MESOC Serapeum | Where culture meets AI

Id		84
Author		Kaimal, G.; Gonzaga, A., M.; Schwachter, V.
Title		Crafting, health and wellbeing: findings from the survey of public participation in the arts and considerations for art therapists.
Reference		Kaimal, G., Gonzaga, A. M., & Schwachter, V. (2017). Crafting, health and wellbeing: findings from the survey of public participation in the arts and considerations for art therapists. Arts & Health, 9(1), 81-90.
Keywords		visual arts; pottery; fabric crafts; health promotion; creative arts therapies; Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA)
Link to article		https://doi.org/10.1080/17533015.2016.1185447
Abstract		This brief report presents a review of the literature on health implications of crafting practices, as well as secondary analysis of data from the National Endowment for the Arts’ Survey of Public Participation in the Arts. The secondary data analysis focuses on trends in crafting practices in the United States. The findings indicate a greater prevalence of craft-based practices compared with fine arts media, as well as, distinct differences in arts participation based on gender, ethnicity and income levels. Using these data sources, implications for craft-based expressive practices as a therapeutic tool in art therapy practice are discussed.
Metodology		In light of the recent findings around crafting and the relative absence of reflection on its use in art therapy, the authors conducted a secondary data analysis using the database from the NEA’s 2012 SPPA (National Endowment for the Arts, 2013) To the best of our knowledge, no study like the SPPA has to date examined the prevalence of crafting activities in the broader US population and considered variations as they relate to demographic categories like gender, race and income levels.The data from the survey are available to the public through a large national database housed on the website of Cultural Policy and the Arts national data archive (http://www.cpanda.org/cpanda/studies/c00016?view=summary). Although the survey provides data on a variety of art forms, including music, dance, theater, poetry and literature, the focus of this report is mainly on engagement with visual arts and crafts. The questions used in the secondary analysis included those which asked participants if they had engaged in any of the following six categories of activities: (1) fiber arts (e.g. weaving, crochet, quilting, needlepoint, knitting or sewing); (2) photography (artistic); (3) leatherwork, woodwork and metalwork; (4) scrapbooking; (5) visual art (e.g. painting, drawing, sculpture graphic design; and (6) pottery, ceramics or jewelry. The secondary data analysis results were categorized first by art activities and then by demographic markers. The data were entered into a database and analyzed using the statistical software program SPSS version 20. Descriptive statistics were computed for each question and for participant demographics (gender, age range, race/ethnicity). Since not all questions were asked of all participants, the findings will be reported as a percentage of those who were asked a question (rather than the entire sample).
Technique		Survey; Descriptive statistics