* INDIVIDUAL INTRO REFERENCE REQUIREMENT: The introduction should include at least 5 references (4 of these must be from peer-reviewed journal articles; the remaining citations can also be from a peer-review journal article OR could come from an edited book chapter). * The content and the format of paper should follow APA 7th edition guidelines Review full paper instructions for guidance but not that this is JUST a draft of your INTRODUCTION. 4 of the 5 points from your draft are based on full completion of a draft that attempts all required components. Points will be lost for any missing components or components that dont show full effort (e.g., missing 1 or more sources, having only 1 sentence per source with no elaboration/discussion, barely mentioning novelty of study/why it’s important.). The final point will be based on the overall quality of the work with greater reductions for errors and weaknesses (note that I do take into account this is a draft so your grade for this point doesn’t necessarily equate to the grade you would receive on your final paper if you didn’t incorporate changes). Although I won’t be “grading” the references per se at this point (e.g., not grading them for APA style), PLEASE INCLUDE A COPY OF ALL REFERENCES USED so I can ensure you used appropriate references in your introduction (Failure to do so will also result in point deductions). Study background The goal of this study is to help elaborate on equine therapeutic research, which is a rather obscure and new field of research. While emotional regulation has been touched on, fine motor skill improvement has not really been researched in the field. Understanding this field of research and connecting it to other forms of animal-assisted therapies will allow for the increased usage of such therapy, which will widen the spectrum of interventions. Previous research has shown that equine-assisted therapy methods are helpful for those with certain sensitivities (touch), making it less intrusive than conventional therapy (Johansen, Wang, et.al 2014). Providing individuals with a less intrusive form of therapy will potentially increase the efficacy of animal-assisted therapy methods, meaning that this research can potentially be generalizable to other animals, such as canines. Hypotheses Parents will report greater improvements in emotion regulation and fine motor skills in children who have spent more time in therapy Instructors and volunteers that are more hands on with children in equine-assisted therapy will elicit more improvement responses by parents. Parents who get an approach motivation writing task (as opposed to an avoidance motivation writing task) will report better perceptions towards equine therapy Parents with children who have spent more time in equine assisted therapy will be less impacted by either writing task while parents with children who spend a shorter period of time in equine assisted therapy will be more impacted by either writing task. Study design To see if an approach motivation writing task or an avoidance motivation task will influences parents to report better perceptions towards equine therapy To see if an instructor who are more hands-on influences parents to report more or less improvements in their children. To see if more time the children participate in equine assisted therapy will influences the parents to report more improvements in their children. To see if time spent in therapy will interact with either the approach motivation writing task or avoidance motivation task to influence results. Outcome measures A change, more notably an improvement, in fine motor skills and emotional regulation. This change will be characterized by improved finger and hand movements, such as the ability to use clips or utensils both in and out of the stable. In terms of emotional regulation, improved self-soothing and problem-solving are some examples of improvements. Once parents report on improvements seen in their child, they then would report on their perceptions on equine therapy after completing either writing task. Introduction (7.5) Clarity of introduction of topic/question 1 Appropriate review of theoretical background and previous empirical datanote: you should have at least: indiv: 5 references (4 of which are peer-reviewed); partner: 8 references (7 peer reviewed) to help make a case for current study 3 Clearly link ideas in introduction and transition from one study to next 1 Clear statement of hypotheses (make sure to address AT LEAST 3(indiv) or 4 (partner) focal hypothesesone must involve main effect of manipulated variable and one must include examining potential interaction of person and manipulated variable) 1.5 Clear statement of why present study is important and how it adds to our knowledge 1 Annotated bibliography sources to use in my introduction draft below : 1) Zaker, A., Dudley, L., Slouka, M., & Stallones, L. (2024). Integration of equine assisted services and social-emotional learning: A preliminary evaluation of a life skills training program for at-risk youth. HumanAnimal Interactions, 12(1), 112. This article looks at a program that tries to mix horse activities with social-emotional learning for teens who are considered at risk. The program lasted a few weeks, and the kids spent time doing different things with the horses while also learning about handling emotions, making decisions, and just basic communication skills. The authors compared how the kids were doing before the program and then after it ended. They found that a lot of the kids seemed more aware of their emotions and a little more confident in themselves. The authors think that the horse setting creates a calmer space where kids can practice these kinds of skills in a way that feels more natural. This study helps our project because it shows that being around horses can affect emotional regulation, which is one of the things were measuring. The kids who were more involved with the horses seemed to improve more, which connects directly to our idea about how hands on the volunteer is. The article also mentions that comfort and experience with horses matter, which goes along with our person variable about how long someone has been doing therapeutic riding. It basically supports the idea that equine programs can play a real role in emotional and skill development, so it gives us a real reason to focus on emotional regulation and fine-motor coordination in our own study. 