Knit One, Play One: Comparing the Effects of Amateur Knitting and Amateur Music Participation on Happiness and Wellbeing

Abstract

Previous research suggests that engaging in creative and meaningful leisure activities enhances mental health, wellbeing and quality of life. However, studies often explore specific creative activities in isolation. We compared happiness and wellbeing in adults involved in knitting (835 amateur knitters) and musical activities (122 amateur musicians). Participants completed the Subjective Happiness Scale, the BBC Subjective Wellbeing scale, and open-ended questions about past and current engagement. Knitters scored significantly higher on happiness than musicians. No differences were found for subjective wellbeing. Older participants scored more highly on all wellbeing measures, with no effect of time doing the activity. Open-ended responses were grouped into four themes. Learning and teaching was oriented towards communities of practice for knitters and formal teaching for musicians. Process involved positive and negative emotions, grouped around subthemes of self-care and sensory experiences. Outcome was associated with connections to others, expressed through pride or anxiety. Purpose linked to a sense of fulfilment, identity, and obsession. Despite differences between the activities, participants experienced broadly similar physical, psychological and social benefits. Further research should explore more creative and non-creative leisure activities to establish if these effects can be generalised and what other unique features may be involved.

A Space for Collaborative Creativity. How Collective Improvising Shapes ‘a Sense of Belonging’

“…Interestingly, the open category, labeled ‘negative affect,’ showed numerous (29%) reports of feeling anxious and angry. While a category of ‘negative emotion’ is included in the PERMA profiler ( Butler and Kern, 2016 ), we found rare reports of this in studies using the PERMA model in community music projects ( Lee et al, 2017 ; Lamont and Ranaweera, 2020 ).…”

“…Following the idea that joint music making provides a powerful context for a flourishing life ( Lamont and Ranaweera, 2020 ), this study explored how a community music project, TOSO, that organizes collective free music improvisation sessions with homeless people and individuals with a psychiatric or alcohol/drug background, may contribute to eudaimonia . To do so, the PERMA model of well-being was deemed a useful framework as it provides a well-defined set of building block of eudaimonia .…”

“…Recently, Lamont and Ranaweera (2020) found anxiety and negative emotions toward performance in a group of amateur musicians. The positive emotional and social outcomes seemed to counter these negative feelings.…”

“…The need for studies considering the relationship between musical activities and well-being for people from a broad socio-economic background, has been put forward in recent research ( Lee et al, 2017 ; Schiavio et al, 2019 ; Lamont and Ranaweera, 2020 ). The use of the PERMA model also aligns with recent work in music education and community music (see Lee et al, 2017 ; Ascenso et al, 2018 ; Lamont and Ranaweera, 2020 ).…”

“…We found clear examples of how the project elicits positive emotions, a sense of purpose, engagement and achievement. Such outcomes are described in many similar community music projects (Lee et al, 2017;Schiavio et al, 2019;Vougioukalou et al, 2019;Lamont and Ranaweera, 2020), alongside the emancipatory power of music can play in such programs (Wright, 2006;Veblen, 2007;Elliott and Silverman, 2015). Also, as found in other studies (e.g., Lee et al, 2017;Vougioukalou et al, 2019), direct connections with others in the group (Relationships) and making sense of life (Meaning), are important features of the TOSO project.…”