The quality of life of art and non-art students: a comparative study

Introduction This study aimed to identify the perceived impact of studying arts on quality of life (QOL), using a sample of 237 non-art students from Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University (PSAU) and 62 art students from the Royal Institute of Traditional Arts (TRITA) in Jeddah, Al-Ahsa, and Al-Qassim. Methods The study used a mixed-methods approach, where both quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed. For data collection, a questionnaire was developed and validated to collect quantitative data and personal interviews were conducted to collect qualitative data. The QOL Questionnaire was administered to all students. Furthermore, 11 students from TRITA were interviewed for qualitative data. Results The levels of the QOL ranged from moderate to high for art and non-art students. Art students significantly outperformed non-art students in the psychological dimension and the time management and leisure activities dimension, while non-art students outperformed art students in the social dimension. No significant differences were found between the two groups in the academic dimension. Qualitative analysis of interview data produced some common themes regarding the perceived impact of studying art on students' QOL. Discussion Studding arts proved to have positive impacts on some aspects of QOL as indicated by the participants' responses to the questionnaire and the themes extracted from the interviews with some art students. Identification of artistically gifted university students and nurturing their art interests is recommended to help them enjoy better QOL while getting their degrees.