FIND CATEGORY FOR ARTICLE

Analyze article and determine cultural category





Id : 189

Author :
Bygren, L.O.; Konlaan, B.B.; Johansson, S.E.

Title


Attendance at cultural events, reading books or periodicals, and making music or singing in a choir as determinants for survival: Swedish interview survey of living conditions

Reference :


Bygren LO, Konlaan BB, Johansson SE. Attendance at cultural events, reading books or periodicals, and making music or singing in a choir as determinants for survival: Swedish interview survey of living conditions. BMJ. 1996;313(7072):1577-1580.

Link to article https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.313.7072.1577
Abstract The importance of stimulating activities is obvious, and there is hardly any need for medical arguments for attending a theatre, cinema, or sports events, for reading books and periodicals, or for making music. Cultural activity might be thought to increase resistance to a broad spectrum of diseases or be the impetus to start dealing with problems. The mechanism for a positive effect could perhaps be that it is inspirational for handling everyday social problems, thus enhancing people's reflection on their life situation and enabling them to prepare for coming events in their mind. More importantly, such activity provides direct vicarious emotional arousal without damage or side effects in real life. And we know that the organism responds with changes in the humoral nervous system—for example, verbal expression of traumatic experiences through writing or talking improves physical health, enhances immune function, and is associated with fewer medical visits. In addition, other gains have been documented in the therapeutic use of music in the treatment of autistic children, as well as the treatment of cancer and other related pain. Pictures of works of art have been used to stimulate older people. Negative effects of cultural activities could be that people lose their sense of reality and identify with asocial models of behaviour and are themselves encouraged towards asocial behaviour. Many of the selective factors determining attendance at different kinds of events are correlated with survival. Educational level is one such factor. Furthermore, disease itself influences the ability to take part in activities and the kinds of activities possible to pursue. Attending cultural events widens a social network and gives the feeling of belonging to a group, and this in itself could be the important determinant of survival. Perhaps cultural behaviour is so intermingled with life as a whole that it is impossible to discern its influence. We investigated the possible influence of cultural stimulation on survival.



Results:


                    Category                    

             Certainity            
Heritage 0.0224
Archives 0.4160
Libraries 0.0607
Book and Press 0.0008
Visual Arts 0.0016
Performing Arts 0.0079
Audiovisual and Multimedia 0.0009
Architecture 0.0202
Adverstizing 0.0001
Art crafts 0.1193
General cultural dimension 0.3502
Note: Due to lack of computing power, results have been previously created and saved in database