This article discusses a study focused on investigating the effects of an art museum cultural experience on learning and behaviors of visitors with special needs. The participants, selected by specific inclusion and exclusion criteria, were 10 families with children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The author examined how the museum environment, with its opportunities for free-choice, object-based, and inquiry-based learning, helped facilitate their educational and social needs. To record changes in the subjects' content knowledge and behavior, the author employed a mixed-methods design, including the standardized Social Responsiveness Scale, parent surveys, behavioral observations, task evaluations, and parent interviews. The findings demonstrate that participation in a tailored educational museum program positively influences cognitive and social behaviors of children living with autism, thereby contributing to their overall well-being. The paper also discusses implications for other museums nationwide working to establish quality access programs with long-term benefits for special needs communities.


This article originates in current research into community-based arts in health. Arts in health is now a diverse field of practice, and community-based arts in health interventions have extended the work beyond healthcare settings into public health. Examples of this work can now be found internationally in different health systems and cultural contexts. The paper argues that researchers need to understand the processes through which community-based arts in health projects evolve, and how they work holistically in their attempt to produce therapeutic and social benefits for both individuals and communities, and to connect with a cultural base in healthcare services themselves. A development model that might be adapted to assist in analysing this is the World Health Organisation Quality of Life Index (WHOQOL). Issues raised in the paper around community engagement, healthy choice and self-esteem are then illustrated in case examples of community-based arts in health practice in South Africa and England; namely the DramAide and Siyazama projects in KwaZulu-Natal, and Looking Well Healthy Living Centre in North Yorkshire. In South Africa there are arts and media projects attempting to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS through mass messaging, but they also recognize that they lack models of longer-term community engagement. Looking Well by contrast addresses health issues identified by the community itself in ways that are personal, empathic and domesticated. But there are also similarities among these projects in their aims to generate a range of social, educational and economic benefits within a community-health framework, and they are successfully regenerating traditional cultural forms to create public participation in health promotion. Process evaluation may provide a framework in which community-based arts in health projects, especially if they are networked together to share practice and thinking, can assess their ability to address health inequalities and focus better on health outcomes.


The purpose of this study was to examine postsecondary admissions outcomes for music and arts students as compared to their non-arts peers using nationally representative data (N = 14,900) from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002. Controlling for certain observable differences between students who do and do not elect arts courses, music students were more likely to apply to college and to attend college than their non-arts peers. Arts students were similar to non-arts students in terms of college selectivity and pursued science, technology, mathematics, and engineering majors at similar rates to non-arts students. This analysis suggests taking arts coursework in high school does not hinder successful college admissions outcomes as may be feared by well-intentioned guidance counselors or parents. Implications for college admission and local policies are considered.


Exposure to psychologically and emotionally distressing events can lead to a negative perception of self and others, impacting a number of critical life domains (e.g., social/interpersonal, physical/mental health, school/vocational functioning, and cultural and personal identity). Arguably, the transition to adulthood in the United States can be very traumatic, particularly for African American transition age-youth (TAY) who are disproportionately affected by racial discrimination and marginalization that impacts numerous aspects of their emerging adult lives. Despite stultifying external forces, music and the arts can be seen throughout socially progressive movements of U.S. history in attending to the suffering of persons of color. Rather than examining trauma from a deficit-based approach, strength-based foci may highlight crucial processes that contribute to positive worldview shifts. Adolescents' appreciation of music can bridge the unfilled gaps in treatment and better connect the therapist to the client. Research has demonstrated that adolescents sometimes have a difficult time connecting to therapists. In 1998, Dr. Edgar H. Tyson was the first to coin the phrase 'Hip-Hop therapy' and integrated Hip-Hop culture into mental health treatment through an artistic means that reached urban youth.The APA Multicultural Guidelines state that the intersection of various identities is essential in the transformation of marginalized individuals. The literature supports the need for an increase in attention to culture, increased cultural humility and collaboration between the clients and the clinicians. Hip-Hop has developed as a method the aids in the development of youth narratives. This research aims to explore the utilization of Hip-Hop as a means for African American TAY to tell their stories and improve their overall mental well-being using Hip-Hop as an African Centered empowerment approach. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)


Background: Art therapy uses the creative process to encourage personal growth and alleviate symptoms of mental illness. The Art Therapy Institute provides programs for refugee adolescents from Burma to decrease their trauma-related symptoms. This article describes and discusses the methods and findings from an evaluation of this program. The challenges of assessing art therapy with this population and assessment tool gaps are explored and suggestions for future evaluations discussed.
Method: Four validated clinical assessment tools were administered to 30 participants at baseline and follow-up to measure symptoms of anxiety, depression, and behavioral problems. Focus group discussions with clinicians were used to assess the evaluation.
lts: Nearly all participants had experienced one or more traumatic events. At baseline, results showed a higher prevalence of depression than national rates among adolescents. Follow-up results showed improvements in anxiety and self-concept. Qualitative findings suggest that specific benefits of art therapy were not adequately captured with the tools used.
Discussion: This evaluation showed some effects of art therapy; however, symptom-focused assessment tools are not adequate to capture clients' growth resulting from the traumatic experience and this unique intervention. Future evaluations will benefit by using an art-based assessment and measuring posttraumatic growth.


American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth face a history of adversity and trauma that are linked to academic and health concerns. Culturally grounded art-based interventions hold promise to address challenges faced by AI youth. AI culture and wisdom can evoke a sense of capability in youth that strengthens their resilience. This study sought to evaluate a culturally oriented art therapy curriculum on its impact on resilience, stress, and mood for AI youth (n = 36). A paired-samples t-test was conducted to compare the perceived stress scores of the participants before and after a 12-week art intervention. There was a significant decrease in participant perceived stress between the pre (M = 16.7, SD = 4.7) and post conditions (M = 20.4, SD = 4.6); t (24) =, -3.5 p = 0.002). A paired-samples t-test was conducted to compare the mood of each participant before and after each instance of art activity to see if there was a self-reported change in mood. There was a significant improvement in participant mood in 10 out of 11 of the intervention weeks. Although no statistically significant change was found in participant resilience, participants in this study did report high levels of resilience. This study provides promising evidence that a culturally salient after-school art curriculum program can reduce stress and improve mood for urban AI youth.


Background: The creative arts - music, film, visual arts, dance, theatre, spoken word, literature, among others - are gradually being recognised as effective health promotion tools to empower, engage and improve the health and well-being in Indigenous youth communities. Arts-based programming has also had positive impacts in promoting health, mental wellness and resiliency amongst youth. However, often times the impacts and successes of such programming are not formally reported on, as reflected by the paucity of evaluations and reports in the literature.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate a creative arts workshop for Tłįchǫ youth where youth explored critical community issues and found solutions together using the arts. We sought to identify the workshop's areas of success and challenge. Ultimately, our goal is to develop a community-led, youth-driven model to strengthen resiliency through youth engagement in the arts in circumpolar regions.

Design: Using a mixed-methods approach, we conducted observational field notes, focus groups, questionnaires, and reflective practice to evaluate the workshop. Four youth and five facilitators participated in this process overall.

Results: Youth reported gaining confidence and new skills, both artistic and personal. Many youth found the workshop to be engaging, enjoyable and culturally relevant. Youth expressed an interest in continuing their involvement with the arts and spreading their messages through art to other youth and others in their communities.

Conclusions: Engagement and participation in the arts have the potential to build resiliency, form relationships, and stimulate discussions for community change amongst youth living in the North.


The National Dance Education Organization (NDEO) undertook a review of recent studies of how dance impacts learning, with particular attention to several areas determined to be underresearched in the 2004 Research Priorities for Dance Education: A Report to the Nation (Bonbright and Faber). These areas included: Creative Process, Neuroscience/Brain Research, Student Achievement, Affective Domain, Student Performance, Equity, Cultural and World Dance, and Children-at-Risk. A group of researchers combed a variety of databases, including recent theses, dissertations, and articles within the Dance Education Literature and Research descriptive index (DELRdi), the Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), and a newly discovered collection of reports from the U.S Department of Education' Arts-in-Education programs in professional development and model programs. The researchers prepared evaluations and summaries of each study, article, or report that provided insight into the evidence of how dance education impacts teaching and learning in the first decade-plus of the 21st century


How can creating videos contribute to expanding health literacy? This article describes a participatory action research project with a group of Canadian Indigenous youth and their teachers. As the youth explored their interests about health and wellness through the artistic creation of videos, they developed a critical consciousness about community, culture, confidence, and control. They became mobilized and obtained information about health and wellness that allowed for the development and expansion of their notion of health literacy that included cultural conceptions of health and wellness.


