92. The intervention effect of school sports activities on emotional disorders among college students

Abstract Background University students' emotional regulation abilities are not yet fully developed. Influenced by factors such as academic pressure, interpersonal relationships, and social adaptation, the incidence of affective disorders is rising year by year, mainly manifested as depressed mood, anxiety, and behavioral withdrawal. Existing research shows that regular exercise can improve mood by regulating the activation mechanism of the hypothalamus-pituitary–adrenal axis, but the effectiveness of school-organized sports activities in the intervention of affective disorders lacks systematic validation. School sports activities are characterized by strong group participation, frequent emotional interaction, and high controllability, which helps to build positive social connections and thus promote emotional recovery. This study aims to explore the effect of on-campus sports activities on improving affective disorders in university students and to verify its intervention feasibility and rehabilitation value. Methods This study selected 120 university students who met the diagnostic criteria for mild to moderate affective disorder and randomly divided them into an intervention group (n = 60) and a control group (n = 60). The intervention group participated in school sports activities three times a week for 60 minutes each time, for 10 weeks. The activities included a combination of team and individual events such as basketball, badminton, and running. Affective state was assessed using the Mood Disorder Scale (MDS) and the Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS); social adaptation was assessed using the Social Adaptation Scale (SAS). Repeated measures ANOVA was used, and t-tests were employed for inter-group comparisons. Results After the intervention, the intervention group's MDS score decreased from an average of 38.7 ± 4.5 to 24.5 ± 3.8, an improvement of 36.7%, which was superior to the control group's score, which decreased from 39.1 ± 4.6 to 31.8 ± 4.2, an improvement of 18.6% (p<.01). The SDS score decreased from 62.3 ± 5.4 to 47.9 ± 4.9, while the control group's score decreased to 54.6 ± 5.2 (p<.05). The SAS score increased from 42.8 ± 4.7 to 55.1 ± 4.3, with an improvement of approximately 28.7% in social interaction ability, compared to only approximately 12.4% in the control group. The adherence to physical activity participation was 90.4%, higher than the 71.6% in the control group (p<.05), indicating that school physical activity can effectively improve emotional symptoms and enhance social adaptation. Discussion Studies have shown that school physical activities play a positive role in the intervention of affective disorders by enhancing emotional interaction, improving intrinsic vitality, and reducing behavioral withdrawal. The nature of group activities helps to form a positive social feedback mechanism, improving the mental state of college students. It is recommended that future research combine physiological monitoring data with emotion recognition models to explore intervention mechanisms and develop sports rehabilitation programs that integrate with psychological counseling. Simultaneously, the varying degrees of adaptation to affective disorders based on different exercise intensities and types should be considered to optimize individualized intervention strategies. Long-term follow-up to explore sustainable effects and control the risk of relapse is also a key direction for future research. Funding No. RC2025049.