An investigation of perceived stress, self-esteem and happiness levels of adolescents dealing with and not performing performing arts

Adolescence is a turbulent transitional stage in which the individual moves from childhood towards adulthood. Many physical and psychological changes occur in this period. This study examines the perceived stress, self-esteem and happiness levels of performing arts-involved and uninvolved adolescents. The high school adolescents from Kemal Atay Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School, Avcılar Firuzköy Multi-Program Anatolian High School and Avcılar Public Education Center in Istanbul Avcılar District participated in this study, including 176 performing arts-involved and 176 performing arts-uninvolved students. The participants are requested to have parent permission form filled out since they are under the age of 18. Survey method based correlational research model is used in the study. Personal Information Form, Perceived Stress Scale, Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale and Oxford Happiness Questionnaire are used to measure demographic characteristics, perceived stress, self-Esteem and happiness levels respectively. The data collected through internet are transferred to the SPSS 25 program and analyzed. The analysis examines the normal distribution of the data based on the kurtosis and skewness values. Pearson Correlation Analysis is used to examine the relationship between Perceived Stress Scale, Oxford Happiness Questionnaire and Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale. In addition, Independent Samples T-Test and One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) are used to determine whether the Perceived Stress Scale, Oxford Happiness Questionnaire and Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale differed significantly according to demographic variables. 53.4% and 46.6% of the participants involved in artistic activities are female and male respectively, while 48.3% and 51.7% of the participants who are not involved in artistic activities are female and male respectively. The results of the study shows that there are significant differences in perceived stress, self-esteem and happiness levels of adolescents involved in performing arts compared to those who are not involved in performing arts. In conclusion, it was found that performing arts contribute to the psychological well-being of adolescents. In addition, the study on gender, age, income status and parental education in terms of demographic characteristics of the performing arts-involved and uninvolved adolescents shows that there are significant differences in some demographic characteristics, while in others, there are no significant differences. Keywords: Performing Arts, Adolescent, Perceived Stress, Self-Esteem, Happiness Level