Brief episodes of drawing work to improve mood, and this effect is most pronounced when people draw to distract themselves from an aversive memory rather than express their negative feelings. Here we investigated the effects of drawing repeatedly over one month to test whether drawing to express might lead to greater benefits than drawing to distract after one month. We induced a sad mood in participants (n = 60) and then randomly assigned them to use drawing to express, to distract, or to a control condition where they did not draw at all. We assessed mood, overall life satisfaction, heart rate and Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia (RSA) at the initial testing session and one-month later. Drawing to distract improved mood more than drawing to express after a single drawing session. Both conditions improved mood equally after one month and were similar to the control condition. Physiological measures improved after both a single session of drawing and after one month, and did so for both drawing conditions equally. The benefits of drawing are immediate and limited to single session of drawing and it seems the benefits of drawing are diluted over time.


Stories play a significant role in how we feel about and interact with the world. Narrative therapy and expressive arts therapy are major influences on the creation of expressive remix therapy, a new form of engagement with clients. This article is an exposition of this particular mental health modality. The use of digital media art in therapy in group settings will be discussed, and examples of how to use digital media art and technology in group therapy sessions are provided. The intention of this article is to promote a renewed appreciation for stories as the backdrop for all narrative work; it also seeks to inspire people to look at the practice of mental health differently, particularly the tools used to positively impact clients.


The Fertility Education Initiative was established in 2016 to provide education on fertility, modern families and reproductive science for young adults, teachers, health professionals, parents and adults. We report on our study to determine the feasibility and acceptability of using the arts to delivery fertility education in schools. The evaluation was mixed methods: (i) two focus groups with young people aged 14-16 and 16-18 were conducted to investigate attitudes to fertility awareness; and (ii) seventeen 16-22 year olds were divided into two groups and each undertook a day of art workshops that consisted of two visual and two theatrical workshops and then completed questionnaires at the end of each workshop and at the end of the day. The artists were interviewed using a semi-structured interview. Young adults confirmed they were interested in learning about fertility, but current understanding varied. The majority thought that fertility education should be delivered in schools at ages 16-18. During the art workshops they learnt some facts but asked for more science and discussion. They felt using art was powerful and they wanted to hear the artists personal stories. Tools using a number of platforms need to be developed that can be taken into schools nationally and evaluated for their engagement.


The Federal Plan for Equitable Long-Term Recovery and Resilience (Federal Plan for ELTRR) lays out an approach for federal agencies to cooperatively strengthen the vital conditions necessary for improving individual and community resilience and well-being nationwide. While the Federal Plan for ELTRR is presented on health.gov, it is inclusive of health and non-health sectors and was developed by a large Interagency Workgroup made up of representatives from across the federal government. The Plan is intended to be an inclusive, government-wide approach that leverages the breadth of federal resources — within existing authority for steady-state use — in a synchronized manner to equitably achieve enhanced resilience.


D5' Final State of the Work highlights voices of leaders in the field who share their stories of change and progress.  Some are longtime advocates; some are newer enthusiasts. Each of them shares a perspective on what has worked and what challenges remain as they lead their institutions through changes to meet the demands of a new America.
This final report catalogs the stories that tell of human impact and human struggle to create a more equitable philanthropy. Some of these stories are:

Rethinking Grantmaking: Using Data to Inform Investments The Meyer Memorial Trust uses data to achieve more equitable grantmaking
Engaging Diversity in a Once-Homogeneous City The Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque takes action to encourage inclusivity and celebrate diversity
Increasing Accessibility in the Arts The Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council fosters greater access to arts and culture


Background: This study examined the degree to which individuals' sense  of  self-determination  and  internal  locus  of  control  might  be  suitable  constructs  to  study  in  relation  to  fine  arts  participation  in  adults with complex developmental disabilities.Method: Thirty-four participants in fine arts programs and eight non-participants, all with disabilities involving neuromuscular impairment and varying degrees of cognitive impairment, completed measures of locus of control and of sense of self-determination.Results:  No  significant  differences  on  quantitative  measures  were  found among high users, low users or non-users of arts programming. Qualitative  results  suggest  that  fine  arts  participants,  relative  to  non-participants,  are  more  likely  to  de-emphasize  “luck”  in  favor  of  effort  and  ambition  in  attributions  about  their  circumstances  and  accomplishments.Conclusion: While quantitative findings did not suggest a relationship between  either  self-determination  or  locus  of  control  and  arts  participation,  the  qualitative  findings  suggest  that  the  constructs  might be useful ones to study in relation to arts participation


Many K-12 students lack access to arts courses and expe- riences. Students in high-poverty schools, schools with large minority
populations, and rural schools tend to have the least access to high-quality education in music, fine arts, theatre, and dance.1 Some schools offer no arts courses at all, and many state policymakers likely do not know where the gaps are.
The gaps are important. Participation in school-based arts has been linked to stu- dents' better academic outcomes, graduation rates, community engagement, engagement in school, and postsecondary success.2 Arts education is also a means by which students acquire critical thinking skills.3
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) named instruction in the arts as an essential component of a well-rounded education and offered several avenues by which states could enhance students' ability to participate in arts education. But a key step for state policymakers is learning what the data say about where arts are taught and where they are not. State boards of education can help by encouraging their states to collect and report statewide data on students' access to arts education, as California and New Jersey have done.
To address the gaps that those data reveal, state boards can go further, opting to add arts participation and access measures in state accountability systems, as Kentucky and Illinois have. States may choose to
require courses in visual and performing
arts as part of their high school graduation requirements, as Kentucky and New Jersey have.4 State boards can also support collab- orations with local art organizations and urge districts and schools with the largest con- centrations of low-income students to embed the arts in school improvement strategies.


The authors utilize Photovoice methodology to engage in an examination of the possibilities of counternarrative through the photographs, oral accounts and drawings of three inner-city youths. In the process, this article seeks to expand upon and challenge prior uses of Photovoice methodologies and Critical Youth Engagement. The authors posit the existence of an Adult-Child Imaginary which speaks to the distinction between researchers' aims for community engagement in a given project and children' desires for relationality. In the process the article suggests ways of thinking about how research listens and responds to voices of youth in creating transformative community projects.


This historical narrative tracks the evolution and devolution of visual arts education from Dewey's progressive era pedagogy and the theory of the arts as experience through the modern accountability movement. Archival material, state curricular documents, and conversations with policymakers show an increasing focus on core subject areas of reading, writing, and mathematics at the expense of arts education. Texas House Bill 3, the third generation of accountability legislation in the Lone Star State, provides a case study of the status of arts education after more than fifteen years of high-stakes testing and accountability. Policy considerations are offered for arts education and its future standing within the public educational curriculum.


Youth face a number of obstacles during adolescence that can make achieving a healthy trajectory into adulthood challenging. An abundance of literature indicates that the ability to effectively self-regulate is an important factor that helps youth navigate some of these challenges and is predictive of positive development (Dahl, 2004; Masten, 2004). Self-regulation is characterized by the ability to plan, guide, and monitor one' thoughts, feelings, behavior, and motivation to achieve self-set goals (Zimmerman, 2000). Although evidence shows that a number of youth contexts (family, school, athletics, etc.) can promote young people' self-regulation skills, there is very little evidence on how recreation programs may act a context to foster self-regulation. Yet, recreation programs are well positioned to serve as an important context that can promote self-regulation skill development in youth. This article examines the literature on self-regulation, youth development, and recreation programming, and offers recreation professionals suggestions on how to support self-regulation in youth. We argue that practitioners should leverage fun and enjoyment, activities that have developmental attributes, and a positive social context to promote self-regulation. More specifically, the underlying developmental qualities within recreation activities that support self-regulatory skills are those that are goal oriented, challenging, and build skills. These types of activities provide the opportunity to engage in the cognitive processing, motivation, and self-directed behaviors that reflect effective self-regulation (Larson, 2000; Watts & Caldwell, 2008). Moreover, the social context within recreation programs provides meaningful opportunities for participants to build healthy adult-youth and peer relationships (Bocarro & Witt, 2003), which this relational mechanism is argued to be the basis for developing self-regulation. The social fabric inherent to these programs is well situated for adults to scaffold opportunities that teach youth how to plan, guide, and monitor their efforts towards achieving self-set goals. Collectively, it appears that both the activities and relational mechanisms integral to recreation programs are well situated to support self-regulation in youth, yet their intentional application to a recreation setting has received little attention. However, if recreation professionals intentionally and proactively work to promote self-regulation, their programs may directly address this critical aspect of positive youth development.


As grantmakers strive to help nonprofits succeed in today' difficult environment, one practice stands out as part of the solution: general operating support. In this publication, based in part on a GEO listserv discussion, GEO explores the nature of general operating support, how to make the case for it within your organization, and how to make it work.