2) Mendona, T., Bienboire-Frosini, C., Menuge, F., Leclercq, J., Lafont-Lecuelle, C., Arroub, S., & Pageat, P. (2019). The impact of equine-assisted therapy on equine behavioral and physiological responses. Animals, 9(7), 409. This article is about how the horses react during equine-assisted therapy. Most studies talk about the people, but this one pays attention to the horses. The researchers watched several horses during different therapy sessions and looked for stress signs, changes in behavior, and things like heart rate. They wanted to see if the therapy work was too much for them or if they handled it fine. What they found was that the horses didnt really show major stress. A few even seemed more relaxed once they were used to the routine. So overall, the study says that the therapy didnt negatively affect the horses when things were done properly. Even though this study is about horses, it still connects to what were doing. Our project looks at how hands-on a volunteer is, and this article shows that the horses react differently depending on what kind of interaction theyre getting. If the horses are calm, then the volunteer can focus on the activity, which ties into emotional regulation and fine motor skills. It also relates a little to our person variable because people who have been around horses longer probably interact with them in a smoother way. So, this study helps by showing that the horses behavior can affect the environment the volunteer is in, which matters for our whole setup. 3) Rigby, B. R., Davis, R. W., Bittner, M. D., Harwell, R. W., Leek, E. J., Johnson, G. A., & Nichols, D. L. (2020). Changes in motor skill proficiency after equine-assisted activities and brain-building tasks in youth with neurodevelopmental disorders. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 7, 22. This article looked at a group of kids with neurodevelopmental disorders to see if working with horses would help their motor skills. The kids did basic riding and grooming, and the researchers tested their balance and coordination before and after the program. They compared them to another group doing non-horse activities. The kids who were around the horses showed more improvement. It wasnt dramatic, but it was enough to show the horse’s activities made a difference. This helps our project because were also looking at motor skills and how much hands-on involvement matters. The study shows that the kids who were more active with the horses seemed to get the most out of it. That lines up with our variable about involvement and experience. It also shows that equine programs can improve more than just emotions, which supports why were looking at both emotional regulation and coordination. 4) Perkins, B. L. (2018). A pilot study assessing the effectiveness of equine-assisted learning with adolescents. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 13(3), 298305. This article focuses on a small group of teens who participated in an equine-assisted learning program. During the program, the teens worked with horses through different activities that encouraged communication, problem-solving, and confidence-building. The researcher measured the teens emotional and social skills before and after the sessions. After taking part in the program, many of the teens reported feeling more confident and more in control of their emotions. The study suggests that spending time with horses can support emotional growth in adolescents. This article connects to our project because it shows that equine-assisted programs can help with emotional regulation, which is one of the main things we are measuring. The improvements the teens reported fit with our idea that hands-on involvement with horses can make a difference in emotional outcomes. It also supports our focus on the volunteers level of involvement, since the activities that required more participation seemed to lead to more positive changes. This study gives us support for why examining emotional regulation and participation in equine settings is important. 5)Kendall, E., Maujean, A., Pepping, C. A., Downes, M., Lakhani, A., Byrne, J., & Macfarlane, K. (2015). A systematic review of the efficacy of equine-assisted interventions on psychosocial outcomes. European Journal of Psychotherapy & Counselling, 17(1), 5779. This article looks at different programs where people work with horses and how those programs affect things like emotions and mental well-being. The authors went through a bunch of studies and basically compared what each one found. The programs werent all the same, but a lot of them showed similar results. People often felt calmer, more confident, or more balanced emotionally after spending time with the horses. A few studies mentioned that people also got better at talking with others or connecting socially. The article mainly points out the kinds of changes that tend to show up again and again across these horse-based programs. One thing this article shows is that people tend to get emotional benefits from being around horses, no matter which specific program theyre in. That matters for us because emotional regulation is part of what were measuring, and this review makes it clear that its a common outcome across a lot of equine programs. It also stood out to me that most of the studies involved people actually doing things with the horses, not just watching or being nearby. That connects to our focus on how involved someone is during the session. Seeing that different programs still lead to similar emotional improvements gives us more confidence that our research question is worth exploring. It basically shows that emotional changes are a pattern, not just something that happens in one or two studies.