Interdisciplinary Intervention to Improve Mental Health and Academic Adaptation of Adolescents with Chronic Diseases: Integration of Educational Psychology and Public Health

Chunhui Liu¹Jing Gui²Yanjie Ma^3*

• ¹Shandong Agriculture and Engineering University, Jinan, China
• ²Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
• ³Daqing Medical College, Saertu District, Daqing, Heilongjiang, China, Daqing, China

Building on an interdisciplinary perspective that links educational psychology and public health, this study investigated the integrated effects and underlying mechanisms of a cross-disciplinary intervention on mental health and academic motivation among university students living with chronic illness. Using a quasi-experimental design, 312 undergraduates with chronic conditions were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 156) and a control group (n = 156). The experimental group participated in an eight-week comprehensive program incorporating emotional regulation training, health-related cognitive restructuring, and enhancement of academic self-efficacy, whereas the control group received standard psychological counseling. Pre-and post-intervention measures included the PHQ-9, GAD-7, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Perceived Control Scale, and Learning Motivation Questionnaire.Multilevel regression and structural equation modeling were used to examine intervention effects and mediation mechanisms. Analyses indicated that participants in the intervention group showed marked improvements in both mental health and academic motivation: mean reductions of 4.8 and 4.1 points in depression and anxiety (p < .001), increases of 3.9 and 4.0 points in self-esteem and perceived control (p < .001), and a mean gain of 9.3 points in learning motivation (p < .001). Improvements in mental health were strongly associated with enhanced motivation (r = 0.52, p < .001) and acted as a partial mediator of the intervention effects. Social support further amplified these effects, with teacher and family support exerting the most pronounced moderating influences (β = 1.20 and 1.05, p < .001). Variation across illness types suggested that the intervention was sensitive to health-specific conditions.Taken together, these findings suggest that mental health functions as a bridge in the development of academic motivation and that interdisciplinary interventions may enhance psychological recovery and academic adaptation through the synergistic processes of emotional regulation and social support. Theoretically, this research provides empirical evidence for the integration of educational psychology and public health. Practically, it offers a foundation for universities to design systematic support mechanisms tailored to students with chronic illness. These results highlight the importance of embedding mental health promotion within broader educational equity agendas so that sustained institutional support may jointly advance psychological well-being and academic development.