Problem, research strategy, and findings: There is a conflict between recent creative placemaking policies intended to promote positive neighborhood development through the arts and the fact that the arts have long been cited as contributing to gentrification and the displacement of lower-income residents. Unfortunately, we do not have data to demonstrate widespread evidence of either outcome. We address the dearth of comprehensive research and inform neighborhood planning efforts by statistically testing how two different groups of arts activities—the fine arts and commercial arts industries—are associated with conditions indicative of revitalization and gentrification in 100 large U.S. metropolitan areas. We find that different arts activities are associated with different types and levels of neighborhood change. Commercial arts industries show the strongest association with gentrification in rapidly changing areas, while the fine arts are associated with stable, slow-growth neighborhoods.
Takeaway for practice: This research can help planners to more effectively incorporate the arts into neighborhood planning efforts and to anticipate the potential for different outcomes in their arts development strategies, including gentrification-related displacement.


Considerable anecdotal evidence indicates that amusement rides and trips to the zoo contribute to the happiness of children. Little published research is available, however, on whether participation in such recreational activities also contributes to the health of children. The importance of amusement activities for ill or hospitalized children has long been recognized by health care providers. Children with cancer identify amusement as an important aspect of care.1 In Japan, the use of virtual amusement has shown positive results for hospitalized children.2


Research indicates ways in which alternative school students are exposed to alarming rates of complex trauma in the United States. When students endure various traumatic events, they can potentially face barriers to a quality of life, including poor academic performance, mental health concerns, and a decline in their overall physical health. The Storiez Intervention is a trauma informed tool for therapists to utilize as they support youth in creating and processing personal narratives and expressive artwork rooted in a strengths-based practice (Corrado, 2016). However, research evaluating the effectiveness of the Storiez Intervention is limited, especially as it relates to implementing the Storiez Intervention in alternative school settings and its impact on academic performance and mental well-being of students who participate in the intervention. This study was designed to support alternative school students in honoring and celebrating their personal stories, while providing safe spaces to process important life events lingering in the conscious and subconscious psyche. The Storiez Intervention was facilitated by a mental health therapist at a northern Delaware alternative school, during the 2020-2021 academic school year. A total of twelve middle school students underwent the intervention for six consecutive weeks, during their academic school day. Results of the study indicated a clinically significant decrease in student's Depression Anxiety and Stress Scores (DASS-21) scores during the post intervention phase. Participants' academic grades remained unchanged after implementation of the Storiez Intervention. Written narratives and artwork depicted a blend of pleasant and unpleasant experiences, indicating moments of triumph and adversity can benefit from the Storiez Intervention in a group therapy setting. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)


Objectives: Guided by the hypothesis that the arts can play a role in changing attitudes, beliefs, and health behaviors, the objectives of the study were to (1) overview artistic practices, interventions, and research being conducted at the intersection of the arts and health communication and (2) identify desired and observed outcomes and variables measured in these studies.
Data source: The search strategy was developed iteratively with 2 health science librarians and conducted using 8 databases (Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts, Art and Architecture Source, CINAHL, Communication and Mass Media Complete, ERIC, PsycINFO, PubMed, and Web of Science) and hand searching. Articles included were published between 2014 and 2018.
Study inclusion and exclusion criteria: Inclusion criteria include US nonclinical setting and use of the arts (broadly defined) to change health knowledge, beliefs, behaviors, or awareness. Any articles not meeting inclusion criteria were excluded.
Data extraction: Covidence's data extraction tool exported to MS Excel.
Data synthesis: This final set of results was analyzed and synthesized by research design, population, sample size, health issue, purpose, variables measured, and findings.
Results: In all, 78 articles met inclusion criteria. Number of participants ranged from 4 to 2140 (mean = 179); 61 (78.2%) outcome studies, including 8 experimental studies; 17 (21.79%) formative research or reports. Many different health topics were addressed and different art forms used.
Conclusion: The arts can help build knowledge and awareness of health issues. The authors highlight the need to build an evidence base for arts and public health.


Background Over the past 30 years, numerous studies have been performed that assess the efficacy of intraoperative music as an adjunctive means to regional and local anaesthesia to improve clinical outcomes. Despite an emerging body of evidence and growing adoption of music in surgical settings, the variety of interventions studied, and the heterogeneity of outcomes and outcome measurement tools applied makes difficult the task of aggregating evidence. Objective This study assesses the state of the field of intraoperative musical interventions by documenting and visualising the breadth of outcomes measured in studies. Design Scoping review and evidence map. Methods Three electronic databases (PubMed, Embase and a music-focussed research database, RILM (International Music Literature Repository)) were searched for full-text articles published between January 1991 and July 2019. Results from these searches were screened and relevant data was extracted from full-text articles on type of music intervention and type of anaesthesia; outcomes measured were recorded in an evidence map in order to identify the current state of the field and assess for trends in outcome measurements. Interventions Music administered to adult patients via headphones or speakers under regional or local sedation in during the intraoperative period. Results Twenty-one studies with a total of 2283 patients were included. A total of 42 unique outcomes were measured across the 21 studies, with each measuring an average of 6.41±2.63 outcomes. Systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, anxiety, pain, patient satisfaction, respiratory rate and sedation requirements were the most prevalent outcomes reported. Only 15 outcome measures (36%) were used in more than one study, while the remaining 27 outcome measures (64%) were identified in only one study in our review. Conclusions Our scoping review identifies that almost two-thirds of studies in this field used >1 outcome measure unique to that study (not also used in other studies), which hinders opportunities to aggregate data across studies and meta-analyse evidence. Future studies should provide clear documentation regarding the intervention and consider using valid and reliable outcome tools. Researchers should consider standardisation when appropriate and adopting the use of core outcome sets for conditions where these sets have been developed.


At Sparketh, we believe that each person should look after his or her mental and emotional health, and that art can be a powerful tool for this kind of self care.

Learning how to take care of your mind and emotions is something that should start early in life. From childhood, you begin to create mental health habits (both good and bad) which have to do with how you process life events.  We all know that growing up can be difficult in the best of circumstances. And confusing or traumatic events present kids and teens with challenges that they probably don't know how to communicate about, or cope with. Therefore, it' so important to give kids as many tools as we can to help them develop and establish good mental health habits from a young age. One activity that can help anyone nurture positive emotional and mental habits -but especially kids and teens- is regularly creating art.

Creating art on a regular basis can help young people process, understand, and communicate complicated thoughts and emotions.  Today, I want to talk about just a few of the ways that art supports good mental health in kids and teens.  Some of these may be familiar, but others will probably surprise you.


From 2017 to 2019, the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research and Ingenuity, a Chicago arts education advocacy organization, collaborated to examine the relationship between arts education and social-emotional development. Combining arts-specific research with multidisciplinary literature on child and adolescent development, the Consortium published a report in 2019 in which they proposed a theory for how arts learning experiences can help develop young people's social-emotional competencies. Their theory of action starts from this premise: What is usually refer to as arts education--putting on a theatre production, playing violin in the school orchestra, or creating a mural in an afterschool arts program--consists of many smaller daily experiences, or art practices, such as auditioning for a part in a play, practicing a musical piece, or learning to mix paint colors. They argue that each of these daily art practices also has social-emotional components to them. Thus art practices simultaneously offer opportunities for both artistic and social-emotional learning. Just as daily art practices are the building blocks for developing arts competencies, the social-emotional components of these art practices are the building blocks for developing social-emotional competencies.


Social and emotional competencies (SEC) are critical for success in school and life, as they include the ability to interact with others, regulate one' emotions and behavior, solve problems, and communicate effectively. Research and practice show that dance experiences enhance social-emotional development, yet less is known about the mechanisms through which this occurs. To address this, 110 SEC and dance articles were reviewed to inform the development of a Theory of Change to explain how dance may promote SEC. Self-intimation, nonverbal expression and communication, embodied cognition and learning, synchrony, and a supportive learning environment emerged as the key components of dance practice that may facilitate SEC. Evidence for these components and research, practice, and policy implications are discussed.


Background: This scoping review analyzed research about how music activities may affect participants' health and well-being. Primary outcomes were measures of health (including symptoms and health behaviors) and well-being. Secondary measures included a range of psychosocial processes such as arousal, mood, social connection, physical activation or relaxation, cognitive functions, and identity. Diverse music activities were considered: receptive and intentional music listening; sharing music; instrument playing; group singing; lyrics and rapping; movement and dance; and songwriting, composition, and improvisation.
Methods: Nine databases were searched with terms related to the eight music activities and the psychosocial variables of interest. Sixty-three papers met selection criteria, representing 6,975 participants of all ages, nationalities, and contexts.
Results: Receptive and intentional music listening were found to reduce pain through changes in physiological arousal in some studies but not others. Shared music listening (e.g., concerts or radio programs) enhanced social connections and mood in older adults and in hospital patients. Music listening and carer singing decreased agitation and improved posture, movement, and well-being of people with dementia. Group singing supported cognitive health and well-being of older adults and those with mental health problems, lung disease, stroke, and dementia through its effects on cognitive functions, mood, and social connections. Playing a musical instrument was associated with improved cognitive health and well-being in school students, older adults, and people with mild brain injuries via effects on motor, cognitive and social processes. Dance and movement with music programs were associated with improved health and well-being in people with dementia, women with postnatal depression, and sedentary women with obesity through various cognitive, physical, and social processes. Rapping, songwriting, and composition helped the well-being of marginalized people through effects on social and cultural inclusion and connection, self-esteem and empowerment.
Discussion: Music activities offer a rich and underutilized resource for health and well-being to participants of diverse ages, backgrounds, and settings. The review provides preliminary evidence that particular music activities may be recommended for specific psychosocial purposes and for specific health conditions.


