The Impact of Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy on Depression, Anxiety, and Stress in Patients with Substance Use Disorder in a Psychiatric Hospital

This study aims to assess whether an EAP program affects anxiety, depression, and stress, which are often associated with substance use disorder. The management of these conditions has a major impact on the control of the addiction.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Anxiety; Substance Abuse Disorder; Depression Secondary to Other Disease
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Psychopharmacology intervention

Detailed Description

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of an EAP program on 32 respondents in the experimental group and 36 in the control group. These respondents were patients in a psychiatric hospital who were taking part in an addiction treatment program. The EAP program was conducted weekly over four weeks, with each session lasting three hours. The treatment effects were assessed using the STAI-Y modules 1 and 2, BAI, PSS, and DASS-21 questionnaires. The groups were compared before and after the four-week observation period.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 68

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Czech Republic
  • Kosmonosy, Czech Republic, 29306
    • Psychiatrická nemocnice Kosmonosy

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients of psychiatric hospital with substance use disorder

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Patients of psychiatric hospital of Kosmonosy with substance use disorder

Exclusion Criteria:

Exclusion criteria were possible cognitive deficit or reluctance to work with animals. Participants who did not complete all required materials or left the treatment program before completion were excluded from the study (N = 9).

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental; Group with equine-assisted psychotherapy	Other: Psychopharmacology intervention; Psychotherapy with horses
Control; Group with psychotherapy

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)	The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) is an instrument evaluating the current level of anxiety and personality traits. It was translated into the czech in 2019 by Figalová (2019). Scoring is done using a template, and the range of final scores is 20-80 for each subscale. The higher the score, the higher the level of anxiety or fear. The scores can be divided into three categories-no or low perceived anxiety/anxiousness, moderate anxiety/anxiousness, and high anxiety/anxiousness (Müllner et. al, 1980; Figalová, 2019).	through study completion, an average of 18 months
Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale 21 (DASS-21)	The DASS-21 scale has 21 items. Respondents rate their experiences in the past week on a four-point Likert scale (0 = not at all; 1 = sometimes; 2 = often; 3 = almost always). The questionnaire has three subscales: depression, anxiety, and stress. The depression subscale focuses on the patient's low mood, anhedonia, hopelessness, self-deprecation, devaluation of life, and decreased motivation. The anxiety subscale focuses on physiological arousal, subjective feelings of tension, situational anxiety, and fear. The stress subscale measures the inability to relax, tension, impatience, and irritability. For all three subscales, scores are categorized as normal, mild, moderate, severe, and extremely severe (Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995).	through study completion, an average of 18 months
Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)	The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) is a self-report scale to measure non-specific perceived stress (Cohen et. al, 1983). It is a short scale that is easy to administer, can be administered individually or in groups, is easy to score, and has satisfactory psychometric properties despite its small size. It is the most commonly used psychological instrument to measure perceived stress (Cohen & Janicki-Deverts, 2009). The scale consists of 10 items. Within the PSS, scores can be divided into three categories: low stress, moderate stress, and high perceived stress (Buršíková et al., 2018).	through study completion, an average of 18 months
Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI)	The Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI; [Beck et al., 1988]) is a self-report instrument useful for assessing general anxiety in patients with anxiety disorders or depression. The BAI allows for the assessment of actual levels of anxiety. It assesses the expression of both somatic and psychological symptoms of anxiety. The questionnaire has excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.92) and satisfactory test-retest performance (r = 0.75) at one week. The categories can be divided into minimal anxiety, mild anxiety, moderate anxiety, and severe anxiety.	through study completion, an average of 18 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Czech University of Life Sciences Prague
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Kristýna Machová, associate professor, Czech university of life sciences

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): March 23, 2022
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 15, 2023
• Study Completion (Actual): December 15, 2023

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 10, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 18, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): October 22, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): October 22, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 18, 2024
• Last Verified: October 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: psychotherapy; substance use disorder; Equine asssited psychotherapy
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Pathologic Processes; Behavioral Symptoms; Chemically-Induced Disorders; Mood Disorders; Anxiety Disorders; Depression; Depressive Disorder; Disease; Substance-Related Disorders
• Other Study ID Numbers: 8870-VIII/2013

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: All data are available on Mendeley database (10.17632/bng79xc6pc.1).
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: Unending- All data are available on Mendeley database https://data.mendeley.com/datasets/bng79xc6pc/1
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: All data are available on Mendeley database https://data.mendeley.com/datasets/bng79xc6pc/1
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: ANALYTIC_CODE

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No