The arts and humanities have enriched human life in various ways throughout history. Yet, an analysis of empirical research into the effects of arts and humanities engagement remains incomplete, calling for a systematic and integrative understanding of the role of arts and humanities in promoting human flourishing. The present study used a mixed studies systematic review approach to integrating recent evidence from 27 intervention studies on the effectiveness of arts and humanities interventions on psychological flourishing of healthy adults. Our final dataset both represented quantitative and qualitative data on real-world interventions that encompassed a range of arts and humanities domains, including music, theater, visual arts, and integrative arts. A separate quantitative and qualitative data synthesis on study characteristics and psychological flourishing outcomes and a meta-integration of both types of evidence were conducted. Overall, arts and humanities interventions were associated with positive changes in a range of psychological flourishing outcomes, with overlapping quantitative and qualitative evidence for emotional, social, and sense of self outcomes. A secondary analysis explored key contextual and implementation features that contributed to effectiveness. Recommendations for future research and practice are provided based on our review.
AntonakisJ.BendahanS.JacquartP.LaliveR. (2010). On making causal claims: A review and recommendations. The Leadership Quarterly, 21(6), 1086–1120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2010.10.010
4.
AntonovskyA. (1987). Unraveling the mystery of health: How people manage stress and stay well. Jossey-Bass.
5.
ArcherS.BuxtonS.SheffieldD. (2015). The effect of creative psychological interventions on psychological outcomes for adult cancer patients: A systematic review of randomised controlled trials. Psycho-Oncology, 24, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.3607
6.
AronA.AronE. N.SmollanD. (1992). Inclusion of other in the self scale and the structure of interpersonal closeness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63(4), 596–612. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.63.4.596
7.
BakerF.KroutR. (2012). Turning experience into learning: Educational contributions of collaborative peer songwriting during music therapy training. International Journal of Music Education, 30(2), 133–147. https://doi.org/10.1177/0255761411427103
8.
BakerF.MetcalfO.VarkerT.O’DonnellM. (2018). A systematic review of the efficacy of creative arts therapies in the treatment of adults with PTSD. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 10, 643–651. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0000353
BeierleinC.KovalevaA.KemperC. J.RammstedtB. (2012). Ein Messinstrument zur Erfassung subjektiver Kompetenzerwartungen: Allgemeine Selbstwirksamkeit Kurzskala (ASKU) [assessing subjective competency beliefs: A short version to assess general self-efficacy]. In GESIS-Working Papers (Vol. 17). GESIS.
11.
BobekD.ZaffJ.LiY.LernerR. M. (2009). Cognitive, emotional, and behavioral components of civic action: Towards an integrated measure of civic engagement. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 30, 615–627. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2009.07.005
12.
BoehmK.CramerH.StaroszynskiT.OstermannT. (2014). Arts therapies for anxiety, depression, and quality of life in breast cancer patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2014, Article 103297. https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/103297
13.
BorensteinM.HedgesL. V.HigginsJ. P.RothsteinH. R. (2011). Introduction to meta-analysis. Wiley.
14.
BygrenL. O.WeissglasG.WikströmB. M.KonlaanB. B.GrjibovskiA.KarlssonA. B.AnderssonS. O.SjöströmM. (2009). Cultural participation and health: A randomized controlled trial among medical care staff. Psychosomatic Medicine, 71(4), 469–473. https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0b013e31819e47d4
15.
CohenJ. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum.
DaherM.HazA. M. (2011). Changing meanings through art: A systematization of a psychosocial intervention with Chilean women in urban poverty situation. American Journal of Community Psychology, 47, 322–334. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-010-9400-3
18.
DaviesS. (1990). Functional and procedural definitions of art. The Journal of Aesthetic Education, 24, 99–106. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3332789
19.
DeweyJ. (1934). Art as experience. Capricorn Books.
DienerE.SuhE. M.LucasR. E.SmithH. L. (1999). Subjective well-being: Three decades of progress. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 276–302. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.125.2.276
22.
