Creative leisure activities, mental health and well-being during 5 months of the COVID-19 pandemic: a fixed effects analysis of data from 3725 US adults

Abstract

IntroductionWe investigated whether changes in engagement in home-based creative activities were associated with changes in depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms and life satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic, aiming to replicate findings from the UK in a USA sample.Methods3725 adults were included from the COVID-19 Social Study in the USA, a panel study collecting data weekly during the COVID-19 pandemic. We measured engagement in eight types of creative leisure activities on the previous weekday between April and September 2020. Data were analysed using fixed effects regression models.ResultsIncreased time spent gardening was associated with reductions in depressive and anxiety symptoms and enhanced life satisfaction. Spending more time doing woodwork/DIY and arts/crafts were also associated with enhanced life satisfaction. However, more time watching television, films or other similar media (not for information on COVID-19) was associated with increased depressive symptoms. Other creative activities were not associated with mental health or well-being.ConclusionSome findings differ from evidence obtained in the UK, demonstrating the importance of replicating research across countries. Our findings should also be considered when formulating guidelines for future stay-at-home directives, enabling individuals to stay well despite the closure of public resources.

Relationships between arts participation, social cohesion, and wellbeing: An integrative review and conceptual model

“…Findings of this review also support a growing body of current evidence that articulates the value of arts participation to both well-being and health (5,55,59). Although it was not a focus of this review and therefore not reported as a finding, many of the articles in this review reported health benefits of arts participation that align with this literature.…”

“…Recognizing a need for place-based strategies for rebuilding the social fabrics and well-being of communities disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, this integrative review aimed to identify, synthesize, and describe literature that investigates arts participation, social cohesion, and well-being in a community context in the US. It did not seek to synthesize the abundance of literature that has previously associated arts participation with well-being (5, 55), or solely with social cohesion (25). It sought specifically to consider studies that included all three constructs.…”

“…In recent years, arts and cultural strategies have been increasingly engaged by the public health sector to enhance community health and well-being, as well as to address social drivers and causes of health inequities and disparities in the United States (US) (1–4). This uptake is in part due to the growing body of evidence that links arts and cultural participation to notable impacts on health and well-being at the population level in this country, including on mental health (5), flourishing among young people (6), healthy aging (7), and even mortality (8). Additionally, as the significant health risks posed by social isolation and loneliness are better understood, arts and cultural strategies are increasingly recognized as available resources for countering isolation and building social cohesion in communities (9, 10).…”

“…In recent years, arts and cultural strategies have been increasingly engaged by the public health sector to enhance community health and well-being, as well as to address social drivers and causes of health inequities and disparities in the United States (US) (1)(2)(3)(4). This uptake is in part due to the growing body of evidence that links arts and cultural participation to notable impacts on health and well-being at the population level in this country, including on mental health (5), flourishing among young people (6), healthy aging (7), and even mortality (8).…”