By Pierre Bourdieu (London: Routledge, 2010), xxx + 607 pp. £15.99 paper. A combination of social theory, statistical data, illustrations, and interviews, Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judg...

Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste

Music In Everyday Life

PURPOSE

To use objective monitoring of physical activity to determine the percentages of children and youth in a population that met physical activity guidelines.

METHODS

A total of 375 students in grades 1–12 wore an accelerometer (CSA 7164) for seven consecutive days. Bouts of continuous activity and accumulation of minutes spent in physical activity at various intensities were calculated to determine how many students met three physical activity guidelines.

RESULTS

Over 90% of students met Healthy People 2010, Objective 22.6 and nearly 70% met the United Kingdom Expert Consensus Group guideline, both of which recommend daily accumulation of moderate physical activity. Less than 3% met Healthy People 2010, Objective 22.7, which calls for bouts of continuous vigorous physical activity. For the United Kingdom Expert Consensus Group guideline, compliance decreased markedly with age, but gender differences were not statistically significant.

CONCLUSIONS

Prevalence estimates for compliance with national physical activity guidelines varied markedly for the three guidelines examined. Objective monitoring of physical activity in youth appears to be feasible and may provide more accurate prevalence rates than self-report measures.

Compliance with physical activity guidelines : prevalence in a population of children and youth

Homo Aestheticus: Where Art Comes from and Why

COVID-19 has infected millions of people and upended the lives of most humans on the planet. Researchers from across the psychological sciences have sought to document and investigate the impact of COVID-19 in myriad ways, causing an explosion of research that is broad in scope, varied in methods, and challenging to consolidate. Because policy and practice aimed at helping people live healthier and happier lives requires insight from robust patterns of evidence, this article provides a rapid and thorough summary of high-quality studies available through early 2021 examining the mental-health consequences of living through the COVID-19 pandemic. Our review of the evidence indicates that anxiety, depression, and distress increased in the early months of the pandemic. Meanwhile, suicide rates, life satisfaction, and loneliness remained largely stable throughout the first year of the pandemic. In response to these insights, we present seven recommendations (one urgent, two short-term, and four ongoing) to support mental health during the pandemic and beyond.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/17456916211029964

Mental Health During the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review and Recommendations for Moving Forward

There is currently major concern about the impact of the global COVID-19 outbreak on mental health. But it remains unclear how individual behaviors could exacerbate or protect against adverse changes in mental health. This study aimed to examine the associations between specific activities (or time-use) and mental health and wellbeing amongst people during the Covid-19 pandemic. Data were from the UCL COVID-19 Social Study; a panel study collecting data weekly during the COVID-19 pandemic. The analytical sample consisted of 55,204 adults living in the UK who were followed up for the strict 11-week lockdown period from 21st March to 31st May 2020. Data were analyzed using fixed-effects and Arellano–Bond models. We found that changes in time spent on a range of activities were associated with changes in mental health and wellbeing. After controlling for bidirectionality, behaviors involving outdoor activities including gardening and exercising predicted subsequent improvements in mental health and wellbeing, while increased time spent on following news about COVID-19 predicted declines in mental health and wellbeing. These results are relevant to the formulation of guidance for people obliged to spend extended periods in isolation during health emergencies, and may help the public to maintain wellbeing during future pandemics.

/pdf/time-use-and-mental-health-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-a-5ejkavmuwv.pdf

Time-use and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: a panel analysis of 55,204 adults followed across 11 weeks of lockdown in the UK

Objectives. The global COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 heavily affected the arts and creative industries due to the instigation of lockdown measures in the United Kingdom and closure of venues. However, it also provided new opportunities for arts and cultural engagement through virtual activities and streamed performances. Yet it remains unclear (i) who was likely to engage with the arts at home during lockdown, (ii) how this engagement differed from patterns of arts engagement prior to COVID-19, and (iii) whether home-based arts engagement was related to people’s ability to cope with their emotions during lockdown. This study was therefore designed to address these questions. /

Methods. We used data collected in late May from the United Kingdom COVID-19 Social Study run by University College London. Multivariate regressions were used for the analysis (N = 19,384). Identified factors included demographic factors, socio-economic position, psychosocial wellbeing and health conditions, adverse events/worries, and coping styles. /

