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Go to any college campus during finals week, and you may come across a delightful sight: stressed-out, over-caffeinated university students petting dogs. Technically known as animal-assisted interventions, these light-hearted interactions are scientifically shown to provide at least short-term relief.
在考试周的任何一所大学校园，你都可能看到一幅令人愉悦的景象：那些靠咖啡续命，压力山大的大学生们在抚摸小狗。这些轻松的互动能短时间内缓解焦虑，术语上这被称为动物辅助干预。
With student mental health worsening, a brief amount of time spent petting a dog — an act that engages the social brain — is viewed as an easily implementable strategy for addressing anxiety.
当下，学生的心理健康状况不断恶化，而花一点时间撸狗能促进大脑的社交区域发育，是一种轻松可行的缓解焦虑之法。
But why limit this to dogs, which comprise 86 percent of animal-assisted interventions? Patricia Pendry, a professor at Washington State University, had successfully included cats in her own institution’s animal-assisted interventions programs and was curious whether or not a study could measure student and staff’s reception to cats on campus.
在进行辅助干预的动物中，狗狗的占比高达86%，但为何只有狗能被如此广泛地接受呢？华盛顿州立大学教授帕特里夏·彭德里成功地让猫参与了她所在机构的动物辅助干预项目，她很好奇能否量化学生和工作人员对校园内猫猫的接受程度。
Pendry and her colleague, Joni Delanoeije, a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer at KU Leuven in Belgium, were especially interested in who would be excited about the cats. They decided to examine what factors increased a person’s openness toward interacting with the animal and whether personality traits played a role.
彭德里和她的同事，比利时鲁汶大学博士后研究员兼讲师约尼·德拉诺埃耶，对哪些人会吃猫咪这套特别感兴趣。他们决定研究哪些因素提高了一个人对动物互动的接受度，以及他们的性格是否对此有影响。
什么人更爱撸猫？
They conducted surveys of staff and students at Flemish institutions during the summer of 2020, searching for a link between personality and openness to cats. Generally, being a cat owner and identifying as female were associated with being excited about a cat on campus.
2020年夏天，他们对佛兰德机构的工作人员和学生进行了调查，探求他们的性格和对猫的接受度之间的联系。一般来说，养猫人士和女性都更关注校园里的猫。
But they observed a link related to how the person acted as well: people who significantly displayed the personality trait of emotionality were most interested and, in turn, more likely to experience the benefits of a feline visit.
他们还发现一个联系：那些明显表现出情绪化人格特征的人对猫咪最感兴趣，而且也更能体验到拜访猫咪同学的快感。
A cat at the campus of Nuh Naci Yazgan University in Turkey.
土耳其诺亚亚兹根大学校园里的一只猫。
“It may be that individuals who experience strong feelings in response to stimuli may experience strong emotions in response to the very subtle clues that cats tend to give off,” Pendry says. This “may enhance their enjoyment when interacting with cats compared with individuals who need a lot more powerful stimuli to experience a strong emotional response — which may be where your average dog comes in.”
彭德里说：“有的人对刺激敏感、感觉强烈，猫咪发出轻柔信号，他们就能体验到强烈的情绪，所以和猫互动时更能乐在其中。而有的人需要强刺激才能体会到强烈的情绪反应，他们就更适合与狗狗互动。”
While evaluating who might be the most excited about cats may seem like fluffy research, there are established links between being around pet cats and well-being.
虽然这项关注什么人对猫更感兴趣的研究看起来不太严肃，但宠物猫和人的幸福感之间的确有所关联。
撸猫如何治愈人类？
Brain scans show that being around cats activates the prefrontal cortex of cat owners. Cats can provide fulfilling emotional support and can alleviate negative moods so much so that, in this way, they are comparable to a human partner. These studies underscore why spending time with animals, in general, isn’t just a frivolous act — it’s time spent improving your mental health.
