title: Effect of petting a dog on immune system function.
abstract: The present study assessed the effect of petting a dog on secretory immunoglobulin A (IgA) levels. 55 college students were randomly assigned to either an experimental group or one of two control groups. Group 1 (n= 19) petted a live dog; Group 2 (n = 17) petted a stuffed dog, while Group 3 (n = 19) simply sat comfortably on a couch. Each participant was exposed to one of the three conditions for 18 min. Pre- and posttreatment saliva samples yielded a significant increase in IgA for Group 1 only. Participants were also asked to complete the Pet Attitude Scale of Templer, Salter, Dickey, Baldwin and Veleber. Scores on this scale correlated with IgA increases only for participants in Group 2 (petting a stuffed animal). Results are discussed in terms of the beneficial effects of pets on health in general, and immunity in particular.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18766, USA. charnets@wilkes.edu
authors.forename: Carl J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Charnetski
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Riggers
authors.forename: Francis X
authors.initials: FX
authors.lastname: Brennan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D001841:Human-Animal Bond; D006801:Humans; D007121:Immunocompetence / Q000276:immunology; D007071:Immunoglobulin A, Secretory / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D011598:Psychoneuroimmunology; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology
chemical_list: D007071:Immunoglobulin A, Secretory