Knit One, Play One: Comparing the Effects of Amateur Knitting and Amateur Music Participation on Happiness and Wellbeing
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Knit One, Play One: Comparing the Effects of Amateur Knitting and Amateur Music Participation on Happiness and Wellbeing Alexandra Lamont 1
& Nellinne
Antoinette Ranaweera 2
Received: 22 August 2018 / Accepted: 20 May 2019/ # The Author(s) 2019
Abstract Previous research suggests that engaging in creative and meaningful leisure activities enhances mental health, wellbeing and quality of life. However, studies often explore specific creative activities in isolation. We compared happiness and wellbeing in adults involved in knitting (835 amateur knitters) and musical activities (122 amateur musicians). Participants completed the Subjective Happiness Scale, the BBC Subjective Wellbeing scale, and open-ended questions about past and current engagement. Knitters scored significantly higher on happiness than musicians. No differences were found for subjective wellbeing. Older participants scored more highly on all wellbeing measures, with no effect of time doing the activity. Open-ended responses were grouped into four themes. Learning and teaching was oriented towards communities of practice for knitters and formal teaching for musicians. Process involved positive and negative emotions, grouped around subthemes of self-care and sensory experiences. Outcome was associated with connections to others, expressed through pride or anxiety. Purpose linked to a sense of fulfilment, identity, and obsession. Despite differences between the activities, participants experienced broadly similar physical, psychological and social benefits. Further research should explore more creative and non-creative leisure activities to establish if these effects can be generalised and what other unique features may be involved. Keywords Music making . Knitting . Wellbeing . Happiness . Eudaimonia . PERMA
* Alexandra Lamont [email protected] Nellinne Antoinette Ranaweera [email protected]
1
School of Psychology, Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire ST5 5BG, UK
2
Royal Northern College of Music, 124 Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9RD, UK
A. Lamont, N. A. Ranaweera
Contemporary industrialised society presents challenges to health and wellbeing, including stress, pace of life, and social isolation. Consumerism can compromise wellbeing by raising anxiety and stress in individuals and by commoditising arenas such as health, education, public space, culture and religion (Holt and Schor 2000). The ageing population places demands on health and social care with a range of mental and physical health challenges (Health and Social Care Information Centre 2013). Many adults choose to engage with leisure activities to help regain or sustain their sense of self, happiness and wellbeing (Argyle 1996), and research has begun to explore the effects of different types of leisure activity on these outcomes (e.g. Sellar and Boshoff 2006). Recent theorising in positive psychology posits that to truly flourish, the conditions must exist for a person to lead not only a pleasant life (Aristotle’s concept of hedonism) but also a good an
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