Scottish Government

CHAPTER 2 Participating in Cultural Activities

More than three quarters (79%) of adults had participated in a cultural activity in the last 12 months. Table 2.1 groups activities into different categories, and gives results in descending order of popularity. As the results show, by far the most common category of cultural activity was reading or buying books (69%), followed by any type of performance(25%), craftwork (20%), buying cultural items (17%) and visual arts (15%).

Table 2.1 Participation in categories of cultural activities in the last 12 months

Column percentages, 2007 data, adult population

Note: Respondents may have participated in more than one category of activity.

See Annex A for mapping of specific cultural activities to categories above

The categories in Table 2.1 were made up by grouping the individual cultural activities detailed in Table 2.2.

Looking at the more detailed list of cultural activities in Table 2.2, the most common cultural activities that people had participated in (over the last 12 months) were reading for pleasure (64%), followed by buying a book (40%). Over a quarter (27%) had read a Scottish book or a book by a Scottish author.

Other cultural activities in which substantial numbers had participated were textile crafts (14%), buying original or handmade crafts (13%), playing a musical instrument for respondent's own pleasure (11%) and painting, drawing, printing or sculpture (10%).

Table 2.2 Participation in cultural activities in the last 12 months

Column Percentages, 2007 data, adult population

Note: Respondents may have participated in more than one activity.

Differences in Participation

Women were more likely to have participated in any cultural activity (82%) than men (74%). Figure 2.1 shows that the main categories where women participated more than men were reading / buying books; crafts; and cultural purchases.

In terms of specific cultural activities, women were more likely than men to have participated in dance, reading, crafts such as calligraphy or pottery and the buying of handmade crafts. Men were more likely than women to have done wood crafts or played a musical instrument for their own pleasure.

Figure 2.1 Participation in categories of cultural activities in the last 12 months, by gender

Column percentages, 2007 data, adult population

Base: All respondents (3,383)

Note - Respondents may have participated in more than one category of activity

In terms of age, participation was highest among those aged 16 to 24 (85%), and lowest among those aged over 75 (71%), although there was little difference between participation rates in the 'middle' age groups. This is illustrated in Figure 2.2 below.

There were also differences in the types of cultural activity in which different age groups took part. People aged under 25 were much more likely to have done writing than other groups, and less likely to have done crafts. Generally, participation in visual arts and computer based activities was higher among people aged under 45 years.

Figure 2.2 Participation in categories of cultural activities in the last 12 months, by age

Column Percentages, 2007 data, adult population

Base: All respondents (3,383)

There were strong differences in participation based on where people lived - those in the least deprived areas were much more likely than those in the most deprived areas to have participated in any type of cultural activity (87% and 67% respectively). Participation also increased with income - 88% of those with incomes over £36,400 per annum had taken part in a cultural activity compared with 73% of those with incomes between £5,200 and £10,399. The exception to this was individuals with an income of less than £5,199, who had slightly higher than average participation rates. This may be because these individuals tend to be people who are not working and therefore have more free time in which to participate in culture, whereas those in the second group are likely to be those employed and earning low incomes.

Figure 2.3 Non-participation in categories of cultural activities in the last 12 months, by gross annual income of respondent

Column percentages, 2007 data, adult population

Base: All respondents (3,303)

Those people who had a longstanding illness or disability were less likely than those without, to have taken part in a cultural activity (72% compared to 81%).

Cultural participation also appears to be strongly related to level of qualification. People who held qualifications of Higher/A level or above had high participation rates of at least 89%, those with lower qualifications had participation rates of around 74%, whilst only 60% of people with no qualifications had participated in any cultural activity in the last year.

There were no consistent differences in cultural participation between people living in urban and rural areas, although those living in the most remote rural areas had the highest level of participation (81%) compared with the 79% overall participation rate. However, individuals who did not have access to a car were less likely to have participated in a cultural activity than others, and not having a car can be expected to have more of a negative impact in rural areas.

Follow-up questions on cultural activities

Due to time constraints in the survey questionnaire, and to avoid excessive repetition of questions, respondents were not asked follow-up questions on the full list of cultural activities given in Table 2.2.

