42 THE INFLUENCE OF CHORAL ACTIVITIES ON LANGUAGE FUNCTION AND COMMUNICATION ABILITY OF YOUNG PATIENTS WITH DEPRESSION
Authors: Kang Qidong 
Published: February 2025

Abstract

Background
Depression is a psychological disorder characterized by depressed mood and diminished interest, accompanied by significant cognitive impairment, including decreased verbal expression and social communication skills. Language dysfunction is characterized by delayed speech, poor vocabulary and difficulty in verbal expression, while impaired communication skills exacerbate the patient’s sense of social isolation. In recent years, choral singing, as a group musical activity, has been widely recognized as having psychological rehabilitation and social promotion effects. Through musical expression, patients can benefit from emotional catharsis and language training; while through team interaction, patients can enhance social skills and self-efficacy. The study aimed to assess the effects of choral activities on language function and communication ability of young depressed patients, and to provide innovative rehabilitation interventions for patients.

Methods
The study included 100 depressed patients aged 18-35 years, all of whom met the diagnostic criteria for depression in the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10). The patients were randomly divided into an experimental group and a control group, with 50 in each group. The experimental group received conventional psychotherapy and participated in a 10-week choral intervention, which took place three times a week for 90 minutes each time, and included vocal training, choral technique practice and group music creation. The control group received only conventional psychotherapy. Before and after the intervention, the patients were assessed for changes in verbal expression and social communication skills using the Language Function Assessment Scale and the Communication Skills Assessment Scale, respectively. Data were analyzed by paired t-tests and between-group comparisons, with P&lt;0.05 as the level of significance.

Results
The results of the experiment showed that the language function and communication ability of the patients in the experimental group improved significantly and the effect was better than that of the control group (P&lt;0.01). The language function score of the experimental group improved from 45.2±6.1 before the intervention to 60.3±5.9 after the intervention, while the language function score of the control group only improved from 46.1±5.6 to 47.8±5.5. The communication skills score improved from 42.1±5.4 to 58.4±4.7 in the experimental group and from 41.9±5.2 to 43.6±5.1 in the control group. The difference in improvement between the two groups was statistically significant (P&lt;0.01).

Discussion
The results of the study confirmed the positive effects of choral activities in improving the language function and communication ability of young depressed patients. Through choral activities, patients were able to exercise their language skills in musical expression and overcome language expression difficulties; team interaction provided patients with more communication opportunities and enhanced their social skills and self-confidence. The successful application of this intervention method provides new ideas for the comprehensive rehabilitation of depression.