DienerE.WirtzD.TovW.Kim-PrietoC.ChoiD.-W.OishiS.Biswas-DienerR. (2010). New well-being measures: Short scales to assess flourishing and positive and negative feelings. Social Indicators Research, 97, 143–156. https://doi.org/10.1007/sll205-009-9493-y
FeaganR.RossiterK. (2011). University-community engagement: A case study using popular theatre. Education and Training, 53, 140–154. https://doi.org/10.1108/00400911111115681
25.
Feniger-SchaalR.OrkibiH. (2020). Integrative systematic review of drama therapy intervention research. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 14, 68–80. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000257
26.
FrancoA.MalhotraN.SimonovitsG. (2014). Publication bias in the social sciences: Unlocking the file drawer. Science, 345, 1502–1505. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1255484
27.
FrantzenK. K.FettersM. D. (2016). Meta-integration for synthesizing data in a systematic mixed studies review: Insights from research on autism spectrum disorder. Quality and Quantity, 50, 2251–2277. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-015-0261-6
GiaverF.VaagJ. R.WennesG. (2017). Choral singing as an arts-based organisational intervention: A qualitative study of employees’ experiences. Arts and Health, 9, 26–41. https://doi.org/10.1080/17533015.2016.1182564
30.
GoldC.VoracekM.WigramT. (2004). Effects of music therapy for children and adolescents with psychopathology: A meta-analysis. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 45, 1054–1063. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2004.t01-1-00298.x
31.
GroszM. P.RohrerJ. M.ThoemmesF. (2020). The taboo against explicit causal inference in nonexperimental psychology. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 15(5), 1243–1255. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691620921521
32.
HendersonS.CainM.IstvandityL.LakhaniA. (2017). The role of music participation in positive health and wellbeing outcomes for migrant populations: A systematic review. Psychology of Music, 45, 459–478. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735616665910
33.
HertrampfR. S.WärjaM. (2017). The effect of creative arts therapy and arts medicine on psychological outcomes in women with breast or gynecological cancer: A systematic review of arts-based interventions. Arts in Psychotherapy, 56, 93–110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2017.08.001
34.
HigginsJ. P. T.ThomasJ.ChandlerJ.CumpstonM.LiT.PageM. J.WelchV. A. (2019). Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews of interventions (2nd ed.). John Wiley.
35.
HillC. E. (2012). Consensual qualitative research: A practical resource for investigating social science phenomena. American Psychological Association.
36.
HoneL. C.JardenA.SchofieldG. M. (2015). An evaluation of positive psychology intervention effectiveness trials using the re-aim framework: A practice-friendly review. Journal of Positive Psychology, 10, 303–322. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2014.965267
37.
HorwitzE. B.VidingC. G.RydwikE.HussE. (2017). Arts as an ecological method to enhance quality of work experience of healthcare staff: A phenomenological-hermeneutic study. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-Being, 12, Article 1333898. https://doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2017.1333898
38.
HowellD. C. (2013). Statistical methods for psychology (8th ed.). Wadsworth.
39.
IrleK.LovellG. (2014). An investigation into the efficacy of a music-based men’s group for improving psychological wellbeing. Music Therapy Perspectives, 32, 178–184. https://doi.org/10.1093/mtp/miu019
40.
KarpavičiūtėS.MacijauskienėJ. (2016). The impact of arts activity on nursing staff well-being: An intervention in the workplace. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 13, 435. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13040435
41.
KarpavičiūtėS.ParkinsonC. (2015). Arts activity and well-being in the work place: A pilot study of health service workers in Lithuania. Neurologijos Seminarai, 19, 210–216.
42.
KatzevR.AllenJ.PetersC. L. (2009). The effects of a humanities reading program on economically and educationally disadvantaged individuals. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 39(8), 1974–1990. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2009.00512.x
KeyesC. L. M. (2002). The mental health continuum: From languishing to flourishing in life. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 43, 207–222.
45.
KeyesC. L. M. (2010). Flourishing. In WeinerI. B.CraigheadW. E. (Eds.), The Corsini encyclopedia of psychology (4th ed., pp. 671–672). John Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470479216.corpsy0363
46.