The benefits of art in a child' education are widespread. Art can help kids express themselves and understand the world around them. Art is usually a hands-on experience and fun. For low-income students, studies have found that kids who have more arts education in school see long-term benefits by both academic and social standards.

Tori Wardrip, an art teacher at Lewis and Clark Middle School in Billings, Montana, wanted to explore the benefits of art more deeply while addressing some of the mental health issues she saw students experiencing.

Last year, Wardrip launched Creative Courage, a school-based support group for students struggling with mental health concerns. Similar to individual counseling, support groups often encourage individuals to speak about their struggles. But talking about mental health can make people feel vulnerable, especially adolescents. This is why Creative Courage uses nonverbal tools, like mindfulness, journaling and art activities, to help kids identify and express their emotions.

"Students can be closed off, especially if they feel like outcasts," says Wardrip. "I wanted to create a 'safe' space where they could express what they're going through."

While the creative process in Wardrip's group is an open canvas, each self-expression exercise teaches the students an emotional skill, like self-awareness, social skills and self-acceptance.
For example, students may create “mood mandalas” by drawing and coloring symbols to convey their inner worlds. They can also paint their worries on small “comfort” boxes and fill the container with personal items that bring solace. Others list their insecurities in “place book” journals, including healing words, like “Learn to accept your flaws and learn to accept beauty.” All group members receive “place books” where they privately record their thoughts and feelings.
During each gathering, Wardrip shares phrases like, “Remember, you don't feel better by feeling less” and “Your thoughts are always valid.” Using these prompts, she invites students to begin a discussion. Although they're not required to participate, most of them do. For many students, being surrounded by a community of nonjudgmental listeners helps them open up, and kids who once felt afraid begin to feel brave, according to Wardrip.


A recent study of single-ticket buyers and subscribers at a major regional theatre - Actors Theatre of Louisville, Kentucky - focused on measuring quantitatively the psychological benefits of engaging with theatre and gathering qualitatively observations by focus groups. Both confirmed the hypothesis that regular attendance promotes flourishing and meaningful social interaction, psychological stimulation, and positive emotions. The study also affirms that attending theatre contributes to a shared sense of community, this at a time when such community appears starkly diminished in the United States. In addition, focus groups wished that audiences better reflected the demographic diversity outside the auditorium. Evident disparities include urban vs. rural, prosperous vs. not, more education vs. less, black vs. white - reflecting those that splinter national politics. One microcosm of one theatre's audience provokes suggestions to foster a more democratic audience and plural istic culture that endeavours to cross rather than ignore the divides. Russell Vandenbroucke is Professor of Theatre at the University of Louisville and Director of its Peace, Justice & Con flict Transformation programme. He was previously Artistic Director of Chicago's Northlight Theatre. Suzanne Meeks is Professor and Chair of the Psychological and Brain Sciences Department, University of Louisville. Her research focuses on mental health in later life.


This article explores an Arab American community arts organization as a site for promoting youth civic participation and social activism. Studying a citizenship education project outside the school walls, and focusing on the arts as a medium for this work, foregrounds the role of the symbolic for engaging youth as active participants in democratic society. The article also examines the symbolic political argument for p


Many studies have emerged in recent years examining the impact of the arts on educational outcomes, physical and mental health outcomes, local economies, and community well-being. Yet considerably less attention has been given to the impact that participation in the arts has on social behaviour that promotes a civil society. This study seeks to remedy this gap in the literature by examining the effect that both audience-based arts participation and direct participation in the arts have on three measures of civil society. We rely on data from the General Social Survey, which offers information on the arts participation behaviour of a random sample of adults living in the USA (n=1.341). Multivariate analysis is used to estimate the effects of audience-based arts participation as well as personal participation in the arts (creating art) on three dimensions of civil society: Civic engagement, social tolerance, and other-regarding behaviour. We find strong evidence that the arts enhance civil society. Both audience-based participation in the arts and personal participation in creating art are linked to higher levels of civic engagement, higher levels of social tolerance on some dimensions of the measure, and higher levels of other-regarding behaviour. Our findings have important implications, in that they demonstrate a strong association between the arts and individual-level social outcomes that contribute to the health of civil society.


Determining the factors that influence implementation of school-based wellbeing and health programs is essential for achieving desired program effects. Using a convergent mixed-methods, multiple informant design, this study considered factors that influence implementation of health programs for ninth grade students and in what ways implementation is differentially perceived by multiple informants (i.e., participants, instructors, and independent observers). Two types of programs mindfulness and health education were implemented with ninth graders (N = 70) in three schools situated in low-resourced urban neighborhoods. Study outcomes were derived from four data sources: (1) focus group participants (N = 45); (2) program instructor fidelity ratings; (3) independent observer fidelity ratings and notes; and (4) instructor open-ended session responses. Using thematic and mixed methods integration analyses, we identified themes related to implementation promoting or challenging factors. Theme names differed when data sources were separately analyzed by informant. Mixed methods integration analysis indicated that four themes were common across all informant groups: (1) competent, attentive, and engaging instructors are essential; (2) programs should involve interactive components (e.g., physical activities, applied learning opportunities); (3) adequate time for program delivery is key for student exposure and engagement; and (4) students' availability and preferences should guide program scheduling. A fifth theme, unique to instructor and observer perspectives, was that program implementation was negatively impacted by distractions from multiple sources, including instructors, students, and settings. Recommendations from students, instructors, and observers for implementation optimization are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)


Through this study the authors evaluate the Prodigy Cultural Arts Program, an early prevention program for adjudicated youth. A quasi experimental pre- and posttest was conducted. A significant reduction in mental health symptoms (particularly for females) and behavioral dysregulation (particularly for males), and increases in academic performance and family functioning were found. There was also a relationship between decreased mental health symptomology and perceived academic performance. The Prodigy Cultural Arts Program appears to be successful in intervening with youth who present challenges to the juvenile justice system due to the complexity of their mental health symptoms, behavioral regulation difficulties, and/or gender.


The recent wave of test-based accountability reforms has negatively impacted the provision of K-12 arts educational experiences. Advocates contend that, in addition to providing intrinsic benefits, the arts can positively influence academic and social development. However, the empirical evidence to support such claims is limited. We conducted a randomized controlled trial with 10,548 3rd8th grade students who were enrolled in 42 schools that were assigned by lottery to receive substantial influxes of arts education experiences provided through school-community partnerships with local arts organizations, cultural institutions, and teaching-artists. We find that these increases in arts educational experiences significantly reduce the proportion of students receiving disciplinary infractions by 3.6 percentage points, improve STAAR writing achievement by 0.13 of a standard deviation, and increase students' compassion for others by 0.08 of a standard deviation. For students in elementary schools, which comprise 86 percent of the sample, we find that these arts educational experiences also significantly improve school engagement, college aspirations, and arts-facilitated empathy. These findings provide strong evidence that arts educational experiences can produce significant positive impacts on student academic and social development. Policymakers should consider these multifaceted educational benefits when assessing the role and value of the arts in K-12 schools


In this thesis I explore how youth spatially perceive their environment in the Fruitvale, an inner city neighborhood in Oakland, California. Through my fieldwork I created a visual map of how youth view their spaces in the neighborhood and what constraints are being imposed on their space with little consideration. In studying the spatial patterns of youth my goal was to uncover the extent to which spatial constraints might be affecting their opportunities for positive development and integration into the neighborhood. I explored their situation within the context of a harsh-on-crime political climate in California over the past fifteen years. In the case of the Fruitvale historical economic and population shifts leading to the concentration of poverty, have caused the creation of informal aggressive subcultures involving drugs, gangs and prostitution. These have grown to dominate youth space on the street and have had large implications on safety. The lack of neighborhood safety is limiting the way youth use space, further limiting their access to greater neighborhood services which can potentially provide them with the support that they need to develop in positive ways and in their transition to adulthood.
Given the situation I focused on neighborhood strengths to develop recommendations for addressing the concerns of youth spatial safety. I found these strengths in the amazing work of neighborhood institutions. The Fruitvale neighborhood has a diverse concentration of institutions which have triggered many local changes to improve the conditions of residents. In my recommendations I propose expanding spatial safety by building on community strengths and lessons through the collaboration of neighborhood institutions. Using a similar concept to the Main Streets program currently existing on the eastern side of the neighborhood, I propose the creation of a Youth Empowerment Zone (YEZ) for community well-being. The YEZ would use physical, collaborative, and youth integration methods to link neighborhood institutions and provide a safe, fun and empowering spatial environment for youth while offering all the essential needs for positive youth development.


