The research brief by One Nation/One Project proposes a new, inclusive definition for "arts participation" to enhance public health research by considering a wide range of artistic and creative practices across different communities.

Currently in pre-print, this study explores the intersection of arts, social cohesion, and wellbeing to guide future public health strategies.

Rodriguez, A. K., Akram, S., Colverson, A. J., Hack, G., Golden, T. L., & Sonke, J. (2023). Arts Engagement as a Health Behavior: An Opportunity to Address Mental Health Inequities. Community health equity research & policy, 2752535X231175072. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/2752535X231175072

This international study across 16 countries and 93,263 participants shows that hobby engagement is universally associated with improved mental wellbeing, including fewer depressive symptoms, and higher self-reported health, happiness, and life satisfaction, suggesting that promoting hobby engagement is a valuable strategy for supporting healthy aging globally, despite varying prevalence of hobby engagement across countries.

This study on US adolescents finds that engagement in arts and cultural activities is initially associated with a reduced risk of substance use (alcohol intoxication and tobacco use), but this protective effect diminishes over time, suggesting the need for sustained engagement in these activities for long-term benefits.

This study of older adults in the United States finds that leisure engagement, including community, cognitive, creative, and physical activities, positively influences self-perceptions of aging, with some evidence of a reciprocal relationship in creative and physical activities, suggesting that increasing leisure engagement may improve health by enhancing positive aging perceptions.

This study on older adults finds that moderate engagement in both participatory and receptive arts activities is associated with improvements in executive function/language and episodic/working memory, respectively, suggesting potential cognitive benefits comparable to those of vigorous physical activity, while also highlighting methodological considerations for future research on the relationship between arts engagement and cognition.

This study finds that individual engagement in extracurricular arts activities is associated with fewer adolescent externalizing behaviors, suggesting a benefit in risk reduction for such behaviors, while no association was found with school-based arts engagement or the provision of arts classes and facilities at the school level.

This study demonstrates that greater social, cultural, and community engagement (SCCE) among older adults is linked to more dental and outpatient care, shorter hospital stays, and reduced need for home health and nursing home care, suggesting SCCE promotes beneficial health-seeking behaviors and could help optimize health care utilization and reduce financial burdens on the health system.

This study on a US sample during the COVID-19 pandemic found that home-based creative activities like gardening, woodwork/DIY, and arts/crafts are associated with reduced depressive and anxiety symptoms and increased life satisfaction, whereas excessive media consumption is linked to increased depressive symptoms, highlighting the importance of specific types of activities for mental health and well-being during lockdowns.

This study finds that engagement in school-based arts activities is associated with increased social support among adolescents, suggesting extracurricular arts provide valuable opportunities for social engagement and community building, despite no direct association with loneliness.

This study explores the social patterns of home-based arts engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic in the US, finding that factors like social support, network size, age, race/ethnicity, and experiences of abuse were associated with engagement in activities such as reading, arts and crafts, and digital arts, while socioeconomic and health-related factors had less impact.

This longitudinal study on emerging adults finds that increased arts engagement is associated with enhanced flourishing, particularly in psychological and social wellbeing, with these benefits more pronounced in metropolitan areas, suggesting the need for equitable arts access across communities to support youth development.

This study found that participation in community arts groups among older adults is associated with improved aspects of wellbeing, including higher positive affect, life satisfaction, purpose in life, and mastery, even after adjusting for demographic, socioeconomic, and health factors, suggesting the value of arts engagement in promoting fulfilling and satisfying lives during aging.

This study investigates the predictors of arts engagement among older adults, revealing age-related variations in engagement factors and socioeconomic inequalities, with the aim of enhancing accessibility to the health benefits of arts and cultural activities.

This study examines how demographic and socioeconomic factors influence different types of arts engagement in the US, finding a social gradient in arts event attendance but not in other forms of arts participation.