KiddD.OngisM.CastanoE. (2016). On literary fiction and its effects on theory of mind. Scientific Study of Literature, 6, 42–58. https://doi.org/10.1075/ssol.6.1.04kid
47.
KochS.KunzT.LykouS.CruzR. (2014). Effects of dance movement therapy and dance on health-related psychological outcomes: A meta-analysis. Arts in Psychotherapy, 41, 46–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2013.10.004
48.
KometianiM. K. (2017). Creating a vital healing community: A pilot study of an art therapy employee support group at a pediatric hospital. Arts in Psychotherapy, 54, 122–127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2017.04.012
49.
KreutzG. (2014). Does singing facilitate social bonding?Music and Medicine, 6, 51–60.
50.
KristellerP. O. (1951). The modern system of the arts: A study in the history of aesthetics I. Journal of the History of Ideas, 12, 496–527.
51.
KroenkeK.SpitzerR. L.WilliamsJ. B. W. (2001). The PHQ-9: Validity of a brief depression severity measure. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 16(9), 606–613.
52.
LakensD. (2013). Calculating and reporting effect sizes to facilitate cumulative science: A practical primer for t-tests and ANOVAs. Frontiers in Psychology, 4, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00863
53.
LarssonG. (2006). The Developmental Leadership Questionnaire (DLQ): Some psychometric properties. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 47(4), 253–262. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9450.2006.00515.x
54.
LeckeyJ. (2011). The therapeutic effectiveness of creative activities on mental well-being: A systematic review of the literature. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 18, 501–509. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2850.2011.01693.x
LevittH. M. (2018). How to conduct a qualitative meta-analysis: Tailoring methods to enhance methodological integrity. Psychotherapy Research, 28, 367–378. https://doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2018.1447708
57.
LevittH. M.BambergM.CreswellJ. W.FrostD. M.JosselsonR.Suárez-OrozcoC. (2018). Journal article reporting standards for qualitative primary, qualitative meta-analytic, and mixed methods research in psychology. American Psychologist, 73, 26–46. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000151
58.
LevittH. M.PomervilleA.SuraceF. I. (2016). A qualitative meta-analysis examining clients’ experiences of psychotherapy: A new agenda. Psychological Bulletin, 142, 801–830. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000057
MackinnonA.JormA. F.ChristensenH.KortenA. E.JacombP. A.RodgersB. (1999). A short form of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule: Evaluation of factorial validity and invariance across demographic variables in a community sample. Personality and Individual Differences, 27(3), 405–416. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(98)00251-7
61.
Malkina-PykhI. G. (2015). Effectiveness of rhythmic movement therapy: Case study of subjective well-being. Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy, 10, 106–120. https://doi.org/10.1080/17432979.2014.977822
62.
MartinL.OepenR.BauerK.NottensteinerA.MergheimK.GruberH.KochS. C. (2018). Creative arts interventions for stress management and prevention—A systematic review. Behavioral Sciences, 8, Article 28. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs8020028
63.
MaujeanA.PeppingC. A.KendallE. (2014). A systematic review of randomized controlled studies of art therapy. Art Therapy, 31, 37–44. https://doi.org/10.1080/07421656.2014.873696
64.
MellorL. (2013). An investigation of singing, health and well-being as a group process. British Journal of Music Education, 30, 177–205. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0265051712000563
65.
MilesM. B.HubermanM. A. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook. SAGE.
66.
MillerS. D.DuncanB. L.BrownJ.SparksJ.ClaudD. (2003). The outcome rating scale: A preliminary study of the reliability, validity, and feasibility of a brief visual analog measure. Journal of Brief Therapy, 2(2), 91–100.
67.
NagjiA.Brett-MacLeanP.BreaultL. (2013). Exploring the benefits of an optional theatre module on medical student well-being. Teaching and Learning in Medicine, 25, 201–206. https://doi.org/10.1080/10401334.2013.801774
68.
