Abstract The rate of serious psychological distress among jail inmates (26.4%) is significantly higher than the rate (5%) among the general adult population. The current study is an exploration of the psychosocial impact of an animal assisted intervention (AAI) for men incarcerated in a Texas jail. Participants (N = 17) completed weekly measures of depression, anxiety, PTSD, self-esteem, loneliness, and resilience at Time 1 and Time 2, five weeks later. Dependent sample t-tests were run to test the hypothesis that there are significant differences in participant responses between their first and last week in the AAI program. Analyses revealed significant reductions in PCL-C (t (df = 16), 3.030, p = .008) and CESD (t (df = 16), 1.738, p = .101) scores when comparing the first and last week in the program. An additional dependent samples t-test was run over individuals who had clinically significant scores (moderate to severe) for each measure. These analyses revealed even stronger effects on PCL-C scores (t (df = 8), 4.498, p = .002) and GAD-7 scores (t (df = 8), 2.622, p = .031). Successful completion of the AAI program led to significantly lower symptoms of PTSD, depression, and anxiety.

中文翻译：

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评估动物干预对监狱犯人的影响

摘要监狱囚犯严重心理困扰的发生率（26.4％）明显高于一般成年人口的严重心理困扰（5％）。当前的研究是探索动物辅助干预（AAI）对德克萨斯州监狱中被关押的男性的社会心理影响。参与者（N = 17）在五个星期后的时间1和时间2每周完成一次抑郁，焦虑，PTSD，自尊，孤独和适应力的测量。进行了相关的样本t检验以检验以下假设：在AAI计划的第一周和最后一周之间，参与者的回答之间存在显着差异。分析显示，与第一周和上周比较，PCL-C（t（df = 16），3.030，p = .008）和CESD（t（df = 16），1.738，p = .101）得分显着降低。程序。对每项指标具有临床显着性评分（中度至重度）的个体进行了另一项相关的样本t检验。这些分析表明，对PCL-C分数（t（df = 8），4.498，p = .002）和GAD-7分数（t（df = 8），2.622，p = .031）的影响更大。AAI计划的成功完成导致PTSD，抑郁和焦虑的症状大大降低。