Examining the Effects of Rabbit-Assisted Interventions in the Classroom Environment

Abstract

The effect of rabbit-assisted interventions on the anxiety levels of first-grade children at a primary school was analyzed. At the beginning of our research, no rabbit-assisted intervention was applied for 6 weeks in order to establish the level of stress caused by the start of the education period. We then alternated 6-week-long periods with and without rabbit-assisted intervention. The level of anxiety in children was assessed every three weeks both in the assisted and non-assisted periods, using the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children, STAI-C. One of the examined classes did not apply the integrating policy while the other class contained pupils with special education needs (called the integrating class). Rabbit-assisted interventions proved to be efficient, as anxiety level scores were significantly lower during the animal-assisted periods. The rabbits actively initiated encounters with humans, not only in the framework of animal-assisted interventions, but also at other occasions. In cases of discomfort, the rabbit retreated to the cage and stayed inside for a short time. The children displayed signs of pleasure when the rabbits approached them. The favorable effect of animal assistance was more apparent in the integrating class. It could be concluded that rabbit-assisted interventions were suitable for decreasing the anxiety levels of elementary school children, improving the efficacy of the educational ability of teachers.

Changes in the Stress Tolerance of Dwarf Rabbits in Animal-Assisted Interventions

“…The presence of the rabbit reduced children's anxiety levels by 9.48% in the inclusive schools and by 7.24% in the regular school. At the same time, however, the research did not provide any findings connected to the behaviour of the animals and their stress levels [11].…”

“…The strong stress effect deteriorated the previously established relationship, so the interoperability of the rabbits might have been replaced by fear, indifference or perhaps even aggression. Based on the research study, it was suggested that rabbits should receive handling for 2-3 weeks before starting therapy [30].…”

“…Sci. 2022, 12, 6979 2 of 16 interventions in primary schools are suitable for decreasing the anxiety levels of children, which may increase the education efficiency of teachers [11]. The body language of the rabbits is easy to comprehend because it is straightforward to separate aggressive rabbits from curious and friendly ones.…”

Animal-Assisted Counseling for Young Children: Evidence Base, Best Practices, and Future Prospects

“…The school counselor works with the child’s teacher who has a litter box trained rabbit in the classroom. Opportunities to interact with the bunny motivate the child to attend school and have more positive attitudes Rabbits in the classroom (Molinar et al, 2020 ) Welfare of rabbits (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 2019 ) Encourage participation in learning activities (Gee et al, 2017 ) such as reading aloud (Levinson et al, 2017 ) A first grader who transfers into a new school midyear is a reluctant reader who and sometimes refuses to read aloud. The school counselor considers it to be a case of reading anxiety.…”

Dogs at school: a quantitative analysis of parental perceptions of canine-assisted activities in schools mediated by child anxiety score and use case

“…Although slightly different in their overall approach, both animal-assisted activities (AAA) and animal-assisted therapies (AAT) have been found to be effective in managing anxiety and depression in both children and adults (Molnár et al, 2020 ; Murray et al, 2019 ; Waite et al, 2018 ; Wilson et al, 2017 ). As such, complementary therapies such as AAT could be viable for use alongside traditional pharmacological and talking treatments.…”