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THE IMPACT OF THE TORTURED ARTIST STEREOTYPE ON THE

MENTAL HEALTH OF CREATIVE INDIVIDUALS

Name

COURSE CODE: Course Name

Instructor

School

Submission Date
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Start date;

Duration: 12 months.

Applicants: I, …My Name Here …, the researcher, is the principal investigator of the research.
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ABSTRACT

The proposed research is a mixed-methods cross-sectional study on a sample of about 32

UK artists, and the aim is to examine their perceptions regarding the “tortured artist” stereotype’s

association to mental health. The “tortured artist” is an archetype and stereotype representing an

artist with mental health problems. The study’s mental health aspects of focus include whether

the tortured artist experience is perceived to warrant seeking mental health support, whether it is

attributed to artistic work, whether it is perceived to drive performance, and how the artist would

respond to seeking mental health in the context of the “tortured artist” stereotype. The study will

sample UK artists verified on major social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and

Instagram. In sequentially applying quantitative then qualitative data collection methods and

analyzing them separately, the study will be able to triangulate the findings. Statistical analysis of

quantitative data using SPSS will be via descriptive, correlational, ANOVA, and regression

analyses. The qualitative data analysis will be thematic. The study will be filling a narrow gap in

literature where this stereotype has not been examined for the particular mental health

perceptions and for the assortment of artists described in this study.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Start date;.........................................................................................................................................2
Duration...........................................................................................................................................2
Applicants:.......................................................................................................................................2
ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................................3
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................5
LITERATURE REVIEW.................................................................................................................6
METHODS....................................................................................................................................11

Design........................................................................................................................................11
Participants.................................................................................................................................11

Sampling.................................................................................................................................11

Materials.....................................................................................................................................13
Procedure...................................................................................................................................14

Participant Recruitment:.........................................................................................................14
Informed Consent:..................................................................................................................15
Reliability and Validity...........................................................................................................15

Ethics..........................................................................................................................................17

ANALYSIS AND REPORTING...................................................................................................18

CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................21
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................24
Appendix........................................................................................................................................30

Quantitative Survey:..................................................................................................................32
Qualitative Written Interview:...................................................................................................33
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THE IMPACT OF THE TORTURED ARTIST STEREOTYPE ON THE

MENTAL HEALTH OF CREATIVE INDIVIDUALS

INTRODUCTION

Psychological disorders have complex relations with creative performance with both

productive and counter-productive outcomes (Boydell et al., 2019). The benefits of creativity are

readily evident in diverse facets of life, including products and aesthetical and entertaining

outcomes (Sawaf, 2022). However, the effort to create includes mental and social costs and risks,

including stigma and risky lifestyles characterized by overindulgence and health challenges

(Ginis et al., 2022; Mota, 2021). Whether authentic artistic talent must involve challenges that

threaten one’s mental health has also been extensively debated (O'Reilly et al., 2022). Still,

transient episodes of heightened productivity and hyperactivity have been found to spur

creativity (Andreasen, 2008). Therefore, the notion of the "tortured artist" has reverberated over

the ages, psychological distress being central to how the tortured artist is defined (Seife, 2022).

Many noteworthy cases of mentally troubled artists like Vincent van Goh, Kurt Cobain,

Sylvia Plath, and XXXTentacion or Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy have made the “tortured

artist” trait to reverberate across history, even with grim eventualities like suicide or extensive

self-destruction and loss (Folayan, 2022; Palmiero et al., 2023; Berg et al., 2022). The purpose of

this study is to examine how the "tortured artist" stereotype associates with the mental health

aspects of artists, particularly; their attitudes towards seeking mental health support or

justification for its role in their work and performance that could be behind their mental health

seeking attitudes.
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LITERATURE REVIEW

The literature review explores three areas of the link drawn between artistic creativity and

mental health, emerging complexity of the link or associations made and associated gaps in

literature, and the rationale behind mental health perceptions based on literature. The “tortured

artist” is one experiencing mental health problems, hence these thematic areas for this review.

Link between Artistic Creativity and Mental Health

Ginis et al. (2022) investigated the relationship between creative creativity and the mental

and physical well-being of distinguished female visual artists. Ginis et al. (2022) suggests that

there has been a longstanding association between artistic creativity and both bodily and

psychological distress. According to Ginis et al. (2022), it has been argued that the prevalent

perception of artists as pained and tortured individuals is widespread, and there exists supporting

data indicating that artists may possess an increased vulnerability to psychopathological

conditions. The researchers employed a qualitative approach in a group of 10 distinguished

female visual artists from Australia. The results of their research revealed that physical and

mental illnesses can have both enhancing and inhibiting effects on artistic creativity. In specific

situations, the pursuit of professional practice may have a detrimental impact on one's overall

well-being, while simultaneously engaging in creative activities can yield therapeutic and

cathartic benefits (Teachenor, 2022). Still, a deeper understanding of creativity and its effects on

both physical and psychological health is essential as the phenomena could also counteract and

stereotypes also come with social stigma that is associated with mental illness (Skryabin et al.,

2020; Mota, 2021). The findings of the study conducted by Ginis et al. (2022) demonstrated

intricate and bidirectional relationships, in which both physical and mental health exerted an

influence on creativity, and vice versa.

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Complexity and Gaps in Literature

Skryabin et al. (2020) found extensive lack of information on mental health in creative

work whereby; an artist’s mental health problems are often disregarded and misrepresented.

