Programa de Intervención Asistida con Perros para Estudiantes UniversitariosEstudio Piloto

Abstract

Dog Assisted Interventions (DAIs) are carried out in universities around the world asmethods of improving the quality of life of students. This paper evaluates the effectivenessof the implementation of Compludog, a DAI program on the levels of stress, well-being andsocial skills of first-year students at different degrees of Complutense University of Madrid(UCM). The study was developed in four faculties (Sociology, Education, Chemistry,Nursing) and 64 first-year undergraduate students participated. The intervention consistsof three sessions, one per week, with one hour of duration in interaction with a therapy dog.The research follows a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design. The results obtainedindicate significant improvements in all the variables studied: attitudes toward IAP, stress,well-being and social skills. In addition, the application of the pilot study has allowed tovalidate and adjust the IAP program for the students of the UCM.