Creative arts and crafts boost wellbeing in UK adults

By Dr. Sanchari Sinha Dutta, Ph.D.Reviewed by Benedette Cuffari, M.Sc.Aug 22 2024

A recent study published in Frontiers in Public Health highlights the positive impact of creative arts and crafting on various aspects of wellbeing and loneliness.

Study: Creating arts and crafting positively predicts subjective wellbeing. Image Credit: ESB Professional / Shutterstock.com

Combatting the loneliness epidemic

Wellbeing is defined as the positive psychological state of an individual, including positive emotions, life satisfaction, and a sense of fulfillment. Positive wellbeing is associated with higher educational achievements, positive physical health outcomes, and reduced mortality.

Comparatively, loneliness is a negative psychological state caused by the lack of high-quality social interactions. Loneliness can negatively impact an individual’s quality of life, as well as their health and lifestyle behaviors and outcomes. As a result, loneliness can increase the risk of substance abuse, smoking and alcohol drinking, emotional distress, eating disorders, and premature death.

One key component of creativity is the experience of flow, which has been linked to a better quality of life. Engaging with creative arts and crafts can improve an individual’s well-being and reduce loneliness-related negative feelings.

Creative arts and crafting encompass a wide range of activities, such as pottery, drawing, painting, knitting, sewing, and crochet. These activities are widely popular in the United Kingdom, with about 20% of the British population estimated to be engaged in them. In fact, the arts and crafts industry contributes about £3.4 billion to the U.K. economy.

One previous study involving a large-scale U.K. population reported that attending live sporting events is associated with higher subjective wellbeing and lower loneliness outcomes. As compared to these events, arts and crafts activities are more easily accessible and affordable and are already popular among U.K. residents.

About the study

The current study analyzed secondary data from 7,182 adults living in England. Data were obtained from the Taking Part Survey, a face-to-face household survey conducted between April 2019 and March 2020.

Self-reported information on the study participants’ age, gender, level of deprivation, health status, and employment status was considered in the analysis as known sociodemographic predictors of subjective wellbeing and loneliness outcomes.  

Subjective wellbeing was measured through a questionnaire on anxiety, happiness, life satisfaction, and a sense of life being worthwhile. Loneliness was measured using a single-item questionnaire.   

Subjective wellbeing and loneliness outcomes were compared between participants who reported affirmatively and negatively about their engagement with creative arts and crafts within the last 12 months.

Study findings

The analysis controlling for known sociodemographic predictors revealed that engagement with creative arts and crafts is significantly associated with increased life satisfaction, a sense of life being worthwhile, and happiness. However, engagement with creative arts and crafts did not significantly impact anxiety and loneliness outcomes, in addition to the effects of known sociodemographic predictors.

Engaging in arts and crafts activities can improve the wellbeing of individuals, irrespective of their gender, age, health and employment status, and levels of deprivation. Although sociodemographic predictors of subjective wellbeing and loneliness are static and cannot be manipulated, engagement with arts and crafts can be easily utilized to develop effective interventions to improve their wellbeing.

Future implications

Any interventions to combat the profound public health issues of low wellbeing and high loneliness could have a significant impact.”

The current study included drawing, painting, knitting, sewing, and crocheting as art and craft activities. These activities are typically performed alone without companions, which may explain why engaging in arts and crafts did not significantly reduce loneliness.

Thus, future studies should carefully analyze the importance of social elements of engagement with creative arts and crafts. More research is also needed to investigate the mechanisms through which art and craft activities positively impact subjective wellbeing.

Some of the art and craft activities included in the current study may be perceived as stereotypically feminine, such as knitting and sewing. This suggests that the choice of these activities and their effects on subjective wellbeing may be confounded by gender as a sociodemographic variable. Additional research is needed to explore whether stereotypically ‘masculine’ arts, such as carpentry and metalworking, can have a more significant impact the wellbeing of male participants.

Considering the positive impact of subjective wellbeing on health and longevity, policy makers should include interventions to improve wellbeing across the population. Increased funding for creative arts and crafts activities for the general population may benefit society as a whole by improving wellbeing in modern living.