An April, 2019, article by Tom Jacobs for the Pacific Standard looks at the research by Hei Wan Mak and Daisy Fancourt of University College London featuring a study of 6,209 middle-school-aged children from the United Kingdom Millennium Cohort Study, children born in the UK at the turn of the century, and using data from interviews conducted during “Sweep Five”, when they were 11 years old.

The children completed an abbreviated version of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, then were asked how frequently they (a) listen to or play music, (b) draw, paint, or make things, and (c) read for enjoyment at home, using a 5-point scale from “never” to “most days”. Teachers rated the children’s abilities in music, art, design, and the English language. Finally, the children noted whether one or both parents joined them in such activities, on a scale from “not at all” to “almost every day”.

Then, each child who participated frequently in the arts was paired with a child who had a similar profile but less participation in the arts (children were matched for gender, ethnicity, parents’ educational level and employment status, etc).

Jacobs reports that the findings demonstrated significantly higher reported self-esteem amongst those children who participated frequently in the arts, and these results were doubled when the “most days” children were compared with those who participated in the arts less than once a month. He notes that, for reading, as well as for music-making or listening, this boost in self-esteem was limited to those children whose parents were involved in arts activities with them at least once or twice a week. Painting and drawing, however, were associated with higher self-esteem whether the parents were involved or not.

The researchers point out that their findings also indicate that “it is not necessary for children to be good at arts” to get the benefit of higher self-esteem. “Engagement, not ability, seems to be the key.”.

The study suggests that “initiatives to promote arts engagement in children may provide a practical and efficient way to improve children’s self-esteem. This is the key given self-esteem in childhood tends to decline as children enter adolescence, yet is linked to lifelong development and well-being.”