The influence of art design intervention on the emotional symptoms and social functions of patients with schizophrenia

Abstract Background Patients with schizophrenia often suffer from persistent emotional symptoms such as depression and anxiety, and have significant impairments in social functions such as social interaction and self-care, which seriously affect their recovery process and quality of life. Art interventions such as painting and music therapy have a positive effect on the emotional regulation of patients with mental disorders. However, most studies adopt a single art form and lack personalized designs tailored to the cognitive function characteristics of schizophrenia patients. The research focuses on the multi-dimensional personalized art design intervention model, exploring its intervention effects on patients' emotional symptoms and social functions, and providing a scientific and feasible new strategy for clinical mental rehabilitation nursing. Methods The study adopted a randomized controlled trial design. A total of 120 schizophrenia patients admitted to a certain mental health center from January 2023 to December 2023 were selected as the research subjects and randomly divided into the intervention group and the control group in a 1:1 ratio. The control group received conventional psychiatric nursing intervention, while the intervention group implemented personalized art design intervention for 12 weeks on the basis of conventional nursing. The study employed the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD) and the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA) to assess emotional symptoms. The Social Disability Screening Schedule (SDSS) was used to assess social function. Results In the 6th week of intervention, the HAMD score of the intervention group was 18.23 ± 4.15 points, the HAMA score was 16.57 ± 3.89 points, and the SDSS score was 10.32 ± 2.76 points, all of which were significantly lower than the scores of the control group in the same period, and the difference was statistically significant (p.001). At the 12th week of intervention, the score of the intervention group further decreased compared with that at the 6th week of intervention, and was significantly lower than that of the control group at the same period. The difference was statistically significant (p.001). The main effect of intervention, the main effect of time, and the interaction effect of intervention × time were all significant (p.001), indicating that art design intervention can significantly improve the depression, anxiety and social function of patients with schizophrenia, and the intervention effect increases with the extension of the intervention duration. Discussion The research results confirm that personalized art design intervention can effectively alleviate the depression and anxiety of patients with schizophrenia, significantly improve their social functions, and has a high level of patient compliance. This intervention program does not require complex equipment or professional artistic skills. It can be promoted and implemented in combination with the existing conditions of mental health institutions and community rehabilitation centers, which is helpful to reduce the risk of recurrence of emotional symptoms in patients. However, the research did not delve deeply into the differentiated intervention effects of different art design forms. Future studies can further clarify the mechanism of action of art design intervention and construct a more precise personalized intervention system.