Associations between neighbourhood deprivation and engagement in arts, culture and heritage: evidence from two nationally-representative samples

Hei Wan Mak; Rory Coulter; Daisy Fancourt

doi:10.1186/s12889-021-11740-6

Associations between neighbourhood deprivation and engagement in arts, culture and heritage: evidence from two nationally-representative samples

BMC Public Health. 2021 Sep 16;21(1):1685. doi: 10.1186/s12889-021-11740-6.

Authors

Hei Wan Mak¹, Rory Coulter², Daisy Fancourt³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Behavioural Science and Health, Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care, University College London, 1-19 Torrington Place, London, WC1E 7HB, UK.
² Department of Geography, University College London, Pearson Building, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6 BT, UK.
³ Department of Behavioural Science and Health, Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care, University College London, 1-19 Torrington Place, London, WC1E 7HB, UK. d.fancourt@ucl.ac.uk.

Abstract

Background: Previous research has shown the benefits of arts and cultural engagement for physical, mental and social wellbeing. This engagement is socially and geographically patterned. Yet it remains unclear whether place-based attributes are associated with engagement behaviour independent of individual factors. Therefore, the aim of this cross-sectional study was to robustly disentangle associations between geographical deprivation and arts engagement from the individual socio-demographic factors that tend to correlate with residential locations.

Methods: Two different samples drawn from two representative surveys of adults living in England were compared - Understanding Society Wave 2 (2010/12) (N = 14,782) and Taking Part survey (2010/11) (N = 4575). Propensity score matching (PSM) was applied to investigate the association between neighbourhood deprivation (20% most deprived vs 20% least deprived) and arts engagement (arts participation, cultural attendance and museums and heritage engagement).

Results: Higher levels of neighbourhood deprivation were associated with lower arts, culture and heritage engagement independent of individuals' demographic backgrounds, socio-economic characteristics and regional locations. When exploring subcategories of deprivation, similar results were obtained across deprivation domains. Results were also consistent when using more distinct categories of deprivation (i.e. 10% most deprived vs 10% least deprived) and when comparing people living in the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods with those living in the 40% medium-deprived areas.

Conclusion: This study is the first to apply a robust PSM technique to examine the association between neighbourhood deprivation and arts engagement using two nationally-representative samples. Results show that neighbourhood deprivation may act as a barrier that could prevent people from engaging in the arts, which in turn may exacerbate social and health inequalities. This highlights the importance of place-based schemes that focus on increasing individual motivation and capacity to engage in arts and cultural activities, especially in areas of high deprivation.

Keywords: Arts and cultural engagement; Geographical inequalities; Neighbourhood deprivation; Propensity score matching.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Cross-Sectional Studies
England
Geography
Humans
Motivation*
Residence Characteristics*
Socioeconomic Factors

Grants and funding

205407/Z/16/Z/WT_/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom