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The Institute for Human-Animal Connection (IHAC) is an internationally recognized center for research and training in the varied facets of human-animal interaction across the lifespan and grounded in evidenced-based practice for implementing diverse and ethically responsible animal-supported educational and therapeutic interventions.
IHAC is a respected source of scientific and scholarly information on human-animal connections within the fields of social work and social sciences.
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Frank Ascione, Executive Director of IHAC Receives Grant to Study Children Exposed to Animal Abuse
A new study underway by professor Frank Ascione hopes to answer some questions about the effects of animal abuse on children who witness it. Among the questions to be asked: what mental health problems arise when children are exposed to brutality against a much-loved pet? How do children cope when they see an animal beaten or tortured? What, if any, scars persist through time?
The new four-year study will follow children who have seen or heard animal abuse at home. The project is funded by a $1.5 million grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. It will allow Ascione to advance his groundbreaking research into the dynamcis of domestic violence and animal maltreatment.
GSSW Dean James Herbert Williams considers the grant a breakthrough for scholars studying the human-animal connection - whether they work at DU or elsewhere. "This is the first time that federal funding has been put forward to look at this kind of issue," Williams explains, noting that such funding signals the importance of foundational research in this emerging field.
GSSW has posted a detailed review of this important grant and its implications.
