IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0246078.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Arts engagement trends in the United Kingdom and their mental and social wellbeing implications: HEartS Survey

Author

Listed:
  • Urszula Tymoszuk
  • Neta Spiro
  • Rosie Perkins
  • Adele Mason-Bertrand
  • Kate Gee
  • Aaron Williamon

Abstract

Evidence on the role of the arts in promoting health and wellbeing has grown over the last two decades. In the United Kingdom, studies using secondary data sources have documented temporal variations in levels of arts engagement in the population, its determinants and its mental wellbeing implications. However, arts engagement is often characterized by prioritizing “high-brow” art forms. In this article, we introduce the HEartS Survey, a tool that aims to increase the balance between inclusivity and brevity of existing arts engagement measures and to focus specifically on the connection between arts engagement and social wellbeing. We explore trends in participatory and receptive engagement with literary, visual, performing, crafts and decorative arts among 5,338 adults in the UK in 2018–2019 using summative engagement scores and cluster analysis. Regression models, adjusted for demographic, socioeconomic, health, and social covariates, examine correlations between arts engagement and psychological and social wellbeing measures. Over 97% of respondents reported engagement in one or more arts activities at least once during 2018–2019, with reading and listening to music being the most popular activities. Arts engagement grouped into three distinct clusters: 19.8% constituted “low engagers” whose main source of engagement was occasional reading; 44.4% constituted “receptive consumers” who read and listened to music frequently and engaged with popular receptive arts activities such as cinema, live music, theater, exhibitions, and museums; and 35.8% constituted “omnivores” who frequently engaged in almost all arts activities. In agreement with existing studies, more arts engagement was associated with higher levels of wellbeing, social connectedness, and lower odds of intense social loneliness. In contrast, we found a positive association between more arts engagement, depression, and intense emotional loneliness for the most highly engaged omnivores. We conclude that arts engagement in the population forms specific profiles with distinct characteristics and consider implications for mental and social wellbeing.

Suggested Citation

  • Urszula Tymoszuk & Neta Spiro & Rosie Perkins & Adele Mason-Bertrand & Kate Gee & Aaron Williamon, 2021. "Arts engagement trends in the United Kingdom and their mental and social wellbeing implications: HEartS Survey," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(3), pages 1-35, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0246078
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0246078
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0246078
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0246078&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0246078?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Daniel Wheatley & Craig Bickerton, 2017. "Subjective well-being and engagement in arts, culture and sport," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 41(1), pages 23-45, February.
    2. Verena H. Menec, 2003. "The Relation Between Everyday Activities and Successful Aging: A 6-Year Longitudinal Study," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 58(2), pages 74-82.
    3. Jenny M Groarke & Michael J Hogan, 2019. "Listening to self-chosen music regulates induced negative affect for both younger and older adults," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(6), pages 1-19, June.
    4. Margaret Penning & Guiping Liu & Pak Chou, 2014. "Measuring Loneliness Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults: The UCLA and de Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scales," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 118(3), pages 1147-1166, September.
    5. Katharine G. Abraham & Sara E. Helms & Stanley Presser, 2008. "How Social Processes Distort Measurement: The Impact of Survey Nonresponse on Estimates of Volunteer Work," NBER Working Papers 14076, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sadiq R. Younes & Bruno Marques & Jacqueline McIntosh, 2024. "Public Spaces for Older People: A Review of the Relationship between Public Space to Quality of Life," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-16, May.
    2. Trine Filges & Anu Siren & Torben Fridberg & Bjørn C. V. Nielsen, 2020. "Voluntary work for the physical and mental health of older volunteers: A systematic review," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(4), December.
    3. Orit Segev-Jacubovski & Ephraim Shapiro, 2022. "Role of Participation in Activities and Perceived Accessibility on Quality of Life among Nondisabled Older Adults and Those with Disabilities in Israel during COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-13, May.
    4. Bruno S. Frey & Anthony Gullo, 2021. "Does Sports Make People Happier, or Do Happy People More Sports?," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 22(4), pages 432-458, May.
    5. Melinda Heinz & Nicholas Cone & Grace Da Rosa & Alex J. Bishop & Tanya Finchum, 2017. "Examining Supportive Evidence for Psychosocial Theories of Aging within the Oral History Narratives of Centenarians," Societies, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-21, April.
    6. André Hajek & Benedikt Kretzler & Hans-Helmut König, 2020. "Multimorbidity, Loneliness, and Social Isolation. A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(22), pages 1-12, November.
    7. Tzu-Yu Lin & Seiichi Sakuno, 2020. "Service Quality for Sports and Active Aging in Japanese Community Sports Clubs," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(22), pages 1-19, November.
    8. Borgschulte, Mark & Cho, Heepyung & Lubotsky, Darren, 2022. "Partisanship and survey refusal," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 332-357.
    9. David Jungwirth & Daniela Haluza, 2023. "Sports and the Pandemic: The Impact of COVID-19 on Active Living and Life Satisfaction of Climbers," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-12, January.
    10. Henrike Galenkamp & Dorly J. H. Deeg, 2016. "Increasing social participation of older people: are there different barriers for those in poor health? Introduction to the special section," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 13(2), pages 87-90, June.
    11. Hamrick, Karen S., 2012. "Nonresponse Bias Analysis of Body Mass Index in the Eating and Health Module," Technical Bulletins 184303, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    12. Junta Takahashi & Hisashi Kawai & Hiroyuki Suzuki & Yoshinori Fujiwara & Yutaka Watanabe & Hirohiko Hirano & Hunkyung Kim & Kazushige Ihara & Kaori Ishii & Koichiro Oka & Shuichi Obuchi, 2020. "Reliability and Validity of the Activity Diversity Questionnaire for Older Adults in Japan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-9, March.
    13. Linda Kridahl, 2014. "Retirement and leisure: a longitudinal study using Swedish data," Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, vol. 12(1), pages 141-168.
    14. Federica Codignola & Paolo Mariani, 2022. "Investigating preferences in art collecting: the case of the François Pinault Collection," Italian Journal of Marketing, Springer, vol. 2022(1), pages 107-133, March.
    15. Enrico Bertacchini & Chiara Dalle Nogare, 2021. "The economics of cultural tourism: New topics and methods," Tourism Economics, , vol. 27(6), pages 1177-1184, September.
    16. Almoayad,Safa Ali Qassim & Favari,Eliana & Halabi,Samira & Krishnaswamy,Siddharth & Music,Almedina & Tandon,Sharad Alan, 2020. "Active Conflict and Access to Education : Evidence from a Series of Conflict-Related Shocks in the Republic of Yemen," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9330, The World Bank.
    17. Hsiao-Yun Lee & Chia-Pin Yu & Chih-Da Wu & Wen-Chi Pan, 2018. "The Effect of Leisure Activity Diversity and Exercise Time on the Prevention of Depression in the Middle-Aged and Elderly Residents of Taiwan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-11, April.
    18. Carmem M. Cunha & Nathalie Dens & Georg D. Granic, 2023. "University Students’ Well-Being and Engagement in Activities in the Early Days of Covid-19," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 18(1), pages 279-303, February.
    19. Dongwook Cho & Sung Kyeom Kim, 2022. "Adolescents’ Self-Esteem Associated with Solitary, Passive, and Active Leisure Activities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-10, April.
    20. Hiromi Taniguchi & Gayle Kaufman, 2022. "Family, Collectivism, and Loneliness from a Cross-Country Perspective," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 17(3), pages 1555-1581, June.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0246078. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.