Creative abilities might slightly reduce loneliness in children, study suggests

A study of primary school children found that those with stronger creative abilities tend to feel slightly less lonely. It is possible that children with better creative abilities also have a greater understanding of the thoughts, feelings, and perspectives of others. In turn, this could lead to lower feelings of loneliness. The research was published in Learning and Individual Differences.

Creativity is the ability to generate new ideas, solutions, or artistic expressions by thinking in original and imaginative ways. It allows people to connect seemingly unrelated concepts and find innovative approaches to problems. Creativity is not limited to art but is also essential in science, technology, and everyday life. It is influenced by factors such as curiosity, openness to experience, and cognitive flexibility.

While some people seem naturally more creative, creativity can also be developed through practice, exploration, and exposure to diverse perspectives. The brain’s neuroplasticity—its ability to develop new connections between neurons and reorganize them into new networks—plays a key role in creativity, enabling new neural pathways that enhance idea generation. Challenges, constraints, and even failure often spark creativity by pushing individuals to think beyond conventional solutions.

Study author Joanna Smogorzewska and her colleagues note that the process of creation brings joy and excitement to people and can enhance their quality of life. However, the role of creativity in children’s everyday social functioning at school remains insufficiently understood. The authors sought to explore the relationship between children’s creativity, their Theory of Mind abilities, and their feelings of loneliness in the school environment.

They interpreted creativity as children’s fluency of thinking and creative imaginary abilities. Theory of Mind refers to the ability to understand that others have their own thoughts, feelings, and perspectives, which may differ from one’s own. The study authors hypothesized that more creative children would also tend to have better Theory of Mind abilities. In turn, these Theory of Mind abilities might lead to lower feelings of loneliness.

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The study participants were 743 children from 16 primary schools in various regions of Poland. Among them, 412 were girls. All participants were fluent in Polish, and the average age was 9 years.

The children completed assessments of their creative abilities—specifically, fluency of thinking and the vividness, originality, and transformation of creative imagery (measured using the Test of Creative Imagery Abilities). They were also assessed on their Theory of Mind abilities (using a task developed by the authors) and their levels of loneliness (measured with the Loneliness and Social Dissatisfaction Scale).

The results showed that creative abilities were not directly associated with loneliness, but Theory of Mind abilities were very weakly associated with it. In other words, children who were better able to understand the thoughts, feelings, and perspectives of others tended to be slightly less lonely on average.

The researchers tested a statistical model proposing that creative abilities lead to better Theory of Mind abilities, and that better Theory of Mind abilities, in turn, lead to lower feelings of loneliness. Their analyses suggested that such a relationship between these psychological characteristics is possible.

“The current investigation, which involved a large sample of school age students, not only established positive links among fluency of thinking, creative imagery and children’s ToM [Theory of Mind abilities], but also showed their potential benefits for social relationships and a lessening of feeling lonely. We observed quite robust negative associations between ToM and feelings of loneliness and negative indirect links between creativity and loneliness as mediated by ToM,” the study authors concluded.

The study sheds light on the connections between children’s cognitive abilities and feelings of loneliness. However, its design does not allow for causal inferences to be drawn from the results. Additionally, the observed association between Theory of Mind abilities and loneliness was very weak.

The paper, “Creativity, theory of mind and loneliness – The links between cognitive and social abilities of school-age children,” was authored by Joanna Smogorzewska, Grzegorz Szumski, Paweł Grygiel, Sandra Bosacki, and Maciej Karwowski.