Document Type
Peer-Reviewed Article
Publication Date
2026
Abstract
The present study examined changes in high schoolers’ perceived stress, general self-efficacy and cortisol levels after a brief interaction with a certified therapy dog. High school students completed self-report measures of perceived stress and general self-efficacy and provided salivary cortisol samples both before and after a 10-min interaction with a certified therapy dog. Following the interaction, students reported reductions in perceived stress scores, exhibited lower salivary cortisol concentrations and demonstrated increases in self-efficacy scores compared to before the interaction. Although higher self-efficacy scores were observed, general self-efficacy is generally regarded as a stable construct; therefore, these findings may reflect a temporary increase in perceived confidence or well-being rather than a lasting change in general self-efficacy. Overall, these findings should be interpreted as preliminary associations rather than evidence of a causal effect of the therapy dog interaction due to the single-group pre-post design and study limitations. Nevertheless, the results are consistent with previous research suggesting that brief therapy dog interactions may be associated with short-term improvements in psychological and physiological indicators of well-being. Additional controlled studies are needed to determine whether therapy dog interactions produce benefits beyond those attributable to other factors, such as social interaction or time away from academic demands.
DOI
10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1876920
Recommended Citation
Melzer, D. K., Yeater, D. M., DeRubis, M., Kohlroser, C., & Pierce, B. J. (2026). Brief therapy dog interactions may increase self-efficacy and lower perceived stress and cortisol in high school students: a preliminary study. Frontiers in Psychology, 17, 1876920. Doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1876920
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Comments
At the time of publication, Madison DeRubis and Christiana Kohlroser are undergraduate students in the department of biology at Sacred Heart University.