Abstract Background Depression is a common mood disorder, mainly manifested as persistent low mood, reduced interest, lack of energy and decreased cognitive function, etc. Traditional intervention methods include psychotherapy and drug therapy, but the therapeutic effects vary among individuals, and some patients may experience compliance issues or side effects of the drugs. In recent years, digital psychological intervention has gradually become an important approach for the auxiliary treatment of depression due to its characteristics of safety, repeatability and personalized customization. Animated films possess rich characteristics of color narrative and emotional expression. Through visual stimulation and story scenarios, they can potentially influence the emotions of the audience. However, its specific effect on regulating the emotions of patients with depression remains unclear. For this reason, this study explores the role of digital intervention in animated films in regulating the emotions of patients with depression, with the aim of providing theoretical basis and practical methods for non-pharmacological intervention of depression. Methods The research subjects were 120 inpatients with depression. All patients met the Diagnostic criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). The patients were randomly divided into the experimental group and the control group, with 60 cases in each group. Both groups of patients received conventional drug treatment. On this basis, the experimental group participated in an 8-week digital intervention of animated films, twice a week, for 30 minutes each time. The intervention content includes watching animated film clips and interactive emotional feedback sessions. Before and after the intervention The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) and the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire were adopted respectively. The ERQ and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) were used to assess the changes in patients' emotional symptoms and cognitive states. Statistical analysis was conducted using paired t-tests and inter-group comparisons. A p value 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results After digital intervention, the negative emotions of the patients in the experimental group were effectively improved, and the HDRS score decreased from 22.8 ± 5.4 to 14.6 ± 4.2. The ERQ score rose from 3.2 ± 0.8 to 4.5 ± 0.7. The MMSE score increased from 25.1 ± 3.2 to 27.0 ± 2.6. The HDRS score of the patients in the control group only decreased from 23.1 ± 5.6 to 20.9 ± 5.1, and the changes in ERQ and MMSE scores were not significant (p.05). The results show that digital intervention in animated films is significantly superior to conventional drug treatment in alleviating emotional symptoms and improving cognitive status in patients with depression. Discussion Digital intervention in animated films can effectively alleviate the negative emotions of patients with depression and enhance their emotional regulation ability and cognitive state. Through the combined effect of visual stimulation, color narrative and emotional storytelling, the research provides a safe, operable and repeatable non-pharmaceutical intervention approach for the adjuvant treatment of depression, making up for the limitations of traditional drug treatment in emotion regulation. In the future, personalized animation content and immersive digital intervention can be explored to enhance the emotional regulation effect and clinical application value of patients with depression.
Zuo et al. (2026) studied this question.