The regulatory effect of art education curriculum on adolescent mental health

Abstract Background The issue of adolescent mental health is receiving increasing attention globally. Research shows that about 20% of adolescents experience significant psychological distress during their growth process, with only some individuals able to naturally alleviate it. Art activities are considered to have the potential for emotional expression and psychological regulation, but the systematic regulatory effect and long-term impact of structured art education curriculum on adolescent mental health have not been fully validated. Identifying art performance and neurocognitive indicators that can predict improvements in mental health may help to accurately screen susceptible populations and optimize intervention strategies. Previous studies have found that creative expression during painting is associated with enhanced frontal lobe EEG activity, reflecting the neural mechanisms of emotion regulation and cognitive reconstruction. Therefore, this study explores the impact of art education curriculum on the emotional state and psychological resilience of adolescents, and analyzes the predictive effect of art performance characteristics on the degree of psychological health benefits. Methods A total of 480 adolescents with mild to moderate psychological distress were included in the study (screened based on a score of ≥8 on the Adolescent Self Rating Scale SRQ-20), as well as 200 control adolescents with good mental health status. The intervention group (n = 240) received a structured art education course for 12 weeks, twice a week, which included expressive painting, color emotion training, and collective creation; The control group (n = 240) received routine mental health education lectures. All participants completed psychological health assessments at baseline, at the end of the course, and at 6-month follow-up after completion. The evaluation was conducted using SRQ-20, CD-RISC psychological resilience scale, and SES self-esteem scale. Data analysis was conducted using repeated measures analysis of variance and multiple regression models. Results There was no significant difference in baseline psychological scores between the two groups. After the intervention, the statistical results are shown in Table 1. The results showed that compared with the control group receiving routine mental health education, the art education group showed a greater reduction in psychological symptoms (SRQ-20 symptom reduction rate: 45.6% vs 25.2%) and improvement in psychological resilience (CD-RISC improvement rate: 30.8% vs 12.4%) after intervention. At the same time, the art education group showed higher art performance scores (7.6 ± 1.3) and a more significant increase in θ wave power (3.2 ± 0.8 μV2) during the creative process. Discussion The research results indicate that structured art education curriculum can significantly alleviate psychological distress in adolescents, improve psychological resilience and self-esteem, and the therapeutic effect has sustainability and stability. Based on previous research, art education not only provides a feasible and non pharmacological intervention for promoting the mental health of adolescents, but also helps identify the groups that can benefit the most from it, thereby achieving personalized allocation of educational resources. Future research can further explore the synergistic effects of art education and other psychological interventions, as well as their applicability and long-term neuroplasticity effects in different cultural contexts.