Animal-assisted activities and the well-being of university students

A mixed-methods design was employed, incorporating a quantitative pre-posttest design alongside qualitative semi-structured interviews. The study examined participants’ experiences of interacting with AAA and their perceived effects on well-being within a university context.

For the quantitative phase of this study a cross-sectional comparative design was used, with group assignments determined ex post facto. Students who attended the AAA sessions on campus and completed both the pre- and post-tests formed the experimental group (n = 80), while students who completed the pre-test and post-test but did not attend the AAA session formed the control group (n = 40).</p>