Creating ways to #BeeWell: examining the relationship between young people's participation in arts, culture and entertainment activities and their wel

Wellbeing, as defined by young people themselves, is about feeling good and functioning well [1]; the latest
research indicates that it has been in decline for over a decade [2]. Further evidence demonstrates that
adolescent wellbeing is a key marker for school attainment, adult wellbeing, mental and physical health,
labour market/socioeconomic, and relational outcomes [3]. Accordingly, improving our understanding of the
drivers of adolescent wellbeing is a research and policy priority [4]. This proposal focuses on the role of
young people's participation in arts, culture and entertainment (PACE) activities in their wellbeing, directly
addressing priorities for future research identified in a recent review [5], and responding to the call for more
robust approaches in an area where the evidence is "generally weak" [6]. Working with Factory International,
our interdisciplinary, mixed-methods project blends secondary analysis and new data generation to address
the following research questions:
RQ1: What latent profiles of PACE can be identified among 12-15 year-olds, and what are their
antecedents and consequences?
RQ2: From the perspective of young people themselves, how does PACE influence their wellbeing?
RQ3: Does participation in the Factory School programme lead to improved adolescent wellbeing?
The project will adopt the journal format. Accordingly, it will comprise three related studies, outlined below.
We note an indicative target journal for each, which will be accompanied by a parallel accessible output aimed
at non-academic audiences (e.g., blog, evidence briefing).