脑部扫描显示，与猫在一起时，猫主人的前额皮质会变得活跃。猫能为人带来情感上的满足感，并大大缓解负面情绪，因此，在这方面，它们可以与人类伴侣相媲美。这些研究强调了为什么一般来说，与动物相处并不只是一种消磨时间的方式，更是用来改善心理健康的行为。
The researchers posit that interacting with our feline companions could increase oxytocin levels, a hormone that is traditionally associated with physical intimacy among humans. In turn, increased levels of oxytocin could positively impact mental health by decreasing stress hormones and activating the parasympathetic system, which signals the body to relax after a stressful event.
研究人员认为，与我们的猫咪伙伴互动可以提高催产素水平，而这种激素一贯被认为与人类之间的身体亲密有关。反之，通过减少应激激素和激活副交感神经系统来增加催产素水平，可以对心理健康产生积极影响（副交感神经系统在压力性事件后会向身体发出放松的信号）。
According to Julie Osborn, PsyD, LCSW, a doctor of psychology and licensed clinical social worker and founder of the podcast MyCBT, there are plenty of benefits of owning a pet, including among those who are diagnosed with certain mental illnesses. “A lot of people with mental health, say with anxiety, social anxiety, or with depression, it’s all about others,” says Dr. Osborn. “We’re comparing ourselves to other people and always worrying about what people are thinking about us. We don’t have that with our pets.”
心理学博士、执业临床社工、播客MyCBT的创始人朱莉·奥斯本表示，养宠物有很多好处，对那些被诊断患有某些精神疾病的人来说也一样。“很多有心理健康问题的人，比如焦虑症、社交焦虑症或抑郁症患者，病因都在于患者对「他者」的过分在意。” 奥斯本博士说，“我们总是拿自己和别人比较，总是担心别人怎么看我们。而我们和宠物在一起时则不会有这种顾虑。”
The reason why cats aren’t already a fixture of animal-assisted interventions may have more to do with a bad reputation than anything else.
至于为什么猫还没有成为动物辅助干预疗法的固定选择，比起其他原因，主要还是因为它的名声不好。
“It seems that cats have the unfortunate reputation of being aloof and finicky, both in terms of who they choose to interact with, as well as their ability to adjust to different environments,” says Pendry. “I personally believe it is more accurate to describe cats as ‘discerning’ and ‘thoughtful’, and I would hope that we can respect that trait.”
彭德里说道：“在选择互动对象、适应不同环境时，猫咪冷漠、挑剔，似乎早已恶名远扬。就我个人而言，用“敏锐”和“体贴”来形容猫或许更为准确，这些特质也值得被我们尊重。
There are plenty of cats who actively seek out opportunities to engage with humans. When this happens on a university campus, Pendry has seen “people flock to them.” It’s important to select the kinds of cats who enjoy these interactions — and who can cope with being transported to the event — but the same is true of dogs, she adds.
很多猫都在积极地参与和人类的互动。在大学校园中，彭德里也发现大家看到猫咪后一拥而上。她补充说：“重要的是挑选那些愿意与很多陌生人亲密，并且不排斥前往活动场地的猫。对狗而言，也是同理。”
Pets can also provide emotional support to individuals who have been diagnosed with a mental health illness, according to Dr. Osborn, including post-traumatic stress disorder, dementia, and social anxiety. In fact, many hospitals and elderly homes have incorporated animal therapy into their programs which allow patients to reap the rewards that come with interacting with an animal.
奥斯本教授指出，宠物也可以为那些被诊断有创伤后应激障碍，痴呆症和社交恐惧症等心理疾病的人提供情感上的支持。事实上，很多医院和养老院已经将动物疗法纳入了诊疗方案，病人在与动物的互动过程中，病情会逐渐好转。
重点词汇
underscore：n. the symbol that is used to draw a line under a letter or word and used in computer commands and in Internet addresses 下划线
例句：But I want to underscore two troubling aspects of this obsession with ourselves.
frivolous：adj. silly or amusing, especially when such behaviour is not suitable 无严肃目的的；无意义的；无价值的；轻薄的；轻浮的
例句：I know little about this and don’t want to make a fool of myself by making frivolous comments.
原文链接：
https://www.wellandgood.com/mental-health-benefits-of-having-pets/
https://www.inverse.com/mind-body/cats-mental-health-connection
编译 | 翟芸 侯倩 殷奕蕊 陈宇嘉
排版 | 殷奕蕊
