Teenagers who take art courses after school may be more likely to suffer from depression than those who do not participate in these activities. This is according to new research published in the American Psychological Association journal Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and Arts, which found a link between depressive symptoms and pastimes such as music, drama and painting.

Investigators from Boston College used data from the US Longitudinal Survey of Youth relating to the involvement in extracurricular activities of 2,482 students and discovered a significant association between the arts and symptoms of mental illness.

These included downcast mood, lack of motivation and energy, reduced appetite, concentration difficulties, general sadness and poor sleep.

The researchers put forward one reason for the connection might be that artistic people take in a higher level of information from their surroundings, with lead author Laura Young noting: "When positive behaviours such as being involved in the arts are associated with symptoms of mental illness, it's essential that we understand why."

Patricia Doorbar, a member of the British Psychological Society, comments:

“This is a very interesting study, but it needs a stronger qualitative input. We need to be given a fuller account of the other aspects of these young people's lives and need stronger evidence on when and why choices were made. It would be interesting, for instance, to look at young people involved in both arts and sport. Yes, there are some!

“It would also be interesting to compare ‘hard’ scientists with professions such as medicine and psychology where there could be different perceptions of emotional involvement. There is certainly some mileage in the idea that creativity is more dependent on an emotional response, but narrowing it down to arts subjects is perhaps too limiting.”

Teenagers who take art courses after school may be more likely to suffer from depression than those who do not participate in these activities. This is according to new research published in the American Psychological Association journal Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and Arts, which found a link between depressive symptoms and pastimes such as music, drama and painting.

Investigators from Boston College used data from the US Longitudinal Survey of Youth relating to the involvement in extracurricular activities of 2,482 students and discovered a significant association between the arts and symptoms of mental illness.

These included downcast mood, lack of motivation and energy, reduced appetite, concentration difficulties, general sadness and poor sleep.

The researchers put forward one reason for the connection might be that artistic people take in a higher level of information from their surroundings, with lead author Laura Young noting: "When positive behaviours such as being involved in the arts are associated with symptoms of mental illness, it's essential that we understand why."

Patricia Doorbar, a member of the British Psychological Society, comments:

“This is a very interesting study, but it needs a stronger qualitative input. We need to be given a fuller account of the other aspects of these young people's lives and need stronger evidence on when and why choices were made. It would be interesting, for instance, to look at young people involved in both arts and sport. Yes, there are some!

“It would also be interesting to compare ‘hard’ scientists with professions such as medicine and psychology where there could be different perceptions of emotional involvement. There is certainly some mileage in the idea that creativity is more dependent on an emotional response, but narrowing it down to arts subjects is perhaps too limiting.”