JPBS

Objectives: To explore the characteristics of color preference in inpatients with depression and its impact factors. Methods: The preference for abstract colors and indoor environment color of 195 depression inpatients and 1005 healthy volunteers was successively tested to assess their anxiety and depression level. Results: The most preference of depression patients for abstract color was blue, their preference for purple was significantly higher than that of the control group (p = 0.023), and their preference for grey was significantly lower than that of the control group (p < 0.001). There is no difference in preference sequence before and after therapy and the color preference difference is not statistically significant (p > 0.05). The most preference of depression patients for indoor environment color was blue, their preference for purple was higher than that of the control group (p = 0.014), and their preference for orange was lower than that of the control group (p = 0.005). There is no difference in preference sequence before and after therapy; the preference for red and grey decreased after therapy (p = 0.003, 0.040) and the preference for yellow increased after therapy (p = 0.02). Conclusion: The depression patients preferred the cold colors. These preferences are related to patients’ knowledge of color and their emotional states.

Depressive Disorder; Color Preference; Abstract Color; Indoor Environment Color