Adolescents who participate in arts activities are more likely to report depressed symptoms than teens who do not participate in arts activities.

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According to new research published by the American Psychological Association, students who do not participate in after-school arts programmes such as music, drama, or painting are less likely to report feeling depressed or sad than students who do participate in these programmes. Teens who participate in after-school arts programmes such as these are more likely to report feeling depressed or sad.

According to the experts, this is the first study that has shown that young people's casual engagement in the arts might possibly be connected to depressive symptoms. This finding comes from the researchers of the study. The APA's publication, Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, is where the paper was published after it was made available online.

According to the primary author Laura N. Young, MA, of Boston College, "This is not to argue that depression is a required condition for either an adolescent or an adult to become an artist, nor are we establishing that engaging in the arts leads to mental illness." "However, earlier study has shown that adult artists have a greater prevalence of symptoms associated with mental illness. Our first question was whether or whether this link is seen at an earlier stage in the development process."

According to the findings of the study, both males and females who participated in extracurricular arts activities reported more depressive symptoms than those who did not participate in extracurricular arts activities. This is despite the fact that girls were more likely to participate in the arts after school than boys and reported somewhat higher rates of depression than boys.

Teens who did nothing but participate in athletics had the lowest prevalence rate for reporting depressed symptoms. On the other hand, there was no significant difference in the occurrence of depressive symptoms between adolescents who participated in the arts and sports and adolescents who participated in the arts but did not simultaneously engage in sports. According to the authors of the study, this shows that an association between sadness and engagement in artistic activities rather than a lack of participation in athletic activities exists.

The researchers used data from the United States Longitudinal Survey of Youth that was obtained from 2,482 adolescents between the ages of 15 and 16 in order to investigate the extent to which American teens participated in extracurricular activities in 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2010. There were 1,238 females, 27 percent of the sample was black, 19 percent of the sample was Hispanic, and 54 percent of the sample was non-Hispanic white.

The students gave their responses to survey questions that inquired about the frequency with which they "went to sports lessons, played sports, or practised any physical activity" after school and participated in "lessons in music, art or drama, or practise of music, singing, drama, drawing/painting" after school. According to the findings of the research, possible responses were "frequently" and "nearly never."

The survey asked adolescents how frequently they experienced various moods or problems associated with depression, such as a poor appetite, difficulty concentrating, downcast mood, lack of energy or motivation, restless sleep, and sadness. The purpose of the question was to determine the rates of depressive symptoms. It was possible for them to respond with anything from "none of the time" to "all of the time."

People who are drawn to the arts may have certain cognitive traits, such as taking in a higher than average level of information from their surroundings, according to one theory that was presented by the authors. This theory attempts to explain why there appears to be a link between the arts and symptoms of mental illness. The authors believe that although coping with an overwhelming amount of stimuli may result in overall unhappiness and sadness, having a heightened awareness of oneself and one's surroundings may result in increased creativity and creative expression. According to these researchers, some personality qualities, such as introversion, which has been shown to be connected with depression, might also lead to preferences for more solitary activities, which are more likely to be associated with the practise of arts than with sports.

According to Young, "it is crucial that we understand why, when beneficial activities such as being active in the arts are related with symptoms of mental illness, it is essential that we understand why." "The topic of whether possible psychological weaknesses may be changed into strengths via the practise of the arts can be addressed by further study,"

The following is the title of an article: "Heightened Incidence of Depressive Symptoms among Adolescents Involved in the Arts;" Research published online on November 12th, 2012 in the journal Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts by Laura N. Young, MA; Ellen Winner, PhD; and Sara Cordes, PhD from Boston College.

The American Psychological Association is the most influential scientific and professional organisation representing psychology in the United States. It is also the biggest association of psychologists in the world. Its headquarters are located in Washington, District of Columbia. Members of the APA come from a variety of backgrounds, including students, researchers, educators, physicians, and consultants. The American Psychological Association (APA) works to advance the creation, communication, and application of psychological knowledge to the benefit of society and to improve people's lives. It does this by maintaining divisions in 54 different subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial, and Canadian provincial associations.