| Background Schizophrenic patients often have negative symptoms and severe cognitive impairment, but effective interventions to alleviate negative symptoms and improve cognitive function are currently limited. Research on group play therapy for schizophrenia is still in its preliminary stages, and initial results suggest that it may have a positive impact on symptom improvement. Objective This study explored improvements in cognitive functioning and negative symptoms in female schizophrenia inpatients after receiving group play therapy, providing reference for clinical intervention in this group. Methods Forty patients with schizophrenia who were hospitalized at the Third People''s Hospital of Fuyang City from April 2022 to May 2023 and met the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia were included as the study subjects. They were randomly divided into a study group and a control group using a random number table method. Both the study group and the control group received conventional treatment, on which the study group received a 5-week, 10-session group game therapy, which was evaluated using the Scale of Positive Symptoms (SAPS), Scale of Negative Symptoms (SANS), and Repeated Battery Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) before and after the treatment, respectively. Results In the comparison of the three aspects of basic information, SAPS negative symptoms and cognitive function between the two groups at baseline, the differences were not statistically significant (all P>0.05). After treatment, the SANS score of the study group was lower than that of the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (F=13.408, P=0.001). The total RBANS scores, immediate memory factor scores, verbal function factor scores, and attention factor scores of the study group were higher than those of the control group, and the differences were statistically significant (F=10.331, 4.932, 9.967, and 10.01, all P<0.05). Conclusion Group play therapy may have a certain effect on improving some cognitive impairment and negative symptoms in hospitalized female patients with schizophrenia. |