Date of Last Revision
2023-05-02 18:58:09
Major
Nursing RN/BSN Akron
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science in Nursing
Date of Expected Graduation
Fall 2016
Abstract
Therapeutic horseback riding (THR) has positive health related outcomes in children with developmental disabilities. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a 10-week THR intervention on balance and task-specific self-efficacy in children with developmental disabilities. Bandura’s social cognitive theory and the physical stress theory guided the quasi-experimental study. A pre-test post-test design (N=20) was implemented with a 10-week THR class at a riding center in Midwest United States. The first research question was: In children with developmental disabilities ages 5 to 18, does one 10-week session of THR affect balance? With time 1 balance mean at 52.55 (SD=3.65) and time 2 balance mean at 54.15 (SD=1.63), a paired t-test revealed a significant difference in within-subject balance (t= -2.43, p = 0.025). The second research question was: In children with developmental disabilities ages 5 to 18, does a 10-week course of THR affect task-specific self-efficacy? With time 1 self-efficacy mean at 42.7 (SD=5.63) and time 2 self-efficacy mean at 48.10 (SD=2.19), a paired t-test revealed a significant difference in within-subject means (t= -5.08, p< 0.001). Therefore, both balance and self-efficacy were significantly increased after a 10-week THR intervention.
Research Sponsor
Christine Heifner Graor
First Reader
Karen Fitzgerald
Second Reader
Alan Kornspan
Recommended Citation
Smola, Alexandra and Hurley, Lauren, "The Effect of Therapeutic Horseback Riding on Balance and Self-Efficacy in Children with Developmental Disabilities" (2016). Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects. 300.
https://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/honors_research_projects/300
Included in
Alternative and Complementary Medicine Commons, Pediatric Nursing Commons, Sports Sciences Commons, Therapeutics Commons
Comments
The Effect of Therapeutic Horseback Riding on Balance and Self-Efficacy in Children with Developmental Disabilities
Lauren Hurley, Alexandra Smola
The University of Akron