• IEMEK Journal of Embedded Systems and Applications
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.112-117
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• 2009

An animal assisted therapy (AAT) for handicapped child's psychotherapy has been reported by some researches. A robot can be substituted for the role of a real animal of the AAT. The robot for the AAT is called RAT (Robot Assisted Therapy). It consists of four parts: microprocessor-based MCU(Micro Control Unit), sensing part with various sensors, the movement part operated by some motors, and the exterior with soft feel. We will here introduce the RAT.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.63 no.6
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• pp.1443-1452
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• 2021

This study aimed to investigate the effects of the multimodal group intervention that combined animal-assisted therapy (AAT) and integrated play therapy (IPT) on depression and self-esteem in undergraduate university students. The subjects were 40 students attending animal-related and social welfare departments of universities located in a metropolitan city. The multimodal intervention program was conducted for eight sessions (twice a week, 60 min each) in the experimental group. Data analysis was conducted using the independent sample t-test, ANCOVA, and paired sample t-test for pre- and post-test. Therefore, the multimodal intervention program applying AAT and IPT showed positive effects on depression and self-esteem in university students. Based on these results, this study proposed the operation of multidisciplinary education and practical and policy utilization methods to reduce depression among university students and help improve their self-esteem.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.61 no.6
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• pp.379-387
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to identify the effects of a group integrated intervention program that simultaneously conducts cognitive activities, physical activities, emotional activities and social interactions by integrating animal-assisted therapy (AAT) and integrated elderly play therapy based on the cognitive functions and depression of the elderly who live alone. This study follows a pre-test post-test design with a nonequivalent control group, to verify the effectiveness of a group integrated intervention. It applies a group integrated intervention program to 20 elderly people who live alone, aged 65 and above (10 in the experimental group, 10 in the control group), once a week for 90 minutes across eight weeks. The study went through MMSE-K, TMT-A and GDSSF-A to assess cognitive functions and the level of depression. The group integrated intervention increased the cognitive functions of the experimental group and decreased levels of depression. Therefore, this study verified that a group integrated intervention program of AAT and integrated play therapy of the elderly, is an effective for increasing cognitive functions and decreasing depression levels of the elderly who live alone. Based on these findings, the study suggests that there is a need to continuously expand group integrated intervention programs and provide relevant political support.

• Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.83-94
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• 2022

This study was attempted to systematically analysis the characteristics and effects of studies that applied animal assisted therapy to elementary students. Literature searches were conducted in 4 domestic academic databases(RISS, KISS, ScienceON, KMBASE). The characteristics of selected 26 studies were individually analyzed and described by publication year, research method, subject characteristics, intervention characteristics, and outcome variables, and the characteristics of the study were systematically summarized. The effect of the assisted therapy was divided into psychological-emotional effect, interpersonal effect, and other effect. Most of the psychological-emotional indicators and interpersonal relationship indicators were found to be effective, and inconsistent results were found for some indicators. It is expected that it can be used as a useful data when conducting assisted therapy studies targeting elementary school students in the future.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.327-332
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• 2012

This study aimed to see if as companion animals living with human beings, dogs could provide emotional stability or play a therapeutic role for human beings. Of 12 middle school boys as victims of school violence, 6 were assigned to the experimental group that was provided with an animal-assisted therapy program over a total of 12 sections, one section per week, 60 minutes per section, between September and November 2011, followed by post-test 1 and, one month later, post-test 2. In the experimental composition, the remaining 6 boys were assigned to the comparison group that was allowed to read freely. Analysis was performed by using the scales of depression and self-esteem, and the results showed that the experimental group provided with the animal-assisted therapy program generated more significant therapeutic effects than the comparison group. The therapeutic effects were found to persist one month after the completion of the program. Therefore, it is believed that sensitive adolescents who suffer from depression or have lost self-esteem because of school violence can significantly benefit from an animal-assisted therapy program by reducing the recovery time or by getting lots of help with emotional stability. Further research on the basis of this study is expected to help adolescents with emotional therapy in other areas.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.65 no.6
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• pp.1111-1123
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• 2023