NorthcottJ. L.FreinS. T. (2017). The effect of drawing exercises on mood when negative affect is not induced art therapy. Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 34(2), 92–95.
PaninaN.GolovakhaE. (2001). Tendencies in the development of Ukrainian society (1994–1998): Sociological indicators. Kyiv.
71.
PawelskiJ. O. (2016). Defining the “positive” in positive psychology: Part II. A normative analysis. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 11, 357–365. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2015.1137628
72.
PawelskiJ. O. (2021). The positive humanities: Culture and human flourishing. In TayL.PawelskiJ. O. (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of the positive humanities. Oxford University Press.
73.
PearceE. (2017). Participants’ perspectives on the social bonding and well-being effects of creative arts adult education classes. Arts and Health, 9, 42–59. https://doi.org/10.1080/17533015.2016.1193550
74.
PearceE.JacquesL.DunbarR. I. M. (2015). The ice-breaker effect: Singing mediates fast social bonding. The Royal Society, 2(10), Article 150221. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.150221
75.
PearceE.JacquesL.MachinA.DunbarR. I. M. (2016). Is group singing special? Health, well-being and social bonds in community-based adult education classes. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 26(6), 518–533. https://doi.org/10.1002/casp.2278
76.
PetersonC.SeligmanM. E. P. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. Oxford University Press.
77.
PetticrewM.AndersonL.ElderR.GrimshawJ.HopkinsD.HahnR.KrauseL.KristjanssonE.MercerS.SipeT.TugwellP.UeffingE.WatersE.WelchV. (2015). Complex interventions and their implications for systematic reviews: A pragmatic approach. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 52, 1211–1216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2015.01.004
78.
PetticrewM.RehfuessE.NoyesJ.HigginsJ. P. T.MayhewA.PantojaT.ShemiltI.SowdenA. (2013). Synthesizing evidence on complex interventions: How meta-analytical, qualitative, and mixed-method approaches can contribute. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 66, 1230–1243. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2013.06.005
79.
PotashJ. S.ChenJ. Y.TsangJ. P. Y. (2016). Medical student mandala making for holistic well-being. Medical Humanities, 42, 17–25. https://doi.org/10.1136/medhum-2015-010717
80.
PotashJ. S.MannS. M.MartinezJ. C.RoachA. B.WallaceN. M. (2016). Spectrum of art therapy practice: Systematic literature review of art therapy, 1983–2014. Art Therapy, 33, 119–127. https://doi.org/10.1080/07421656.2016.1199242
81.
ProctorR. E. (1998). Defining the humanities: How rediscovering a tradition can improve our schools with a curriculum for today’s students (2nd ed.). Indiana University Press.
82.
ProyerR. T. (2012). Development and initial assessment of a short measure for adult playfulness: The SMAP. Personality and Individual Differences, 53(8), 989–994. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2012.07.018
83.
QuinlanE.DugglebyW. (2009). “Breaking the fourth wall”: Activating hope through participatory theatre with family caregivers. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-Being, 4, 207–219. https://doi.org/10.3109/17482620903106660
84.
Rand Health Sciences Program (1992). Rand 36-item health survey 1.0. Santa Monica, California.
85.
ReanA. A. (2001). Handbook of personality assessment. Saint Petersburg University Press.
86.
ReederL. G.ChapmanJ. M.CoulsonA. H. (1968). Socioenvironmental stress, tranquilizers and cardiovascular disease. Proceedings of the Excerpta Medica International Congress Series, 182, 226–238.
87.
RomanowskaJ.LarssonG.TheorellT. (2013). Effects on leaders of an art-based leadership intervention. Journal of Management Development, 32, 1004–1022. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMD-02-2012-0029
88.
RomanowskaJ.LarssonG.TheorellT. (2014). An art-based leadership intervention for enhancement of self-awareness, humility, and leader performance. Journal of Personnel Psychology, 13, 97–106. https://doi.org/10.1027/1866-5888/a000108
89.
RyffC. D. (2014). Psychological well-being revisited: Advances in the science and practice of eudaimonia. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 83, 10–28. https://doi.org/10.1159/000353263
90.
