Agres Kat R, Chen Yifan
Centre for Music and Health, Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music at National University of Singapore, 3 Conservatory Drive, 117376, Singapore, Singapore.
BMC Public Health. 2025 May 2;25(1):1628. doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-22552-3.
University students often face mental health challenges, exacerbated by stigmas that hinder seeking support and treatment. We introduce a participatory arts programme, Movin' and Groovin' for Wellness (MGW), that features facilitated drumming and dancing sessions. This study aimed to investigate the impact of the MGW programme on students' mental health, social connections, and creativity.
A 10-week pilot parallel Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) was conducted with 76 participants randomly assigned into an Experimental (MGW) group (N= 38) or a Control group (N= 38). Data were collected at baseline, midway, and post-intervention. Mental health was evaluated using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale- 21 (DASS-21), and quality of life via the WHO Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) scale. The Brief Resilient Coping Scale, Lubben Social Networking scale, Experience of Creation scale, and Brief Music in Mood Regulation scale (B-MMR) were also administered. Qualitative feedback was gathered through a bespoke survey and focus group discussion (FGD), focusing on participants' subjective experiences of the programme, mood/emotion states, social connections, and creative expression.
The MGW programme led to significant improvements in mental health, quality of life, and creativity, while the Control group experienced significant declines in mental health and quality of life over the same 10-week period (coinciding with term time). The Experimental group showed significant reductions in Stress scores (DASS-21) at Week 10, whereas the Control group had significantly worse anxiety, depression, and stress at Week 5, with stress scores remaining elevated at Week 10. Improvements in the Experimental group were also observed in the Psychological (at Week 5) and Physical (at Week 10) domains of the WHOQOL-BREF. In comparison, the Control group showed a significant decrease in WHOQOL-BREF Physical scores at Week 10. The Experimental group also showed enhanced creativity (Experience of Creation scale) at Week 5 and Week 10, although no significant changes were observed in the social networking or resilient coping scales. Qualitative findings highlighted the programme's positive impacts on participants' mental health, social connections, and creativity.
The MGW programme effectively improved mental health, quality of life, social connection and creative expression among university students. These findings suggest that arts-based interventions such as MGW can support student health and well-being in a stigma-free and culturally appropriate manner.
The trial was retrospectively registered at ClinicalTrials.gov under ID: NCT06542003 (08 August 2024).
大学生常常面临心理健康挑战，而阻碍寻求支持和治疗的污名化现象使这些挑战更加严峻。我们推出了一项参与性艺术项目“舞动健康（MGW）”，该项目设有引导式击鼓和舞蹈课程。本研究旨在调查MGW项目对学生心理健康、社会联系和创造力的影响。
进行了一项为期10周的平行随机对照试验（RCT），76名参与者被随机分为实验组（MGW组，N = 38）或对照组（N = 38）。在基线、中期和干预后收集数据。使用抑郁、焦虑和压力量表-21（DASS-21）评估心理健康状况，并通过世界卫生组织生活质量简表（WHOQOL-BREF）评估生活质量。还使用了简短弹性应对量表、鲁本社交网络量表、创作体验量表和简短情绪调节音乐量表（B-MMR）。通过定制调查和焦点小组讨论（FGD）收集定性反馈，重点关注参与者对该项目的主观体验、情绪/情感状态、社会联系和创造性表达。
MGW项目使心理健康、生活质量和创造力得到显著改善，而对照组在同一10周期间（与学期时间一致）心理健康和生活质量显著下降。实验组在第10周时压力得分（DASS-21）显著降低，而对照组在第5周时焦虑、抑郁和压力状况显著更差，且在第10周时压力得分仍居高不下。在WHOQOL-BREF的心理领域（第5周）和身体领域（第10周）也观察到实验组有所改善。相比之下，对照组在第10周时WHOQOL-BREF身体得分显著下降。实验组在第5周和第10周时创造力（创作体验量表）也有所增强，尽管社交网络或弹性应对量表未观察到显著变化。定性研究结果突出了该项目对参与者心理健康、社会联系和创造力的积极影响。
MGW项目有效改善了大学生的心理健康、生活质量、社会联系和创造性表达。这些发现表明，像MGW这样基于艺术的干预措施可以以无污名化且符合文化背景的方式支持学生的健康和福祉。
该试验于2024年8月8日在ClinicalTrials.gov上进行回顾性注册，标识符为：NCT06542003。