This study aims to present a more systematic and developmental research direction by classifying animal-mediation related research trends published in Korea. We analyzed the research trends of 68 domestic animal-mediation programs published in 26 journals over the past 24 years under the premise of the necessity of animal-assisted therapy, which considered a very effective intervention method in the practice areas of various subjects. Therefore, this study examines the year of publication of animal-mediation related research conducted in various academic fields from 1998 to 2022, research data sources, characteristics of research subjects, types of interventions and research topics, research design and intervention sessions, intervention methods, and ethical consideration statements. The results of this study are as follows: First, in the source of research and research trends by year, the number of papers published in animal-related societies was the highest at 34 (50%); the number of studies has been steadily increasing since the mid-2000s. Second, regarding research trends by subject, 45 (66%) were general subjects, 23 (34%) were medically diagnosed, 60 (88%) were selected through pre-evaluation, and 8 (12%) were requested. Third, regarding research trends by method, 27 (40%) of the pretests were conducted before and after the experiment-control group, and only 3 (4%) of the 68 papers were examined later. Fourth, regarding research trends by content, depression (25%) was the most frequently applied variable, and regarding intervention sessions, 53 (78%) were less than 12 sessions. Fifth, regarding research trends and ethical consideration statements by treatment approach method, 58 cases (85%) of individual treatment approaches and 10 cases (15%) of intervention approaches integrated with individual treatment approaches, and 23 cases (34%) of studies with ethical consideration statements or the Institutional Review Board's (IRB) approval. Based on the study results, the implications and research directions of animal-assisted therapy related research are discussed.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.61 no.6
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• pp.371-378
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of group combined intervention that combined animal-assisted therapy and integrated elderly play therapy on the depression, self-esteem, and emotional expression of geriatric patients residing in nursing homes. This was achieved by providing cognitive, physical, and emotional activities and social interaction at the same time. The group combined intervention method was applied to twelve elderly patients (six in the control group, six in the experimental group) aged 65 or older who live in a nursing home for the elderly in C province, from May 3, 2019 to June 21, 2019, for a total of 8 times (once a week, 50 minutes at a time). The quantitative evaluation was analyzed through SPSS 21.0 for comparison before and after the program was implemented, using the Korean version of the depression and the self-esteem scale. The qualitative evaluation compared emotional expression pre-test and post-test. The major results of the study were as follows: First, the group combined intervention was effective in reducing depression levels of the experimental group among the elderly patients. Second, it was effective in improving the self-esteem of the experimental group among the elderly patients. Third, it showed a significant difference in the emotional expression of the experimental group among the elderly patients. Therefore, it was found that group combined intervention reduces depression and improves self-esteem and emotional expression of the elderly. Based on these results, it is hoped that this study will be a cornerstone in the development of concrete programs for the benefit of elderly patients living in facilities.

• Journal of the korean veterinary medical association
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.38-43
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• 2004

• Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.57-67
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• 2016

The purpose of this study was to review of animal-assisted therapy. Method: Animal-assisted therapies (AATs) in domestic and international studies (68 cases) were analyzed by searching databases, KERIS & KISS, and the Pub MED(NCBI). Result: In AATs, a few animals were used for the various disease or disorder. Dog centered therapies were most common.. AATs were used in the various disorder and disease. For the psychological effect, majority of the outcome variables were depression and anxiety. For the physical effect, the most outcome variables were blood pressure, heart rate, and stress hormone. However, These results show that AATs were confined to specific areas such as sensation-centered therapies. Conclusion: AATs had positive effects both in physical and psychological factors even if the study areas have not been applied to the various condition. The further research is needed to identify scientific grounds for the effects of the interventions through various therapies.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.327-335
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• 2021

In this study, we sought to investigate how animal-assisted therapy using therapy dogs affects the relationship between children's self-esteem and age. The subjects of the study were 20 children in the lower grades of elementary school in I City who were recommended by a school social worker and their homeroom teacher, and 10 control groups of 10 experimental groups were selected. From October 1st to December 17th, 2019, the program conducted an animal-mediated treatment program once a week for 50 minutes for 12 sessions. Using SPSS 20.0 for verification, the experimental and control groups were analyzed by performing pre- and post-relationship calm scale measurements of self-esteem and age. As a result, first, the overall self-esteem of the experimental group (Z = -2.75, p<.05), the self-esteem at home (Z = -2.02, p<.05), and the academic self-esteem (Z = -2.06, p<. 05) shows a statistically significant difference. Second, significant differences were shown in overall peer relationships(Z=-3.83, p<.05), scrupulosity(Z=-2.68, p<.05), and empathy(Z=-2.81, p<.05) in the experimental population. Therefore, in this study, it was confirmed that animal-assisted therapy using therapy dogs had a positive effect on the relationship between children's self-esteem and age.