Author(s)

Zhiruo Zhou ¹

Affiliation(s)

¹ International Curriculum Center of RDFZ, Beijing, 100086, China

Corresponding Author

Zhiruo Zhou

ABSTRACT

This study explores the mechanisms underlying the bidirectional healing between stray animals and adolescents. This study employes a mixed-methods approach, including literature review, observation, interviews, and netnography. Data are collected through online forum case studies, field visits to stray animal shelters, and interviews with adolescent volunteers, rescue workers, and adoptive families. Multichannel data are integrated for analysis. The findings reveal that interactions between adolescents and stray animals primarily manifest in two modes: individual adoption and institutional rescue, characterized by low cost, equality, and spontaneity. Adolescents alleviate depression and anxiety by caring for stray animals, achieving emotional healing while cultivating responsibility, compassion, and a life-respecting ethos. Stray animals, in turn, gain stable food supplies, medical care, and improved living conditions through adolescent care, transitioning from wariness to trust in humans and enhancing social adaptability, thus creating a mutually positive impact. The study's innovation lies in broadening the research perspective through online-offline integration and addressing the field's predominant focus on unidirectional effects by centering on bidirectional relationships.

KEYWORDS

Adolescents; Stray Animals; Bidirectional Healing

CITE THIS PAPER

Zhiruo Zhou, The Possibility of Mutual Love: A Study on the Bidirectional Healing between Adolescents and Stray Animals. Applied & Educational Psychology (2025) Vol. 6: 172-178. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/appep.2025.060322.

REFERENCES

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