New study suggests both cows and humans benefit from bovine-assisted therapy, especially when participants are women.
New York, NY – A growing body of research supports the benefits of animal-assisted therapy for a wide range of mental health conditions, but most has focused on companion animals like dogs, cats and rabbits. Clinical Assistant Professor Dr. Katherine Compitus, author of the book The Human-Animal Bond in Clinical Social Work Practice (Springer, 2021), has long included such animals in her clinical practice with people experiencing anxiety, emotional trauma and other mental health challenges. Four years ago, however, when baby steers Magnus and Callum arrived at her Surrey Hills Sanctuary in Upstate New York, she recognized that cows’ size and temperament makes them particularly well-suited for therapeutic practice.
“I noticed right away how sweet and affectionate they were,” said Dr. Compitus of the two neutered bulls, who were rescued six months apart from a dairy farm. “Magnus is very outgoing while Callum is slow to warm up, yet both are very loving in their way,” she said. “These big animals would lick my hands or put their head on my shoulder and I’d feel safe and supported. That’s when I first started involving them in direct clinical therapy.”
Both Humans and Cattle Appear to Benefit
In fact, Dr. Compitus said, bovine-assisted therapy, also known as “cow cuddling,” is believed to have originated earlier this century in the Netherlands. It is slowly gaining popularity in other parts of the world as practitioners discover that cows have a gentle nature, sociability and physical presence that fosters well-being and emotional healing.
Of particular importance to Dr. Compitus is that her steers are willing participants in the therapeutic relationship. “Animal welfare is a top priority,” she said, “Magnus and Callum appear to genuinely enjoy human interaction. We don’t ‘use’ them in our practice, rather we include them as our co-facilitators.”
To gain further insight into the viability of bovine-assisted therapy, Dr. Compitus Sonya M. Bierbower of the Department of Chemistry and Life Science at West Point conducted a study with Magnus, Callum and 11 human participants. Each person spent at least 45 minutes with one of the steers. Afterwards they completed the Human-Animal Interaction Scale, a self-report tool designed to measure both the degree to which the person engaged with the animal and the degree to which the person perceived the animal engaged with them.
Cows Seem to Prefer Women Over Men
The results, published in the journal Human-Animal Interactions, support the hypothesis that both cows and humans benefit from therapeutic interactions with one another. Notably, the steers were perceived to have a strong preference for interactions with women vs. men. Women, in turn, reported stronger attachment behaviors toward the steers.
“As a pilot study, we cannot assume efficacy, but this provides us with data that indicates there may be a therapeutic benefit to interacting with cows,” Dr. Compitus said. “We were surprised that women reported a larger benefit than men; however, I suspect this may be due to the way people are socialized and live in society. Those who identify as women are expected to be nurturers and those who identify as male are expected to be more reserved with their feelings. It may be that female participants actually solicited more interactions with Magnus and Callum, while the men were more reserved and waited for the cows to come to them.”
Dr. Computis hopes to build on this research with a larger, more diverse sample of human participants and to include psychological assessments as well. “I want to not only explore whether bovine-assisted therapy is effective but also get a deeper understanding of how the model works.”
Among the numerous international media outlets that reported on Dr. Compitus’ current study are:
Daily Mail
Moo-ve out the way, men! Cows prefer to be cuddled by women, study finds
MSN
Moo-ve out the way, men! Cows prefer to be cuddled by women
Jerusalem Post
Therapy animals have strong feelings on the gender of their patients - study
India Education Diary
New Study Finds Promise In Cattle-Assisted Mental Health Therapy
Science Daily
Cuddled Cows Prefer Women
New Scientist
Cattle used for cuddling therapy may prefer women over men
Interesting Engineering
Where do guys go? Cuddling cows prefer healing women over men, claims study
Princeton Daily Clarion
Udderly fascinating research reveals cows prefer hugs from women
ZME Science
Cows can be excellent therapy animals. But they seem to prefer women over men
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