Prior research has suggested an association between increased musical training and extra-musical outcomes, but these studies are primarily correlational, focused on instrumental music, and provide limited information about the type of musical intervention. In the current study, we perform the first randomized controlled study investigating whether more time in general music in kindergarten results in better executive functioning, self-perception, and attitudes towards school. Control students received an average of 45 min of general music class per week while treatment students received 2-7 times more minutes per week. Both control and treatment students had applied to attend a school or program of intensive general music study serving primarily low-income students. Analyses from end-of-kindergarten data revealed no significant group differences on our outcome measures. Results fail to show an association between increased time spent in general music learning and stronger extra-musical outcomes.


The Discovering Relationship Using Music, Beliefs, Emotions, Attitudes & Thoughts (DRUMBEAT) program used drumming as a way of engaging at risk youth in a form of musical expression, while simultaneously incorporating themes and discussions relating to healthy relationships with others. The program targeted young people who are alienated from the school system. An evaluation was undertaken with a sample of 60 program participants in Western Australia's Wheatbelt region. The evaluation used both quantitative and qualitative methods, including informal discussions with staff and participants, observation, participant and teacher questionnaires, and school attendance and behavioural incident records. Pre- and postintervention data were collected on self-esteem, school attendance, antisocial behaviour, and levels of cooperation and collaboration. Students participating in DRUMBEAT increased their scores over a range of social indicators that act to increase connection with the school community. The results support the underlying program theory, that combining the therapeutic potential of musical expression with basic cognitive-behavioural therapy can be used successfully to deliver a range of social learning outcomes, including emotional control, improved relationships and increased self-esteem. Further longitudinal studies are required to assess the sustainability of the measured outcomes and their vulnerability to external factors.


This interdisciplinary research project investigates theatre as intervention for youth with autism (ASD). During the summer of 2014, 18 youth with autism and their nine non-ASD peers participated in a five-week long theatre conservatory program held in conjunction with the highly acclaimed The Miracle Project (TMP) by Elaine Hall and California State University, Northridge' Teenage Drama Workshop (TADW). It culminated in the creation and a total of five public performances of a new musical “Joining the Spectrum.” This report delineates the outcomes of a multi-disciplinary research and data analysis based on pre-and posttest questionnaires and structured behavioral observations, inquiring into the potential impact of inclusive theatre on the lives of youth with an autism diagnosis and their families. Victor Turner' theory of theatre as a liminal art is fortified by a few emerging literature on therapeutic theatre as well as TMP' inclusive theatre intervention for youth with ASD. Following the introduction and literature review, four specific dimensions of research are expounded. First, this study investigates the impact of participation in theatre on youth with autism, and the possibilities this participation might yield in generating personal and interpersonal transformations. Second, it examines the effects that youth participation in theatre has on the family members and caretakers of youth with autism. Third, the study explores the role that inclusive theatre experiences can play in creating compassion and understanding among non-ASD (or neurotypical) youth' increasing knowledge about autism and about themselves. Finally, the study examines the impact inclusive theatre performances can have on audience members. Each of these topics are investigated, in turn, by exploring impact of inclusive theatre experiences involving youth on the autism spectrum in collaboration with their non-ASD peers, in the development, rehearsal, and performance of theatrical productions. The conclusion summarizes result findings that positively affirm the impact of inclusive theatre experience on youth with ASD, neurotypical youth, families, and the audience


Engagement in creative art activities has shown to enhance youth' psychosocial wellbeing and increase their participation in contexts of adversity. This paper explores the ways that YouCreate, a youth-led arts-based Participatory Action Research (PAR) pilot project designed by the International Institute for Child Rights and Development and Terre des hommes, provides a space for youth who have experienced migration and adversity to enhance their experience of meaningful participation. 950 youth in Egypt and Iraq were involved in youth-led psychosocial arts and community change projects. The research revealed that at a personal level, youth gained a sense of purpose and hope that supported them to envision a future, as well as developed artistic skills, life skills and a sense of self-discovery. Youth found new ways to express themselves, and the confidence to engage with their peers and fellow community members. Youth gained social respect from members of their family, community and from their peers, and social cohesion increased as they learned how to create communities inclusive of gender and ethnicity. Logistical, procedural and ethical challenges arose through the pilot which were navigated throughout YouCreate that led to important learning. This research revealed the power that an arts-based PAR method can have on strengthening youth' wellbeing and enhancing their capacity and opportunities to engage in wider society, including in decision making.


The Young Lives Research Laboratory is concerned with the lives of modern youth from education to technology to mental health. Technology is ubiquitous in the day to day lives of young people in Canada but little is known about the ways in which digital media affects their mental health, especially for Indigenous youth. Research seldom engages youth to clarify and or interrogate digital media and well-being. This paper addresses the dearth of empirical work and supports the development of practices which better reflect and address health impacts of digital technology on young lives. In using an empowering participatory process to provide Indigenous youth opportunity and tools to produce short digital story films helped them to reflect their unique experiences with digital media and its role in both personal and community well-being. The study also explores youth-produced filmmaking as an effective medium for communicating technology-related experiences and challenges. We share youth-produced films to exemplify the cultural process and products that arose in this project.


During a classroom-based study that featured wordless and almost wordless picturebooks, instruction and adult mediation communicated to Kindergarten children that elements of visual art, design, and layout are fundamental to meaning-making when transacting with this format of literature. The illustration techniques described by Ray (2010) were used as an analytical lens to analyze the transcripts from the small group interactive sessions of an almost wordless picturebook featured during the research. The descriptive analyses of the transcripts reveal the rich viewing and talking opportunities that can be afforded during children' transactions with almost wordless picturebooks when these selections of literature are situated as aesthetic objects, and when children and adult mediators understand and appreciate how meaning is individually and synergistically represented by elements of visual art, design and layout. The findings are discussed in relation to the literature reviewed, and the theoretical frameworks of social semiotics and sociocultural theory. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)


To make the transition to adulthood, youth must learn to function in the complex and unpredictable “real world” of adult life. This is an intensive case study of an urban arts program that sought to provide youth with experiences that prepared them for the real world of arts careers. We conducted 75 interviews with 12 youth and their adult leader over three cycles of engagement with the real world. Analyses suggest that participants experienced a developmental process that entailed experiences of dissonance and challenge followed by active adaptive learning. The adult leaders played a critical role in supporting this developmental process through balancing to maintain an approximate fit between the challenges youth experienced and their abilities to respond to these challenges.


This article examines whether exposure to the arts has an effect on the ability of students to engage in critical thinking. We conduct a randomized controlled trial involving 3,811 students who were assigned by lottery to participate in a School Visit Program at the newly opened Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Students who participated in the School Visit Program demonstrated significantly stronger critical thinking skills when analyzing a new painting. These effects were larger for students from more disadvantaged backgrounds. In light of recent declines in the availability of the arts for disadvantaged populations, our results have important policy implications for efforts to restore and expand access to the arts.


This study examined a university-community partnership, focusing on mental health promotion within an after-school music program. We pursued two goals: (a) supporting staff around student engagement and behavior management; (b) integrating social-emotional activities into the curriculum. We assessed youth' mental health needs and examined feasibility of social-emotional activities delivered. One-hundred sixty-two youth participated in activities, while a subset of youth (n = 61) and their parents provided information on mental health need. Rates of anxiety and depression symptoms were high, and youth reported high satisfaction with the activities. Results suggest promise of this model for mental health promotion for urban youth.


Arts have long addressed the conditions that cause ill health, such as poverty, social inequality, and structural racism, and have recently taken on increased significance for public health. This article illuminates the potential for cross-sector collaboration between community-based health promotion and community-engaged arts to address the social determinants of health and build neighborhood assets at multiple levels of the social-ecological model. It features Skywatchers, a collaborative community arts ensemble of artists and residents of the culturally rich but economically poor Tenderloin neighborhood in San Francisco, California, and its original values-based “relational, durational, conversational, and structural” methodology focused on process over product and leveraging arts for justice and equity. Now, 10 years into its work, Skywatchers offers lessons about building reciprocal relationships, cocreating artworks, and promoting arts-based advocacy to improve the conditions that foster poor health in the neighborhood. The article discusses implications for community-based health promotion practice that delineate commitments and challenges shared between the two fields, their distinct roles and tools, and the potential for more widespread partnerships. It concludes with implications for policy and advocacy and a vision for expanded community-based participatory research to better understand the impact of arts on community health and well-being.


