Thank you for your interest in our study!
Please read the short summary below outlining the details of the study.
Why are we doing this research?
To learn more about how pet dogs can help teenagers cope with social challenges.
Who can participate?
Teenagers who:
- Are 13-17 years old
- Experience some social stress
- Have a parent/guardian who also wishes to participate
- Have a pet dog and that dog lives with the teenager and participating parent more than half the time
- Live in the United States
- Teenager and parent/guardian speak English, Spanish, or Portuguese
What will we ask you to do?
Parents and teens will be asked to complete a screener to determine their eligibility for the study.
Participating parent-teenager pairs will be asked to complete one 15-25-minute survey each, every year for four years (a total of 4 surveys over 4 years). If parent-teenager pairs complete all surveys, they will each be eligible to receive up to $80 in e-gift cards ($20 for each completed survey) over the four years to your choice of Amazon or Walmart.
Parents will also be asked to complete a brief survey about their dog's behavior after their first survey is completed. For completion of that survey, parents will receive a $5 gift card and a summary of their pet dog's temperament and behavior.
Participants can complete the survey either online or over the phone.
Participating parent-child dyads may also be asked to participate in other study activities for additional compensation.
How can we participate?
If you are still interested in participating in the study, we will ask you to confirm you and your teenager's contact information below and we will send you a link to a screening survey to determine your eligibility. If eligible, we will contact you about participating in the full study.
Your phone number and email information will ONLY be used to contact you about your participation in the study.
If you have any questions, please contact the study team at Tufts University (teendogstudy@tufts.edu or 508-887-4867).