Relationships between financial, cultural, emotional, and general wellbeing: A structural equation modeling study

The impacts of cultural engagement on individuals’ health and wellbeing have been well documented. Researchers have highlighted positive effects on various psychological, physiological, and social outcomes as a result of participation in cultural events such as attending concerts, theater, museums, and art exhibits. The purposes of this study were to create an instrument to measure wellbeing constructs (e.g., cultural, emotional, social, physical) and explore the relationships among them. A sample of 358 participants attending concerts performed by a civic orchestra in the southeastern United States completed a questionnaire designed to measure eight wellbeing constructs. Split half exploratory confirmatory factor analyses resulted in the retention of four wellbeing constructs: general, emotional, financial, and cultural. Structural equation modeling showed statistically significant relationships between cultural wellbeing and the other wellbeing constructs. In addition to the indirect effect of financial wellbeing on emotional and general wellbeing through cultural wellbeing, there were also direct statistically significant relationships. These results highlight the relationship between cultural wellbeing on emotional and general wellbeing and the importance of removing financial barriers to cultural engagement. In addition, the retained cultural wellbeing items focused primarily on community features, indicating the value of community-based cultural engagement opportunities.