School of Psychology, A18, The University of Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia. Tel +61 9351 5147.
Med Probl Perform Art. 2022 Jun;37(2):106-117. doi: 10.21091/mppa.2022.2016.
Anecdotal evidence and media reports suggest that actors and other performing artists experience high levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. However, no empirical study has examined the psychological well-being of this professional group.
The Australian Actors' Wellbeing Study (AWS) was conducted to examine the general wellbeing of Australian actors and performing artists. The present paper, reporting on data from the AWS, focuses on two aspects of respondents' psychological well-being: life satisfaction and the experience of negative affect.
An online survey including several questionnaires was distributed to the Equity Foundation membership representing Australian actors. We report results from the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) and examine their associations with respondents' sociodemographic and occupational background, including their relationship status and any relationship stress, income from performing, and time taken away from performing.
A sample of 782 Australian actors responded to the survey, with 582 participants completing the DASS and 568 the SWLS. Participants reported lower levels of life satisfaction and higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress than found in the Australian general population. Being in a relationship was associated with better psychological well-being; however, work stress often impacted negatively on relationships. Income had little association with psychological well-being, unless the respondent felt under financial stress. Respondents who took extended periods of time away from performing reported less life satisfaction and more depression than others.
Australian actors may be at a high risk for poor psychological health. Further research is necessary to establish causality among the variables we examined and to investigate protective factors that may increase well-being in the context of the performing arts industry.
有传闻和媒体报道称，演员和其他表演艺术家经历着高水平的抑郁、焦虑和压力。然而，没有实证研究检验过这个职业群体的心理健康。
澳大利亚演员福利研究（AWS）旨在研究澳大利亚演员和表演艺术家的整体福利。本论文报告了 AWS 的数据，重点关注受访者心理健康的两个方面：生活满意度和负面情绪体验。
一项在线调查包括了几个问卷，分发给代表澳大利亚演员的 Equity Foundation 会员。我们报告了生活满意度量表（SWLS）和抑郁焦虑压力量表（DASS）的结果，并研究了它们与受访者的社会人口学和职业背景的关系，包括他们的关系状况和任何关系压力、表演收入以及表演之外的时间。
共有 782 名澳大利亚演员对该调查做出了回应，其中 582 名参与者完成了 DASS，568 名参与者完成了 SWLS。参与者报告的生活满意度较低，抑郁、焦虑和压力水平高于澳大利亚普通人群。有伴侣的人心理状态更好；然而，工作压力往往对关系产生负面影响。收入与心理健康的关系不大，除非受访者感到经济压力。与其他受访者相比，休假时间较长的受访者报告的生活满意度较低，抑郁程度较高。
澳大利亚演员可能面临着心理健康不佳的高风险。需要进一步的研究来确定我们所研究的变量之间的因果关系，并调查可能在表演艺术行业背景下增加幸福感的保护因素。
