103. The impact of diversified teaching sports and dance courses on the mental health of college students

Abstract Background Mental health issues among college students are increasingly prominent, with emotional disturbances such as anxiety, depression, and interpersonal sensitivity prevalent, making it a significant public health concern. Traditional mental health interventions primarily focus on individual counseling and group lectures, which are relatively monotonous in format and often face challenges with student engagement and adherence. Previous research indicates that regular exercise can effectively alleviate stress and improve mood. However, conventional physical education courses have limitations in terms of fun, creativity, and emotional connection, making it difficult to sustain students’ intrinsic motivation. Based on this, the study introduces the concept of “diversified teaching” and draws upon embodied cognition theory to explore the impact of diversified teaching approaches in movement dance courses on the mental health of college students. This course emphasizes not only physical exercise but also emotional expression and social interaction, aiming to validate its effectiveness as a comprehensive, innovative intervention for promoting mental health among college students. Methods A randomized controlled trial design was employed, recruiting 240 university students randomly assigned to an intervention group (n = 120) and a control group (n = 120). The intervention group participated in a 16-week, twice-weekly, 90-minute diverse teaching exercise dance program. Core components included improvisation, collaborative group choreography, and emotion-themed expression modules. The control group maintained routine physical activities. Baseline, intervention period, and post-intervention assessments were conducted sequentially. Primary outcome measures included the Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90), Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Salivary cortisol levels were collected as a physiological stress indicator. Data were analyzed using SPSS 26.0 for covariance analysis and repeated measures analysis of variance. Results Regarding psychological symptoms, post-intervention SCL-90 total scores showed significantly lower scores in the intervention group (48.7 ± 5.2) compared to the control group (61.3 ± 6.8) (F = 35.4, p