Departement of Social Science, Center for Gerontology and Social Science, Research Institute, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Obu, Japan; Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Chiyoda, Japan.
Department of Human Health, Aichi Toho University, Nagoya, Japan.
Public Health. 2023 Sep;222:178-185. doi: 10.1016/j.puhe.2023.07.018. Epub 2023 Aug 7.
Art engagement, which includes individual art activities and museum and gallery visits, potentially contributes to improving psychological well-being. However, there is insufficient evidence of its effects on the older population, and few reports are from Asia, including Japan. This study examined the association between art engagement and psychological well-being among older adults in Japan.
An observational cross-sectional study design was used.
Community-dwelling older adults aged ≥60 years were recruited from the visitors to public facilities (including community centres, sports centres and cultural centres) in Aichi, Japan, in 2022, and completed questionnaires. The psychological well-being assessment included five domains according to Seligman's PERMA framework: Positive emotion, Engagement, Relationship, Meaning and Accomplishment. Regarding art engagement, the frequencies of active art engagement (e.g. activities by individuals and participation in groups, such as music and painting) and receptive art engagement (e.g. visiting museums, galleries and the theatres) were assessed.
A total of 522 participants were included in the analysis (mean age = 74.1 years; 78.0% females). Results from the multivariable linear regression analysis, which adjusted for demographic and socio-economic factors, revealed that higher frequencies of active art engagement were significantly associated with higher scores in all five PERMA domain scores. Higher frequencies of receptive art engagement were significantly associated with higher levels of Positive emotion, Engagement and Meaning domain scores, but were only marginally associated with the Accomplishment domain and were not associated with the Relationships domain.
This study indicates that art engagement has the potential to enhance psychological well-being among older adults. National and local government strategies to increase accessibility to art and cultural activities for older adults are recommended.
艺术参与，包括个人艺术活动以及参观博物馆和美术馆，可能有助于改善心理健康。然而，其对老年人群的影响证据不足，且来自亚洲，包括日本的报告很少。本研究调查了日本老年人艺术参与与心理健康之间的关系。
采用观察性横断面研究设计。
2022 年，在日本爱知县，从公共设施（包括社区中心、体育中心和文化中心）的访客中招募了年龄≥60 岁的社区居住老年人，并完成了问卷调查。心理健康评估包括塞利格曼的 PERMA 框架的五个领域：积极情绪、投入、关系、意义和成就。关于艺术参与，评估了积极艺术参与（例如个人活动和团体参与，如音乐和绘画）和接受性艺术参与（例如参观博物馆、美术馆和剧院）的频率。
共有 522 名参与者纳入分析（平均年龄 74.1 岁；78.0%为女性）。在调整了人口统计学和社会经济因素的多变量线性回归分析中，结果表明，积极艺术参与的频率越高，PERMA 框架的所有五个领域的得分越高。接受性艺术参与的频率越高，积极情绪、投入和意义领域的得分越高，但与成就领域仅略有相关，与关系领域无关。
本研究表明，艺术参与有可能增强老年人的心理健康。建议制定国家和地方政府的战略，增加老年人获得艺术和文化活动的机会。
