264. The effect of art therapy packaging design on the improvement of adolescent depression

Abstract Background Adolescent depressive symptoms typically manifest as persistent low mood, diminished interest, and slowed emotional responses, closely linked to negative self-evaluation and biased processing of environmental stimuli, which can have long-term effects on psychological development and social functioning. Although psychological counseling and medication play crucial roles in clinical settings, adolescents with mild to moderate depression often exhibit low willingness to participate, poor treatment adherence, and limited ability to sustain emotional improvements. This has prompted researchers to focus on sustainable, low-threshold supportive interventions in daily environments. Studies on art therapy demonstrate that colors, graphics, and symbolic visual elements can modulate emotional experiences through arousal and meaning association. Integrating art therapy concepts into packaging designs frequently encountered in daily consumer interactions may subtly influence adolescents' emotional processing patterns. However, existing research primarily remains at the qualitative analysis or subjective preference level, lacking systematic controlled experiments and longitudinal evidence. To address this, this study employs randomized grouping and multi-timewide measurements to investigate the efficacy of art therapy-inspired packaging designs in alleviating adolescent depressive symptoms and their underlying psychological mechanisms. Methods The study enrolled 294 middle school students for baseline screening, with 198 participants meeting depression criteria and entering randomization. A control group of 96 emotionally stable individuals served as baseline reference. Eligible subjects were randomly assigned to three 6-week situational exposure groups: (1) Art Therapy Packaging Design Group (n = 66), exposed to packaging visual stimuli integrating emotional expression, positive symbolism, and soft colors; (2) Neutral Functional Packaging Design Group (n = 64); and (3) Conventional Visual Environment Control Group (n = 68). Key measures included depression levels, emotional arousal and pleasure ratings, negative cognitive bias, and emotional regulation ability. The relevant indicators were assessed at baseline, at the end of the intervention and at 8 weeks follow-up. Results The results demonstrated that, compared to the neutral packaging group and control group, the art therapy packaging design group showed a significant reduction in depressive mood scores at the end of the intervention (p=.002, d = 0.45), with sustained improvement during the follow-up period (p=.008). Emotional experience data revealed that the art therapy packaging design significantly enhanced positive emotional arousal (p=.004, d = 0.41) and reduced negative emotional response intensity (p=.012, d = 0.36). Cognitive processing analysis further indicated a marked decrease in negative information attention bias (p=.01). Mechanistic analysis revealed that increased positive emotional arousal (p=.02) and reduced negative cognitive bias (p=.03) could significantly predict lower depressive mood levels during the follow-up phase. Discussion Art therapy-inspired packaging designs can significantly alleviate depressive symptoms in adolescents outside clinical settings, with sustained positive effects observed. The core psychological mechanisms likely involve heightened emotional arousal, reduced processing of negative thoughts, and enhanced emotional regulation. Research demonstrates that integrating art therapy concepts into daily visual environments proves both feasible and valuable, serving as an effective environmental support strategy for adolescent mental health. Future studies should explore variations in design element combinations and evaluate their long-term efficacy in school and public spaces.