Culture on Prescription

In recent years, interest has grown regarding the role of cultural participation in supporting mental health. Research suggests that engaging with culture is associated with improved well-being and reduced stress, and may even serve as a protective factor against mental disorders (e.g., Cuypers et al., 2012; Grossi et al., 2012; Hansen et al., 2015; Lee et al., 2021). Despite these findings, existing studies often focus on narrow forms of participation, such as the visual arts or festivals (Trupp et al., 2025; Wood & Moss, 2015). A broader perspective that includes diverse, everyday cultural practices remains less common (e.g., Verboord et al., 2025).

This project aims to understand what cultural participation means to young people and to empirically examine the links between different forms of cultural engagement, mental well-being, and emotion regulation. We also seek to identify which characteristics of cultural events contribute to better well-being in this demographic, while considering the specific context of participation and potential barriers to access.

The project is divided into two distinct parts:

1. Participatory Research In the first stage, participatory workshops are conducted with groups of young people, including students and young professionals. These workshops seek to define what cultural participation means to this demographic and to understand how they engage with culture. The research explores the meanings they assign to different events, the specific characteristics of these experiences that are most strongly linked to improved well-being, and the barriers that may limit their access.
2. Research on Cultural Participation in Everyday Life In this phase, participants are assigned either to an experimental group that attends cultural events organized by partner institutions—specifically Katowice City of Gardens and the Kraków Festival Office—or to a control group. These roles rotate throughout the study's subsequent phases. Using questionnaires, diaries, and experience sampling methods, we assess well-being, emotion regulation, social relationships, and patterns of cultural participation. This approach allows us to identify the features of cultural events most significantly associated with the well-being of the participants.