Understanding the benefits of the arts is central to the discussion and design of policies affecting the arts. This study addresses the widely perceived need to articulate the
private and public benefits of involvement in the arts. The findings are intended to
engage the arts community and the public in a new dialogue about the value of the
arts, to stimulate further research, and to help public and private policymakers reach
informed decisions.
Recent policy debates about the arts—their role in society, how they should be
funded, whether they are thriving or suffering—have been hampered by limitations
in available data and the absence of a developed body of rigorous and independent
research on the arts. Over the last several years, the RAND Corporation has been
building a body of research on the arts to help inform public policy. In a series of reports on the performing arts, the media arts, and the visual arts, RAND researchers
have been describing what is known—and not known—about the ecology of the
arts, including recent trends in public involvement, numbers and types of arts organizations, sources and levels of financial support, and numbers and employment circumstances of artists working in different fields. RAND researchers have also examined how to build participation in the arts and whether partnerships between arts
organizations and schools in California' Los Angeles School District are working
effectively. In addition, ongoing research is being conducted to analyze innovative
practices that state arts agencies across the country have adopted to encourage greater
local participation in the arts.
This study is one in a series of publications on research in the arts conducted
within RAND Enterprise Analysis, a division of the RAND Corporation. It was
made possible by a grant from The Wallace Foundation, which seeks to support and
share effective ideas and practices that expand learning and enrichment opportunities
for all people. The Foundation' three current objectives are to strengthen education
leadership in ways that improve student achievement, to improve out-of-school
learning opportunities, and to expand participation in arts and culture.


Objective: To determine whether a single exposure to a Manga comic (Japanese comic art) with multiple messages promoting fruit intake influenced snack selection in minority urban youth.

Methods: Fifty-seven youth (mean age 10.8 y; 54% female; 74% black/African American) attending after-school programs in Brooklyn, NY participated in a pilot study in which they were randomly assigned to receive the comic or a non-health-related newsletter. After reading their media, participants were offered a snack and could choose from among healthy/unhealthy options. Secondary outcomes included knowledge, self-efficacy, and outcome expectations related to fruit intake and media transportation. Data were analyzed using regression and paired t test.

Results: Comic group participants were significantly more likely to choose a healthy snack, compared to the Attention-control group (odds ratio = 3.6, 95% confidence interval: 1.1-12.1, P = .04). The Comic group reported increases in self-efficacy (P = .04) and greater transportation (immersion into media) (P = .006).

Conclusions and implications: Results suggest Manga comics may be a useful format to promote healthy snack selection in urban minority youth.


Clement Alexander Price's text constructs what few would attempt at increasingly perilous times for the arts - a social field that locates arts policy within a historically determined matrix. This movement for arts inclusion was forwarded not by the powerful bureaucracies in the arts (museums, ballet companies, symphonies, and so on) but by artists, activists, and those who had a stake as American art producers in an ultimate balance of trade between art as a form of material culture and the enrtrepreneurial elites who exhibit, market, promote and sell art. The large and influential bureaucracies mentioned by Price came in at half-time after the thunder and lightning had passed in order to access even larger pieces of the pluralist pie with add-on programs geared to minority interests. The redispersal of the tribes and reallocation of small-to-some/large- to-others sums of money, networks, and resources, which have befallen the arts now at fin de siecle, is a long-run performance with statutory encores demanded by the lack of resolution to what Price and others are now calling pluralism. In 1995, pluralism is trapped in the cultural difference debates, and arts inclusionary policies with it, simply because the vanquished powers have refused to avow the oneness of humanity as a central principle of public policy, civic culture and the art world.


This project was commissioned by Akonadi Foundation and the Kenneth Rainin Foundation to address the lack of research on small, grassroots arts and culture organizations serving communities of color in Oakland, California. This research investigates the specificity of this sector of the ecosystem—its geography, existing infrastructure, assets, and challenges. By aggregating and analyzing the limited data on these organizations, interviewing a diverse cohort of stakeholders, and gathering existing research on organizations of color and the informal arts sector, this research project takes a first step toward understanding a complex and vibrant sector that builds social bonds, addresses community needs, and contributes to a strong sense of place in Oakland. This benchmark project will encourage funders to adopt intentional investment strategies to support the long-term stability of this important sector.


The neuroscience of music and music-based interventions (MBIs) is a fascinating but challenging research field. While music is a ubiquitous component of every human society, MBIs may encompass listening to music, performing music, music-based movement, undergoing music education and training, or receiving treatment from music therapists. Unraveling the brain circuits activated and influenced by MBIs may help us gain better understanding of the therapeutic and educational values of MBIs by gathering strong research evidence. However, the complexity and variety of MBIs impose unique research challenges. This article reviews the recent endeavor led by the National Institutes of Health to support evidence-based research of MBIs and their impact on health and diseases. It also highlights fundamental challenges and strategies of MBI research with emphases on the utilization of animal models, human brain imaging and stimulation technologies, behavior and motion capturing tools, and computational approaches. It concludes with suggestions of basic requirements when studying MBIs and promising future directions to further strengthen evidence-based research on MBIs in connections with brain circuitry.


Sense of agency refers to the ability to influence one's functioning and environment, relating to self-efficacy, and wellbeing. In youth, agency may be challenged by external demands or redefinition of self-image. Music, having heightened relevance for the young, has been argued to provide feelings of self-agency for them. Yet, there is little empirical research on how music impacts adolescents' daily sense of agency. The current study investigated whether music listening influences adolescents' perceived agency in everyday life and which contextual determinants would explain such an influence. Participants were 44 adolescents (48% female, 36% with training in music, mean age 14), recruited through local schools. The mobile Experience Sampling app MuPsych was used to collect brief self-reports of personal music listening experiences during daily life. This method assessed the change in the listener's perceived control over both their emotional states (internal agency), and their external environment (external agency), over 5 min of music listening. Also measured were changes in mood states, and contextual variables (social situation, concurrent activity, and reason for listening). The impact of music on the sense of agency was analyzed using multilevel structural equation modeling. There was no general increase of agency across all music episodes, but agency fluctuations were determined by specific contextual factors. External agency change was predicted negatively by changing environments, while internal agency change was predicted by initial mood and various reasons for listening, including for enjoyment, coping, and enhancing current mood state. Our findings confirmed the plasticity and situational embeddedness of the sense of agency. Music indeed can support agency, but the impact is dependent on a range of situational factors. Sense of agency can be seen as a health resource and significant part of youth development, and current findings provide new insight into when and by which conditions such affordance is likely to be employed.


Families are central to the social and emotional development of youth, and most families engage in musical activities together, such as listening to music or talking about their favorite songs. However, empirical evidence of the positive effects of musical family rituals on social cohesion and emotional well-being is scarce. Furthermore, the role of culture in the shaping of musical family rituals and their psychological benefits has been neglected entirely. This paper investigates musical rituals in families and in peer groups (as an important secondary socialization context) in two traditional/collectivistic and two secular/individualistic cultures, and across two developmental stages (adolescence vs. young adulthood). Based on cross-sectional data from 760 young people in Kenya, the Philippines, New Zealand, and Germany, our study revealed that across cultures music listening in families and in peer groups contributes to family and peer cohesion, respectively. Furthermore, the direct contribution of music in peer groups on well-being appears across cultural contexts, whereas musical family rituals affect emotional well-being in more traditional/collectivistic contexts. Developmental analyses show that musical family rituals are consistently and strongly related to family cohesion across developmental stages, whereas musical rituals in peer groups appear more dependent on the developmental stage (in interaction with culture). Contributing to developmental as well as cross-cultural psychology, this research elucidated musical rituals and their positive effects on the emotional and social development of young people across cultures. The implications for future research and family interventions are discussed.


From bipartisan origins and a laudable intent, the No Child Left Behind (Act) of 2001 has profoundly altered the condition of art education. A historical vantage point and review of literature reveals the current status of pending arts language revisions to the NCLB Act, as well as a pressing need to examine the key recommendations and to consider a blend of the proposals from the National Education Task Force, the Study Group on the Lost Curriculum, and the Arts Education Working Group. This current research possesses significant implications for NCLB arts language and provides the opportunity for a unified message for revisions, leaving no child behind in art education.


Most Americans actually understand the importance of an education rich in arts, science and humanities. But what they may not realize is that their children are not getting enough. Each day more and more of the arts and humanities are being drained from our nation's school curriculums. Studies have shown that the arts play a stimulating role in creativity and developing vital communities. They also have a crucial impact on our economy and are an important catalyst for learning, discovery, and achievement in our country.
Our corporate and business leaders are stressing the need for recent graduates who are creative, innovative and
have developed the capabilities for divergent thinking. They do not want to hire employees with a standardized
mind. Top business executives believe that the arts education program can help repair weaknesses in American education and better prepare workers for the 21st century.


Within the Australian university context, research has uncovered increasing levels of psychological distress, in the form of stress, anxiety and depression. Higher rates of psychological distress have been reported in undergraduate students specifically enrolled in creative arts programs. Despite these increasing levels of psychological distress, university students are reluctant to engage with mental health and wellbeing supports. To explore ways to meet the mental health and wellbeing needs of creative arts university students, the Creative Arts and Music Therapy Research Unit at The University of Melbourne commenced a project exploring the benefits and pitfalls of a brief creative arts therapies approach for students attending a campus based wellbeing clinic. This exploratory research study formed the art therapy component of this much broader research endeavor. Creative arts students in this research study were invited to participate in a single session art therapy encounter that involved the visual exploration of the miracle question, asking students to visually depict 'what the problem looks like and how it will look when the problem is resolved or you feel like you can cope with it better?' The descriptive findings of this exploratory research study revealed how the combination of art therapy used within a single session framework was able to afford students a novel means to externalize problems, leading students to forming a less internalized view of the self. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)


Growing from a multi-year and multidisciplinary research and applied arts investigative team based in North America, this essay presents a model of how performative engagements contribute to individual behavioural change in wellness practices. To be even more specific, this essay analyses and theorises the mechanisms involved in the application of one particular art form to one particular pre-condition for health. The art form: applied theatre. The pre-condition: attitudes, behaviours and beliefs about healthy eating. The co-authors ask not 'what can theatre-making do to have a positive effect on health-related attitudes and behaviors?' but rather 'how does it do that?' and offer a model towards answering that question that might satisfy the needs of researchers in both applied theatre and health science.


The Open Studio Project (OSP) is a nonprofit arts and social service organization. This report presents the OSP process as a model of social action. It describes how the model was implemented in a particular community to address a need for arts programs for at-risk youth. "Art & Action," an outreach program of OSP, became a unique year-round afterschool and summer program that catered to the diverse needs of the participating youth. The advocacy efforts that emerged from the OSP method of using intention, artmaking, witness-writing, and sharing, along with no commenting and no forced participation, are presented. Its relevance to the field of art therapy and the implications for practice are also considered.


This narrative study explored how participation in performing arts as youth and young adults impacted the development of social and emotional well-being for four Black males in a metropolitan city in a Midwestern state and contributed to their ability to cope with oppression and trauma. This study was conducted, and results were written to explore the unique relationship between race, gender, and arts exposure, which is underrepresented in arts research. The researcher gathered data through individual, virtual interviews and photo-elicitation. Narrative data was reassembled in chronological order using the process of restorying. Member checking, clarifying bias, audit, and thick description ensured accuracy and validity. The theoretical framework to support the research was Theatre of the Oppressed. Theatre of the Oppressed uses theatre as a mechanism for empowerment. The themes that emerged from the data were: self-esteem and confidence, resilience, emotional connectivity, ability to improvise, and improved communication. Sub-themes from resilience were addressing oppression and coping with trauma. It was apparent in all four narratives that the men believe their participation in the arts helped develop their social and emotional well-being and cope with oppression and trauma. The capacity to connect emotionally, ability to improvise, and improved communication helped them interact with others and use their gifts to benefit their communities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)


ABSTRACT Introduction This quantitative research investigates the impact of a receptive music therapy method-variation, Personalized Audio Montage (called Montage Audio Personnalisé [MAP] in French), on self-reported levels of stress, anxiety, physical tension, fatigue, and mood of youth experiencing homelessness. Method A single-group pretest-posttest design was used to determine the impact of MAP. Participants completed the co-researcher music therapist-developed Visual Analogue Scales (VAS) for five independent variables (i.e. self-reported levels of stress, anxiety, fatigue, physical tension, and mood), before and after participating in individual MAP sessions. Multivariate ANOVAs for repeated measures were used considering time (pretest-posttest), and MAP sessions as within-subjects factors. Results Nine youth (n = 9) participated in one to three MAP sessions. There were 20 pre-tests and post-tests for each independent variable except for anxiety, for which 19 pre-tests and post-tests were completed. Results of quantitative data analysis show a statistically significant decrease in scores for self-reported levels of stress, anxiety and physical tension at post-session as compared to pre-session. No significant effect was observed for fatigue. Finally, mood scores significantly improved from prettest to posttest. Discussion Findings suggest that MAP holds potential to be a valuable part of music therapists' intervention strategies to support the emotional and physical well-being of youth experiencing homelessness. Limitations and future research recommendations are presented with regard to the small sample size and complexity of conducting research with youth experiencing homelessness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)


This article describes the main findings of a study of youth theatre commissioned by the National Association of Youth Theatres (NAYT), funded by Arts Council England (ACE) and carried out by the Centre for Applied Theatre Research (CATR). The study explored the impact of taking part in youth theatre on young people's personal and social development. Questionnaires, qualitative interviews and participatory/creative research workshops were used to investigate staff and participants' experiences of youth theatre. In addition, a review of youth theatre provision in England (UK) was carried out.
The term 'youth theatre' describes a wide variety of organizations that engage young people in theatre-related activities in their own time. The research findings suggest that youth theatre has a number of important functions for young people, positively contributing to their personal and social development. The findings are placed in the context of youth transitions research that has identified the skills, capacities and resources that help young people make successful transitions to adulthood in the current social and economic climate. A 'theory of youth theatre' is presented, based on analysis of qualitative data and exploration of theoretical concepts drawn from role theory and performance theory. Consideration of the data in conjunction with other research and theoretical concepts lead the authors to suggest that effective youth theatres employ a delivery style, method and process that can make an important contribution to young people's transitions to adulthood in the current climate.
The article critically evaluates the strengths and limitations of the study and explores the place of the research in the wider context of applied research in the arts.


Evidence that posttraumatic growth is a potential outcome in the process of recovery from trauma and natural disaster highlights the importance of social environmental factors that encourage a growth response in survivors. This art-based research project followed up on a group of youth survivors (N = 11) of the 2007 earthquake in the Ica region of Peru who had been active helpers in a 9-month art therapy intervention. The current project, taking place 3 years after the earthquake, explored how the youth perceived their posttraumatic growth and employed the arts in attributing meaning to their traumatic experiences. Participants had developed a stronger sense of life purpose, a heightened sense of perspective, and the freedom to move forward. The role of the arts in bringing comfort and joy to others, and affirming survival, was identified.


Hierarchical regression analyses were used to identify factors that functioned as either promotive or protective factors against the impact of ecological risk on the psychological adjustment of 112 African American and 94 European American adolescents (13-19 years of age). Indicators of ecological risk, promotive/protective factors, and adjustment were assessed concurrently via adolescent self-report questionnaires. Supportive parenting emerged as a promotive factor for both African American and European American adolescents for academic achievement, competence, and problem behaviors. Additionally, school connectedness served as a promotive factor for both African American and European American adolescents with competence as the criterion. However, in analyses with problem behaviors as the criterion, school connectedness intensified the effect of ecological risk for European American adolescents. Of the three hypothesized positive factors (supportive parenting, ethnic identity, and school connectedness), only ethnic identity emerged as a protective factor for problem behaviors and this effect was only observed for European American adolescents.


Researchers attempting to show that music has positive effects on children need to understand and control for pre-existing differences between those who do and do not select into musical participation in the first place. Within a large-scale, community-wide, prospective, longitudinal study of predominantly low-income, ethnically diverse students (n = 31,332), we examined characteristics of students who did and did not enroll in music elective courses (band, choir, orchestra, guitar, other) in public middle schools (6th, 7th, and 8th grade) in Miami. Predictor variables included gender, ethnicity, poverty, special education, ELL status, 5th grade English proficiency, prior academic performance (5th grade GPA, standardized math and reading test scores) and initial school readiness skills (social, behavioral, cognitive, language, and motor skills) at age four. Only 23% of middle-school students enrolled in a music class in 6 th, 7th or 8th grade, with band having the highest enrollment, followed by choir, orchestra, and guitar. Being male, and having greater cognitive skills at age four, higher 5 th grade GPA and reading skills were related to later music participation. Black students, students in special education, and those not proficient in English were less likely to participate in middle school music classes. Results varied somewhat by type of music.


The Prison Arts Resource Project (PARP) is an annotated bibliography of evidence-based studies that evaluate the impact of arts programs in U.S. correctional settings. Each of the 59 entries includes information about the arts program as well as the study research goals, methods and a summary of findings. Adult offender and juvenile offender programs are identified. While not an exhaustive list, this collection of annotated impact studies represent publicly available evidence that can be accessed by individuals and organizations seeking to develop their own evaluation or research, or who are seeking evidence of impact for the purposes of program development and policy improvement.


In big cities, major museums and elite galleries tend to dominate our idea of the art world. But beyond the cultural core ruled by these moneyed institutions and their patrons are vibrant, local communities of artists and art lovers operating beneath the high-culture radar. Producing Local Color is a guided tour of three such alternative worlds that thrive in the Chicago neighborhoods of Bronzeville, Pilsen, and Rogers Park.
These three neighborhoods are, respectively, historically African American, predominantly Mexican American, and proudly ethnically mixed. Drawing on her ethnographic research in each place, Diane Grams presents and analyzes the different kinds of networks of interest and support that sustain the making of art outside of the limelight. And she introduces us to the various individuals—from cutting-edge artists to collectors to municipal planners—who work together to develop their communities, honor their history, and enrich the experiences of their neighbors through art. Along with its novel insights into these little examined art worlds, Producing Local Color also provides a thought-provoking account of how urban neighborhoods change and grow.


Extant measures of adolescent well-being in the United States typically focus on negative indicators of youth outcomes. Indices comprised of such measures paint bleak views of youth and orient action toward the prevention of problems over the promotion of protective factors. Their tendency to focus analyses at a state or county geographic scale produces limited information about localized outcome patterns that could inform policymakers, practitioners and advocacy networks. We discuss the construction of a new geo-referenced index of youth well-being based on positive indicators of youth development. In demonstrating the index for the greater Sacramento, California region of the United States, we find that overall youth well-being falls far short of an optimal outcome, and geographic disparities in well-being appear to exist across school districts at all levels of our analysis. Despite its limitations, the sub-county geographic scale of this index provides needed data to facilitate local and regional interventions.


This study examined the feasibility of implementing an innovative theater-based after-school program, 'Ready. Set. ACTION!', to reach ethnically diverse and low-income children and their parents with obesity prevention messages. The study population included 96 children and 61 parents. Children were in fourth to sixth grade and 41% were overweight at baseline. Program impact was evaluated with a pre/post-randomized controlled study design, but a major focus was placed on the process evaluation conducted in the intervention schools. Intervention children and parents reported high program satisfaction and that they had made changes or intended to make positive changes in their behaviors due to program participation. However, few meaningful differences between the intervention and control conditions were found at follow-up. Thus, the combined process and impact evaluation results suggest that the intervention was effective in leading to increased awareness of the need for behavioral change, but was not powerful enough on its own to lead to behavioral change. From this feasibility study, we concluded that Ready. Set. ACTION! offers promise as a creative intervention strategy. The next research step may be to incorporate theater-based programs into more comprehensive school-based interventions, with both educational and environmental components, and evaluate program impact.


In this article, I consider the changing landscape of art education and explore potential directions for the field to situate itself within the spaces of early childhood education. I position that current understandings of child art and its use in both research and practice in the early childhood classroom are limited by a lack of connection to contemporary art practices. Working from the perspective of relational aesthetics, I examine children' drawing practices to suggest an extension of sociocultural theories of child art. To do so, I provide descriptions of young children' voluntary drawing events that illuminate the convivial nature of their productions, as well as nomadic processes involved in their work.


In order to investigate the relationship between music audience participation and pro-social behaviors, this study analyzed data from 6239 households who took part in the 2008 U.S. Department of Commerce Current Population Survey: Participation in the Arts Supplement. The data were analyzed using logistic regression, in which three specific pro-social behaviors (i.e., voting in the most recent presidential election, making charitable donations or volunteering time, and attending community meetings) were regressed on participation in music (i.e., attending classical, jazz, or opera music concerts). After controlling for the effects of age, race, sex, income, education, marital status, and occupation class, it was found that the likelihood of pro-social behaviors was greater with increases in music concert attendance.


Global health research typically relies on the translation of knowledge (from health professionals to the community) and the dissemination of knowledge (from research results to the wider public). However, Greenhalgh and Wieringa [2011. Is it time to drop the 'knowledge translation' metaphor? A critical literature review. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 104(12), 501-509. doi:10.1258/jrsm.2011.110285] suggest 'that while “translation” is a widely used metaphor in medicine, it constrains how we conceptualize and study the link between knowledge and practice' (p. 501). Often the knowledge garnered from such research projects comes from health professionals rather than reflecting the lived experiences of people and communities. Likewise, there has been a gap in 'translating' and 'disseminating' the results of participatory action research projects to policymakers and medical practitioners. This paper will look at how using participatory visual methodologies in global health research with children and youth facing global adversity incorporates the multiple functions of their lived realities so that research becomes a means of intervention. Drawing from a literature review of participatory visual methods as media, content and processes of global health research, this paper raises practical, theoretical, and ethical questions that arise from research as intervention. The paper concludes by exploring what lessons emerge when participatory visual methodologies are integrated into global health research with children and youth facing global adversity.


Research Background. With the enhancement of China's international influence, China has stepped into the international ecological environment in the fields of economy, politics, culture, art, and so on, accompanied by the spread of China's culture and literature. China's 5000-year-old cultural history and artistic characteristics are integrated into the ecological field of the international environment. Research Purpose. The international spread of Chinese literature also has a certain impact on the physical and mental health of teenagers. This paper studies and discusses the impact of international communication of Chinese literature on teenagers' physical and mental health in the digital humanistic environment. Under the development environment of Digital Humanities in China, the impact of Chinese literature on the healthy psychology of teenagers, the impact content, and the characteristics of each were evaluated. Through the comparison of physical and mental health growth of adolescents in different ages, the characteristics of physical and mental health of adolescents are explored. The coupling degree of physical and mental health of adolescents in different development environments is compared and analyzed. Research Results. Through the research, it is found that with the development of Digital Humanities, the spread of Chinese literature with internationalization has a positive impact on the physical and mental health and psychological quality construction of teenagers and plays a promoting role in promoting mental health, increasing personal quality, and improving teenagers' correct values. The various ideological and moral qualities of Chinese literature can play a greater role in helping and growing up the physical and mental health education of young people in the new era and are also the literary value of promoting the quality education of the next generation of young people in the world.


A central concern when conducting qualitative health research with children is eliciting data that genuinely reflect their perspectives. Invariably, this involves being child-centered and participatory. Drawing and photography increasingly accompany dialogic methods to facilitate children's communication through arts-based and verbal modes of expression. However, little literature is available on how arts-based tools shape data. We suggest that researchers need to be attentive to how such tools can liberate, constrain and frame data generated by children, drawing attention to the promises of such approaches as well as the conundrums that can arise from their use. We explore the place for participatory, child-centered, arts-based approaches using examples of the use of drawing and photography in our own studies. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Res Nurs Health 36:95-107, 2013


There is a strong parallel between the discursive construction of youth and the definition of resilience, with shared characterizations of deficit, risk and adversity. The purpose of this study was to explore the possibility of redefining resilience by incorporating youth' own conceptualizations and experiences through collaborative art-making. Twenty-three youth (16-29 years old) participated in art-making workshops guided by six youth researchers, who also assisted with data collection. While youth participants were strongly impacted by external forces imposing a normative assumption of 'successful youthhood,' they actively sought out both unique subjectivity and solidarity to counter the negative forces threatening their well-being. The findings suggest that these young people perceive resilience as a crucial component of identity management. Acknowledging youth perceptions of resilience as an intersubjective process of identity negotiation, rather than a personality trait or a buildable capacity for coping, may provide valuable guidance to social work professionals. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)


This paper synthesises findings from two research projects with organisations involved in arts for youth well-being. Since 2017, Aotearoa New Zealand' government has recognised the importance of the arts for well-being. However, the sector in Aotearoa has historically lacked recognition and support and this paper identifies a number of challenges that remain entrenched in the funding system.


In the religion of “being-a-kid,” few times are as sacrosanct as the free hours after school and during the summer. Unfortunately for parents, educators and policy makers, it is not an easy task to convince students to put down the PlayStation and focus on learning in their time off—yet the advantages of doing so are widely regarded as critical in determining academic success. Previous studies (e.g., Alexander, Entwisle, & Olson, 2007; Cooper, Nye, Charlton, Lindsay, & Greathouse, 1996) show that when students, especially those from low-income households, are not provided educational opportunities in the vast amount of time that they are not in the traditional classroom, they lag behind their peers in reading and math and are less likely to graduate from high school. Nonprofits across the nation have been testing the hypothesis that integrating creative activities like dance, theater, music, and visual arts with core academics in the context of afterschool and summer learning programs not only reverses these troubling trends but actually helps students invest in and seek out learning, motivated by interesting, yet rigorous, educational experiences. This article describes the academic, social, and societal benefits of creative summer and afterschool programming from the viewpoint of three successful nonprofits: Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education (CAPE), Young Audiences of Louisiana, and Big Thought in Dallas, Texas. Each emphatically supports the inclusion of enrichment in extended day programs. Collectively, their experiences suggest four foundational principles for more effective afterschool and summer programming.