Physiological Stress Reduction in University Students During Dog-Assisted Interventions: An Evaluation Using Integrated Cardiovascular Indices

Academic stress represents a major challenge to university students’ wellbeing and is associated with both psychological and physiological consequences. Although dog-assisted interventions have shown promising effects in reducing stress and anxiety in higher education settings, methodological challenges remain regarding the integrated assessment of physiological responses. This study examined cardiovascular changes associated with dog-assisted university sessions and explored the usefulness of integrated cardiovascular indices for physiological stress monitoring. A quasi-experimental pre–post repeated-measures design was implemented within the StressLess program at the University of Granada. A total of 147 university students participated, generating 375 valid physiological records including systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate measurements obtained before and after intervention sessions. Results revealed significant reductions in all cardiovascular variables following participation. Furthermore, the StressLess Cardiovascular Dynamics Index (SCDI) and alternative integrated cardiovascular formulations consistently detected physiological changes associated with the intervention, showing moderate-to-large effect sizes and high convergence among indices. The findings suggest that dog-assisted interventions may facilitate short-term physiological regulation in university students and that integrated cardiovascular approaches represent practical, non-invasive tools for stress assessment in real educational settings.