Phenotyping arts engagement as a health behaviour using 20 years of the American Time Use Survey

Arts engagement is becoming recognised as a health behaviour, but there has not yet been any national monitoring of engagement levels or trends in disparities over time. We provide the first behavioural phenotyping of arts engagement between 2003 and 2023 in the United States, using a nationally representative sample from the American Time Use Survey (n=236,270). Daily arts engagement rates remained stable from 2003 to 2023, with small underlying increases in participatory engagement (dancing, performing, arts and crafts, writing) and slight declines in receptive engagement (attending performing arts, museums, watching dancing). Listening to and making music did not change over time. There were less consistent trends in time spent on the arts. People increasingly did arts activities alone at home. There were disparities in engagement, with differing trends according to sex, age, and income. Our findings demonstrate the importance of national monitoring of arts engagement alongside other health behaviours.