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2026 Vol.2, Issue 3 Preview Page

Review Article

Evaluation of the emotional and social effects of companion animal-assisted interventions for children in korea
Pok Taek Kim1*
1Korea Companion Animal Assisted Therapy Association, Seoul 07583, Republic of Korea
*Corresponding Author
30 September 2026. pp. 255-265
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Abstract

This review evaluated the emotional and social effects reported in Korean animal-assisted intervention studies involving children and examined methodological factors affecting the interpretation of the findings. Korean original studies and relevant reviews involving direct interactions between children and companion animals, including dogs, rabbits, and cats, were examined. The principal outcomes included self-esteem, ego-resiliency, emotional stability, peer relationships, cooperation, assertiveness, and interpersonal relationships. Characteristics of the participants, animals, intervention structure, outcome measures, control conditions, and follow-up assessments were also considered. Positive changes were reported relatively consistently for self-esteem and selected domains of social functioning. Improvements in peer relationships, cooperation, assertiveness, and interpersonal relationships were also observed in several studies. However, changes in total sociality scores were not always consistent with changes in individual subdomains. Evidence regarding anxiety, depression, and sustained emotional stability remained limited. Interpretation was further restricted by small samples, single-group pre–post designs, non-blinded assessments, heterogeneous outcome measures, and insufficient follow-up evaluations. Overall, animal-assisted interventions may support self-esteem and selected interpersonal and social skills in children. Nevertheless, the current evidence should be interpreted as promising rather than conclusive because the independent contribution of animal participation has not been sufficiently established. Future studies should employ adequately powered samples, active comparison groups, standardized core outcomes, independent assessors, long-term follow-up, and explicit animal welfare criteria.

Keywords
Animal-assisted intervention
Children
Emotional outcomes
Human–animal interaction
Self-esteem
Social skills
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Information
  • Publisher :Journal of Humanimal Sciences
  • Publisher(Ko) :한경국립대학교 휴머니멀응용과학연구소
  • Journal Title :Journal of Humanimal Sciences
  • Journal Title(Ko) :휴머니멀과학학술지
  • Volume : 2
  • No :3
  • Pages :255-265
  • Received Date : 2026-08-13
  • Revised Date : 2026-08-24
  • Accepted Date : 2026-09-01
  • DOI :https://doi.org/10.23341/jhas.2026.2.3.255
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