Creative hobbies have been found to be beneficial for mental health, especially if an individual considers their hobby an important part of their identity (Adams-Price & Morse, 2018). Although receiving recognition from friends or family for one’s creative abilities has been seen to decrease depressive symptoms for adults, these benefits may depend on expectations and type of recognition desired (Israel et al, 2020). Those who participate in creative activities as a career compared to those who participate as hobbyist may not receive the same benefits due to the stress artists endure trying to earn a living (Barker et al, 2009). This study aimed to explore the relationships between hobby recognition, hobby’s impact on identity, and mental well-being. A sample of 279 primarily white (88%) female (95.3%) adults aged 40 to 84 (M = 59.9-years-old) were interviewed during the Covid-19 Pandemic. A structural equation model was developed in AMOS 28.0 to correlate these variables and do a multiple groups analysis, comparing 100 older adults (65+) and 179 middle aged adults (40-64) who all reported at least one creative hobby. Results found a negative relationship between identifying with a creative hobby and receiving recognition for the hobby, a negative relationship between mental well-being and recognition, and a positive relationship between identifying with one’s hobby and mental well-being. The results suggest that recognition from others may have mixed effects on mental health but identifying with one’s creative hobby may be a protective factor. Implications expectations of recognition will be discussed.
The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically impacted our way of life, leading to increased rates of anxiety and depression (Panchal et al., 2021). The implications may be worse for older adults who account for 80% of all COVID deaths (Freed et al., 2020). Meanwhile, prior to the pandemic, Adams-Price and colleagues (2018) found that creative hobby participation provided slightly different benefits for middle-aged and older adults. Specifically, evidence suggested that middle-aged adults may use their creative hobby more for stress relief than older adults. Using a sample of 239 women, aged 40 to 84 years old (M = 59.7), we examined whether the degree to which viewing one’s creative hobby as a component of one’s identity related to perceived stress, health anxiety, and depressive symptoms. In addition, we wanted to know whether these relationships were moderated by age. Single moderation models suggest that viewing one’s creative hobby as a part of their identity was related to higher health anxiety and reporting more depressive symptoms. In addition, age was related to reporting lower perceived stress, health anxiety, and depressive symptoms. Lastly, age provided a significant moderation effect to the relationship between degree of identity associated with one’s creative hobby and perceived stress such that middle-aged adults with a high degree of identification with their creative hobby reported the most perceived stress while older adults with a high degree of identification with their creative hobby reported the least perceived stress. Implications for older adult’s well-being and adaptiveness to the COVID-19 pandemic will be discussed.
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