SanalA. M.GorsevS. (2014). Psychological and physiological effects of singing in a choir. Psychology of Music, 42(3), 420–429. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735613477181
91.
SchoutenK. A.de NietG. J.KnipscheerJ. W.KleberR. J.HutschemaekersG. J. M. (2015). The effectiveness of art therapy in the treatment of traumatized adults: A systematic review on art therapy and trauma. Trauma, Violence, and Abuse, 16, 220–228. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838014555032
92.
SeligmanM. E. P. (2012). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. Simon and Schuster.
93.
ShimY.TayL.WardM.PawelskiJ. O. (2019). Arts and humanities engagement: An integrative conceptual framework for psychological research. Review of General Psychology, 23, 159–176. https://doi.org/10.1177/1089268019832847
SpielbergerC. D.GorsuchR. L.LusheneR.VaggP. R.JacobsG. A. (1983). Manual for the state-trait anxiety inventory. Consulting Psychologists Press.
96.
SpitzerR. L.KroenkeK.WilliamsJ. B.LoweB. (2006). A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: The GAD-7. Archives of Internal Medicine, 166(10), 1092–1097.
97.
StaricoffR. L. (2006). Arts in health: The value of evaluation. Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health, 126, 116–120. https://doi.org/10.1177/1466424006064300
98.
SutcliffeK.ThomasJ.StokesG.HindsK.BangpanM. (2015). Intervention Component Analysis (ICA): A pragmatic approach for identifying the critical features of complex interventions. Systematic Reviews, 4, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-015-0126-z
99.
TayL. (2019, July). Humanities and human flourishing: Progress and opportunities [Conference session]. 6th World Congress of Positive Psychology, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
100.
TayL.PawelskiJ. O.KeithM. G. (2018). The role of the arts and humanities in human flourishing: A conceptual model. Journal of Positive Psychology, 13, 215–225. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2017.1279207
101.
TennantR.HillerL.FishwickR.PlattS.JosephS.WeichS., et al. (2007). The Warwick-Edinburgh mental well-being scale (WEMWBS): Development and UK validation. Health & Quality of Outcomes, 5(63), 1–13.
102.
ThomasJ.HardenA. (2008). Methods for the thematic synthesis of qualitative research in systematic reviews. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 10, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2288-8-45
103.
UrbanK. K.JellenH. R. (1996). Test for creative thinking - drawing production (TCT-DP). Lisse, Netherlands.
104.
VanderWeeleT. J. (2017). On the promotion of human flourishing. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114, 8148–8156. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1702996114
105.
van WestrhenenN.FritzE. (2012). The experiences of professional hospice workers attending creative arts workshops in Gauteng. Health Education Journal, 72, 34–46. https://doi.org/10.1177/0017896911430545
106.
VaziriH.TayL.KeithM. G.PawelskiJ. O. (2019). History, literature, and philosophy: A systematic review of positive functioning. Journal of Positive Psychology, 14, 695–723. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2018.1545041
107.
WatsonD.ClarkL. ATellegenA. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: the PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(6), 1063–1070. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3397865
108.
WestS.HoffE.CarlssonI. (2017). Enhancing team creativity with playful improvisation theater: A controlled intervention field study. International Journal of Play, 6(3), 283–293.
109.
WiedenhoferS.KochS. (2017). Active factors in dance/movement therapy: Specifying health effects of non-goal-orientation in movement. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 52, 10–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2016.09.004
110.
World Health Organization (1997). Measuring quality of life: The World Health Organization Quality of Life instruments (the WHOQOL-100 and the WHOQOL-BREF). Geneva, Switzerland.
YoungR.CamicP. M.TischlerV. (2016). The impact of community-based arts and health interventions on cognition in people with dementia: A systematic literature review. Aging & Mental Health, 20, 337–351. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2015.1011080
113.
ZeemanE.LotrietM. (2013). Beyond the expected: An enriched learning experience through learner engagement and participation. Teaching in Higher Education, 18, 179–191. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2012.696540
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