Results. Four types of home-based arts engagement were identified during the COVID-19 pandemic: digital arts and writing, musical activities, crafts, and reading for pleasure. Our results show that the strongest predictors of the engagement were age, education attainment, social support, and emotion-focused or supportive coping styles. In particular, younger adults (aged 18–29), non-keyworkers, people with greater social support, people who had lost work, those who were worried about catching the virus, and those with an emotion-focused, problem-focused or supportive coping style were more likely to have increased arts engagement during lockdown. Arts activities were used as approach and avoidance strategies to help cope with emotions, as well as to help improve self-development. /

Conclusion. Overall, our study suggests that while some people who engaged in the arts during the COVID-19 pandemic were those who typically engage under normal circumstances, the pandemic has also created new incentives and opportunities for others to engage virtually. Additionally, this study highlights the value of the arts as coping tools during stressful situations.

/pdf/predictors-and-impact-of-arts-engagement-during-the-covid-19-2y1vdfmt3i.pdf

Predictors and Impact of Arts Engagement During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Analyses of Data From 19,384 Adults in the COVID-19 Social Study

Aims:As the COVID-19 pandemic has grown internationally, there has been an increased need for volunteers. This study aimed to identify the predictors of volunteering including demographic backgroun...

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1757913921994146

Predictors of engaging in voluntary work during the COVID-19 pandemic: analyses of data from 31,890 adults in the UK.

Arts engagement within communities is ubiquitous across cultures globally and previous research has suggested its benefits for mental health and wellbeing. However, it remains unclear whether these benefits are driven by arts engagement itself or by important confounders such as socio-economic status (SES), childhood arts engagement, previous mental health, personality, or self-selection bias. The aim of this study is to use fixed effects models that account for unidentified time-constant confounding measures to examine the longitudinal association between arts (frequency of both arts participation and cultural attendance), mental distress, mental health functioning and life satisfaction. Data from 23,660 individuals (with a mean age of 47 years) included in the UK Understanding Society wave 2 (2010–2012) and wave 5 (2013–2015) were analyzed. Aside from controlling for all time-constant variables using fixed-effects models, we additionally adjusted for time-varying demographic factors (e.g. age and marital status), health behaviors and social support variables. After controlling for all time-constant variables and identified time-varying confounders, frequent arts participation and cultural attendance were associated with lower levels of mental distress and higher levels of life satisfaction, with arts participation additionally associated with better mental health functioning. Health-related and social time-varying factors were shown partly but not wholly to explain the observed associations. Arts engagement amongst the population as a whole may help enhance positive mental health and life satisfaction, and protect against mental distress. These results are independent of a wide range of time-constant confounding factors.

/pdf/arts-mental-distress-mental-health-functioning-life-3hi4fwutdl.pdf

Arts, mental distress, mental health functioning & life satisfaction: fixed-effects analyses of a nationally-representative panel study.

Background There is currently major concern about the impact of the global COVID-19 outbreak on mental health But it remains unclear how individual behaviours could exacerbate or protect against adverse changes in mental health Aims To examine the associations between specific activities (or time use) and mental health and well-being among people during the COVID-19 pandemic Method Data were from the UCL COVID-19 Social Study, a panel study collecting data weekly during the COVID-19 pandemic The analytical sample consisted of 55 204 adults living in the UK who were followed up for the 11-week strict lockdown period from 21 March to 31 May 2020 Data were analysed using fixed-effects and Arellano-Bond models Results Changes in time spent on a range of activities were associated with changes in mental health and well-being After controlling for bidirectionality, behaviours involving outdoor activities such as gardening and exercising predicted subsequent improvements in mental health and well-being, whereas increased time spent following news about COVID-19 predicted declines in mental health and well-being Conclusions These results are relevant to the formulation of guidance for people obliged to spend extended periods in isolation during health emergencies and may help the public to maintain well-being during future lockdowns and pandemics (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)

/pdf/time-use-and-mental-health-in-uk-adults-during-an-11-week-4llmh3hr11.pdf

Hei Wan Mak

Papers

Time-use and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: a panel analysis of 55,204 adults followed across 11 weeks of lockdown in the UK

Predictors and Impact of Arts Engagement During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Analyses of Data From 19,384 Adults in the COVID-19 Social Study

Predictors of engaging in voluntary work during the COVID-19 pandemic: analyses of data from 31,890 adults in the UK.

Arts, mental distress, mental health functioning & life satisfaction: fixed-effects analyses of a nationally-representative panel study.

Time use and mental health in uk adults during an 11-week covid-19 lockdown: A panel analysis