OBJECTIVE: Behavioural restrictions due to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic have significantly impacted the mental health of people living alone. This study aims to improve the mental health of adults living alone by investigating the stress-reducing effects of two types of socially assistive robots (SARs), humanoids and animaloids, on healthy adults living alone. METHODS: The participants used humanoids and animaloids for nine days, and the stress indices were compared between day 1-2 and 8-9. High frequency (HF), indicating parasympathetic activity, and low frequency (LF)/HF, indicating sympathetic activity, were used for objective stress indicators. Total mood disturbance (TMD) was used for subjective stress indicators. These were compared in paired
t-tests. A
p-value of <0.1 indicated a significant trend. RESULTS: On days 8-9, the animaloids interventions showed a tendency for a higher HF than days 1-2 between 8 p.m. and 12 a.m. (
p=0.07). TMD showed no significant differences or trends for either humanoids or amimaloids. CONCLUSION: HF was increased by using the animaloids for nine days, suggesting that the animaloids had an objective stress reduction effect; SARs are easy to incorporate into daily life and can help improve the mental health of people who live alone.
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