Abstract Background Emotional disorders are prevalent and hidden among college students, mainly manifested as psychological problems such as sustained low mood, anxiety, and social avoidance. A survey shows that about 20%-30% of college students experience varying degrees of emotional distress during their time in school, with a significant increase in the detection rate of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness characterized by multidimensional disorders, and its chronic course and high disability have a profound impact on social function. Early identification of effective non-pharmacological prevention is of great significance for improving the mental health of college students. Schizophrenia is often accompanied by restricted self-expression, inability to cope with stress, and weakened social connections, which become key factors restricting its psychological recovery and functional maintenance. The learning and production of colored pottery can promote emotional regulation and enhance self-efficacy through mechanisms such as sensory experience, emotional release, focus training, and achievement perception. Therefore, the study analyzed the preventive effect of colored pottery learning and production on college students’ schizophrenia through psychological scale assessment, and evaluated its improvement effect on emotional regulation ability, providing a feasible and creative intervention basis for psychological health education in universities. Methods A total of 120 college students aged 18-24 who met the clinical diagnostic criteria for emotional disorders were included in the study. Participants were randomly divided into an intervention group (n = 60) and a control group (n = 60) using a random number table method. The intervention group received a 12-week structured group intervention centered on learning and making colored pottery. Conduct 2 group activities per week, each lasting 90 minutes, for a total of 24 times. The control group received routine mental health education and unstructured free manual activities during the same period. The Difficulty in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) was used to measure emotional regulation difficulties before intervention (T0), during intervention (Week 6, T1), and after intervention (Week 12, T2). Using repeated measures analysis of variance to compare the trends in the scores of each scale between two groups at different time points, with a significance level set at p.05. Results The total DERS score of the intervention group significantly decreased from 98.5 ± 12.3 in the T0 stage to 76.8 ± 10.4 in the T2 stage (p.001). Significant improvements were observed in various dimensions of emotional regulation, particularly in emotional acceptance and impulse control (p.01). The DERS scores of the control group did not show statistically significant changes during the same period (p.05). Repeated measures ANOVA further confirmed a significant interaction between intervention time and group in DERS scores (F = 18.47). Discussion The study examined the intervention effect of a 12-week colored pottery learning intervention on emotional disorders among college students. The results showed that college students who received colored pottery intervention showed significant improvements in emotional regulation, anxiety and depression symptoms, and self-efficacy, and the improvement effect was significantly better than that of the control group who received regular activities. This result provides empirical support for using creative art activities to intervene in emotional disorders among college students.
Jia Zhang (Sun,) studied this question.