The aim of this study was to investigate a potential association between participation in a 4-H dog club program with improved life skills of youth. Life skills – such as stress management, resilience, learning-to-learn, self-esteem, and empathy -- are non-academic abilities which play a key role in the psychosocial development of youth. Such skills are a prerequisite for success in managing everyday challenges and for becoming responsible members of society.
4-H -- an organization committed to the development of life skills in children and youth – offers a variety of clubs and camps throughout the U.S. The overarching program areas of 4-H are science, citizenship, and healthy living. Dog clubs, which fall within the science area, focus on responsible dog ownership and breeding. Dog clubs also promote an understanding and appreciation of the contributions dogs make to society.
A total of 150 youth (6-17 years old) participated in this study. They represented three different conditions: participation in 4-H dog clubs; participation in 4-H clubs not involving dogs, and participation in a non 4-H school youth group. Participants in all three groups completed a written questionnaire assessing life skills and attitude toward and attachment to pets. The questionnaire also collected demographic information about the participants, including information about pets in the home. Methods used in analyzing the results allowed the researchers to compare life skills, and pet attitude and attachment, across the three conditions.
Results indicated that youth in 4-H dog clubs had higher stress management scores, greater learning-to-learn skills, and higher self- esteem scores than the school-only youth. Youth in the dog clubs also had higher stress management scores than the youth in the non-dog 4-H clubs. Additionally, the “attitude toward pets” scores tended to be higher for youth in 4-H dog clubs than youth in 4-H non-dog clubs. Almost all of the 150 participants had pets (mostly dogs) at home. The presence of a dog in the home, however, did not explain the improved life skills scores associated with 4-H dog club participation, as dogs at home were considered in the statistical analyses. These results suggest that the 4-H activities involving dogs had beneficial life skill effects beyond the benefits resulting from dog contact per se.
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