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