Instead, follow-up questions were asked of people who had participated in the following shortened list of activities shown below:

• singing to an audience, or rehearsal for a performance (not karaoke)
• playing a musical instrument to an audience, or rehearsal for a performance
• playing a musical instrument for individual's own pleasure
• dance
• ballet
• for fitness
• not for fitness
• rehearsal or performance in a play/drama
• rehearsal or performance in a opera/operetta
• painting, drawing, printing, or sculpture
• photography as an artistic activity
• Making films or videos as an artistic activity

Follow-up questions covered frequency of participation, reasons for participation, factors that would encourage more frequent participation and reasons for non-participation.

These follow-up questions were intended to provide a general picture of factors influencing cultural participation (or non-participation), and frequency of participation. With the exception of the questions on frequency of participation, results are not presented for specific cultural activities.

Frequency of participation in cultural activities

People who participated in at least one of the cultural activities in the shortened list (in the last 12 months) were then asked how often they had done the activity.Frequency results for an activity relate only to those who had participated in that activity.

Table 2.3 Respondents participated in a specific cultural activity in last 12 months

Column percentages, 2007 data, adult population

Note: Respondents who had taken part in at least one of the cultural activities from the shortened list. Respondents may have given more than one reason.

• The cultural activity most likely to be done at least once a week was playing a musical instrument for pleasure (48%), with an additional 20% doing so at least once a month
• Dancing for fitness was the next most popular activity to have been done at least once a week by participants (44%), with a further 26% having danced for fitness at least once a month
• Of those who had done any painting, drawing, printing or sculpture, a third (33%) had done so at least once a week and a further quarter (25%) at least once a month
• Of those who had done photography as an artistic activity, 23% said they did so at least once a week and a further 32% at least once a month
• For dancing (not for fitness), one fifth of participants (20%) had done so at least once a week, a further 23% at least once a month, with 33% taking part at least 3-4 times a year

Reasons why people participate in cultural activities

People who had participated in at least one of the 'shortened list' of cultural activities were asked their reasons for doing so. Results are not broken down to specific activities, but are combined to give a general feel for the reasons why people take part in cultural activities.

As Table 2.4 shows, the main reasons given were enjoyment (55%), relaxation (24%) and learning or developing new skills (21%). Women were slightly more likely to participate because they were accompanying children (12% compared to 7% of men), as were those aged 35-44 years (21%). Individuals aged 16 to 24 years and those living in the most deprived areas were most likely to say that they had participated in cultural activities to learn new skills (34% and 32% respectively).

Table 2.4 Reasons why respondents participated in cultural activities in last 12 months

Column percentages, 2007 data, adult population

Note: Respondents who had taken part in at least one of the cultural activities from the shortened list. Respondents may have given more than one reason.

What would encourage people to participate in cultural activities more often?

People who had participated in at least one of the cultural activities (from the shortened list), were then asked about whether they would like to participate more often. To save time in the questionnaire, people were only asked about one activity. If they had taken part in more than one of the selected activities, the activity chosen for follow-up was randomly selected.

Again, data are not provided for each activity but, instead, are combined to give a general view of whether participants would typically like to participate more often in the cultural activities they do.

Two in five (40%) people who had participated in at least one cultural activity said that they would like to participate more often in the specific cultural activity that was followed. There were no major differences between different groups although, generally, as people aged they were less likely to want to participate more often.

As Table 2.4 shows, the main factor that would encourage people who want to participate more frequently to actually do so, was if they had more time. This, of course, is a factor outwith cultural providers' control.

However, 14% said that they would participate more if they had other people to do the activity with, 13% if there were more facilities closer to where they lived, 11% if more information was available, and 12% if cheaper professional tuition was available. All of these factors could potentially be influenced by cultural policy and providers.

Table 2.5 Factors that would encourage participants to participate more often

Column percentages, 2007 data, adult population

Note: Respondents who participated in at least one cultural activity (from the shortened list), and had indicated they would like to participate more often in the specific cultural activity were followed up in the questionnaire. Respondents may have given more than one reason.

