Heightened Incidence of Depressive Symptoms in Adolescents Involved in the Arts

Studies have shown a higher than average incidence of mental illness in adult artists. We asked whether an association between symptoms of affective disorders and the arts is found as early as adolescence, using a sample of 2,482 15to 16-year-old adolescents. Teens involved in afterschool arts had higher depressive symptom scores than those not involved, and the association between arts involvement and depressive symptoms held only for those scoring above the median in working memory test scores. We consider reasons for these findings, including the possibility that shared cognitive vulnerabilities may underlie both the depressive symptoms and increased arts practice, and that cognitive resources (working memory) facilitate the adaptive use of these vulnerabilities.