# A child's best friend: Behavioral, neural, and endocrinological mechanisms of longitudinal social bond formation and stress buffering effects in children and pet dogs

> **NIH NIH F32** · HARVARD UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $73,828

## Abstract

Project Summary
The goal of this project proposal is to advance our understanding of the mechanisms that underlie longitudinal
social bond development in children and their pet dogs. The strength of the social bonds that form between
children and their pet dogs is thought to mediate the positive therapeutic effects of having a pet dog, yet the
mechanisms involved in the longitudinal development of these social bonds are not well characterized. The
overall objective of this study is to determine how social bonds between children and their pet dogs develop,
and to examine the anxiolytic effects of these social bonds in order to more effectively facilitate child health and
wellbeing. The specific aims of this project are 1) to assess the relationship between social bond strength,
oxytocin levels, and functional responses within social reward-related brain circuits in dogs and children, and 2)
to determine whether social bond strength is associated with cortisol levels and functional connectivity within
stress-related brain circuits in dogs and children. These aims will be achieved by assessing changes in social
bond strength between child-dog dyads across four timepoints: within one week of dog adoption, two months
post-adoption, five months post-adoption, and eight months post-adoption. At each timepoint, social bond
strength will be measured via a behavioral task, and salivary samples will be collected from the child and the
dog at the start and end of the behavioral testing session to measure changes in hormone level throughout the
session. Brain activity will be measured following behavioral testing using fMRI techniques. Through the
integration of behavioral, endocrinological, and neural methodologies, we will obtain a full perspective of the
longitudinal process of social bond formation in child-dog dyads that can be generalized across the broader
population. The proposed study aligns with the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development’s
Child Development and Behavior Branch of Human Animal Interaction’s mission of enhancing the lives of
children. The results of this study will directly influence child wellbeing by allowing us to better understand the
mechanisms involved in the formation of social bonds between children and pet dogs over time, which will lay
the foundation for informing therapeutic outcomes in future clinical populations.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10871680
- **Project number:** 5F32HD111327-02
- **Recipient organization:** HARVARD UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Olivia Tomeo Reilly
- **Activity code:** F32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $73,828
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-07-01 → 2026-09-22

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10871680

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10871680, A child's best friend: Behavioral, neural, and endocrinological mechanisms of longitudinal social bond formation and stress buffering effects in children and pet dogs (5F32HD111327-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10871680. Licensed CC0.

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