When examining factors that would encourage more frequent participation by gender, there were slight differences. Men were more likely than women to say that more information on what was available, easier access to the building and cheaper tuition fees would encourage more frequent participation. Women were more likely than men to say that more free time would encourage them to participate more often.

At present, there are no data available from this survey to demonstrate what would encourage different social groups (apart from gender) to participate more often. This is due to small sample sizes at these levels. That is, when the number of participants is broken down into the different social groups, the numbers of people in individual categories become small, and the level of sampling errors becomes too high to produce estimates.

Reasons why people do not participate in cultural activities

For those who had not participated in cultural activities (from the shortened list) in the last year, main reasons given were individual personal reasons such as they were not really interested (48%); it was difficult to find the time (22%); their health was not good enough (13%); and it had never occurred to them (11%). Full results are given in Table 2.6.

It would be difficult for cultural policy to influence the time and health factors (although the latter may be a proxy for disability, and making activities more accessible could go some way to address this issue), but possible promotion and marketing of cultural activities available in local areas may in turn provoke an interest by people in taking part.

Table 2.6 Reasons why respondents did not participate in cultural activities in last 12 months

Column percentages, 2007 data, adult population

Note: Respondents who had not taken part in any of the cultural activities from the shortened list. Respondents may have given more than one reason.

This analysis of non-participation relates only to a shortened list of cultural activities - that is, it does not imply a high overall level of non-participation (for example, it excludes reading and buying books, which are included in the participation rate (79%) reported earlier).

There was little difference between those living in the most and in the least deprived areas giving the reason that cultural participation costs too much. Full results are shown in Table 2.7. Similarly, this was the case with those on low and those on high incomes. This suggests that costs are not a key barrier to cultural participation.

However, health reasons did emerge as a particular issue for those living in the most deprived areas, those on the lowest incomes and those without access to a car.

Those on low incomes, and those without access to a car, were also more likely than others to cite lack of transport as a barrier. Finding it difficult to find the time was an issue particularly for those in the least deprived areas and those on the highest incomes.

Table 2.7 Reasons why respondents did not participate in cultural activities in the last 12 months, by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation ( SIMD) quintiles

Column percentages, 2007 data, adult population

Note: Respondents who have not taken part in any of the cultural activities from the shortened list. Respondents may have given more than one reason.

Looking at differences between other groups, women were more likely than men to say they found it difficult to find the time (26% compared to 16%), and less likely to say they had no interest (39% compared to 58%).

There were few consistent differences in reasons for non-participation between urban and rural residents, although fewer people living in large urban areas said that they found it difficult to find the time (18%) than in remote rural areas (34%).

In terms of age, people aged over 75 years were most likely not to have participated because of their health, while those aged under 60 years were more likely to cite lack of time as a barrier.

Unsurprisingly, a large proportion (40%) of those with a disability or longstanding illness said they had not participated as their health was not good enough.

Conclusions

A large majority of people (79%) have participated in at least one cultural activity in the last year. However, there are important differences in participation among groups within society, with men, older people, those living in the most deprived areas, disabled people, those with no cars in the household, on low incomes and without qualifications all less likely to have participated in any cultural activity in the last year. For example, the average rate for non-participation in any cultural activity is 21%, yet the rates for these different groups are all higher than the average - men 26%; 75+ years 29%; living in the most deprived area 33%; disabled people 28%; no access to a car 31%; on a low income 27%; and no qualifications 40%. These groups may need specific targeting and support to enable them to make full use of the cultural opportunities available to them.

The findings on reasons for not taking part in cultural activities also reveal some interesting factors. Cost does not appear to be a major issue for most groups, irrespective of income. Instead, the most important barriers were lack of interest, lack of time and health. Poor health was a particular problem among people living in the most deprived areas and those on low incomes, while time constraints were more important for those in the least deprived areas and those with the highest incomes.

A substantial minority of those who do participate however, would like to do so more often. While the key factor that is preventing them from doing so is lack of time, other factors such as not having anyone to do it with, lack of facilities close by, and lack of information could potentially be addressed through cultural policy outreach initiatives.