49. Impact of film art on emotional disorders and depression in college students: a mental health perspective

Abstract Background Among university students aged 18–22, depressive symptoms remain prevalent, with rising emotional disorders. Traditional counseling reaches fewer than 30% due to long waits and student resistance. Film art, through emotional resonance and narrative immersion, shows preliminary potential in alleviating distress, yet existing research is mostly qualitative, lacking quantitative evidence on its impact on depression and emotion regulation in this population. Mechanisms and efficacy thus remain unclear. This study uses a controlled experiment to quantitatively assess film-based intervention’s effectiveness in reducing depressive symptoms and improving emotional regulation, offering empirical support for accessible, acceptable mental health strategies in higher education. Methods A total of 72 college students (aged 18–22) from a university were recruited, all scoring ≥53 on the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), with severe psychiatric or physical illnesses excluded. Participants were randomly assigned to either an intervention group (n = 36) or a control group (n = 36), with no significant baseline differences between groups (p>.05). The intervention group received an 8-week cinematic art program: two 90-minute sessions per week featuring carefully selected uplifting/healing films, followed by 15 minutes of guided group emotional discussion. The control group received conventional psychological counseling of equal frequency but only 45 minutes per session. Assessments using the SDS, the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), and the Emotion Regulation Scale (ERS) were conducted at three time points: pre-intervention, week 4, and week 8. Data were analyzed using SPSS 26.0 with repeated-measures ANOVA and independent-samples t-tests; statistical significance was set at p<.05. Results In the within-group comparisons, the intervention group showed a significant reduction in both SDS and SAS scores after 4 weeks (p<.05), with further pronounced and stabilized improvements by week 8. In contrast, the control group exhibited significant improvement only at week 8. In the between-group comparisons at week 8, the intervention group demonstrated significantly lower SDS scores (41.2 ± 4.8) than the control group (49.5 ± 5.1) (t = 6.83, p<.001), and lower SAS scores (39.7 ± 4.5 vs. 47.9 ± 4.7) (t = 6.25, p<.001). Additionally, the intervention group reported a significantly higher Emotional Regulation Scale (ERS) score (68.3 ± 5.2) compared to the control group (59.1 ± 5.4) (t = 5.92, p<.001). In terms of clinical efficacy, the response rate in the intervention group was 77.8% (28/36), significantly higher than that of the control group at 55.6% (20/36) (χ2 = 6.02, p=.014). Discussion This study confirms that cinematic art–based intervention is more effective than conventional counseling in alleviating depressive symptoms and emotional dysregulation among college students. Its core advantages lie in reducing resistance through emotional resonance, while group discussions enhance emotional expression and processing, thereby establishing a therapeutic cycle of “emotional immersion → cognitive reappraisal → behavioral activation.” This model requires no specialized facilities and can be readily integrated into university mental health curricula, particularly benefiting students who resist traditional counseling. Future directions include tailoring film selections (e.g., relaxation-themed films for anxiety-prone individuals, interpersonal-themed films for those with social difficulties) and combining neurophysiological measures (e.g., EEG) to elucidate underlying healing mechanisms, ultimately advancing standardized intervention protocols.