a person, and the therapeutic effect of contact with animals is achieved precisely due to positive emotions.

Literature:

1. Dzyuba I.A. The influence of pets on the psychological state of people and social interactions // International scientific journal "BULLETIN OF SCIENCE". 2019. №10 (19). P . 10 – 16

2. Kharchuk, Yu. Animal therapy. Pets and our health - Rostov-on-Don.: Phoenix, 2007.

3. Barker S. B., Dawson K. S. The effects of animal-assisted therapy on anxiety ratings of hospitalized psychiatric patients. (англ.) // Psychiatric Services (Washington, D.C.). — 1998. — June (vol. 49, no. 6). — P. 797—801