Furthermore, the complexity of the art-mental health associations requires more in-depth

information to understand whether artistic practices cause or alleviate mental health as Wiltshire

(2020) notes that artistic work is also used in therapy to pursue psychiatric normalcy yet many

artists also use art as a cultural response to question psychiatric labels like ‘normal’. The gap and

lack of clarity on the association between art and mental health is also widened by the artists’

attitudes as Alacovska & Kärreman (2022) note that artists embracing the “tortured artist”

stereotype sometimes self-impose it to themselves through maladaptive strategies where they

self-analyze, self-diagnose, and self-medicate. Therefore, the complexity of the reality

characterizing the “tortured artist” makes it necessary to disentangle more aspects of the

association of the stereotype to mental health.

Some studies attempting to narrow down on particular aspects of mental health

association to artistic work have focused on mood states and predisposition to becoming

mentally ill. Palmiero et al. (2023) investigated the impacts that mood states have on artistic

expression. The study had 90 participants from a university averagely aged 22 years and in three

groups of those reporting the states of negative, neutral, and positive mood. The researchers

employed mood manipulation by instructing the respondents to listen to music that they had

determined to match their moods, and the exposure time was ten minutes. A tool profiling mood

states (i.e., a POMS tool was applied to evaluate the mood states, determining vigor-activity (V))

or depression-dejection (i.e., D) prior to and after the exposure, and creativity evaluated over

Clark's Drawing Ability Testing (i.e., the CDAT tool). Upon running statistical tests, including
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ANCOVAs and gender as a controlled covariate, the findings showed that the mood induction

mechanism had significant mood-altering effects, but negative mood had higher creativity and

emotionality in expressions that the respondents drew than neutral and positive moods. Hussain

(2021) also demonstrated a mood association to art by focusing on color, finding that; by making

color choices, artists could experience a therapeutic effect, including mood elevation.

Palmiero et al.'s (2023) and Hussain (2021) studies show key components of mental

health having associations with creativity. The current study’s focus on the "tortured artist”

stereotype involves mental health challenges as the characteristic of such artists, whose

expressions can be characterized by emotionality and their lives disrupted by mental health

challenges. Palmiero et al.'s research shows that artistic outcomes vary when the mood states

change, which could provide some insight in the interpretation of potential results of the current

study if the evidence points to variations in performance based on mental health state that the

stereotype represents. Gross and Musgrave (2020) also show broader aspects of career struggles

cause mental health challenges even though the struggles also inspire artistic creativity.

Kumar (2019) also investigated the connection between artistry and mental health using

grounded theory and semi-structured interviews and a sample of eight actors. The constructivist

grounded theory methodology helps explore vast qualitative data that could also emerge from

such a small sample due to the in-depth approach. The acting industry, the acting process of

performance, and individual actor’s psychological, physical, and social aspects were had

substantial interrelationships, but which are also complex. The findings showed that the “acting

world” had an addictive quality that it imposes on the actor in a high-pressure culture, having

low job security, and isolating the actor from friends and family. Actors then give up other

important life endeavors because they are under compulsion, and they attempt anchoring
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themselves on the darkest, deepest, and painful memories to gain and show character. Similarly,

Ourtani (2021) found that some artistic experiences are part of by-products of clinically

diagnosed mental disorders while other artistic endeavors are part of therapy. The systematic

review had also focused on artistic creativity in general and association to mental health. In

finding only one study to be showing a negative link and the vast majority (21) to be showing

benefits of artistic creativity on mental health, Ourtani (2019) also indicated that general mental

health benefits from general creativity. Such studies have not narrowed down to particular artistic

traits or stereotypes in examining mental health associations. The current study seeks to narrowly

focus on mental health perceptions associated with the “tortured artist stereotype.”

Mental Health Perceptions

Artists are predisposed to exploring and applying uniquely diverse and subjective

creative and cognitive dispositions because creativity emerges from variations in how people

reason about situations (Zhang, 2017). Such variations are perceptions, and artists also impose

varying perceptions to mental health (Xue, 2022). Xue (2022) found highly diverse perceptions

to mental health in a grounded theory study examining the artists’ subjective mental, thus

arriving at 45 different perceptive references to what mental health meant for the artists. Some

artist shows heightened emotionality and sensitivity that they indicated to be advantageous to

their artistic expressions, which reflected mental states, e.g., negative moods, perceptions about

neurotic behaviour like killing numerous animals, and feelings about hurting other people versus

helping others. The widely varying perceptions indicated that perceptions could lean towards

mental states of disturbed person or also appear to be cathartic or relieving to the artist.

Therefore, examining perceptions of artists on mental health and related aspects can reveal some

of their emotions, thoughts, and struggles, and at an introspective and deep extent (Ginis et al.,
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2022). Both qualitative perceptions as in Xue (2022) and quantitative evaluations of perceptions

as in Fancourt and Mak (2020) have been explored diversely, also leaving many gaps, e.g.,

studies on particular perceptions being done in particular regions that leave artists in other

regions unexplored (Daniel, 2018), focus on select genres (Alacovska & Kärreman, 2023), and

failing to capture sufficient self-reported views and participation from targeted groups of artists

(Orkibi, 2021). The current study focuses on self-reported perceptions of UK artists in several

genres (i.e., visual arts, music, writing, painting, and acting), and diverse perspectives could

emerge to show how their perceptions of the “tortured artist” condition associates with mental

health, e.g., whether rt requires seeking mental health, has attributions to their work and

performance, occurrence of mental health problems, and the artists’ emerging views on the

matter.
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METHODS

Design

The study will be a mixed-methods cross-sectional research collecting and analyzing both

quantitative and qualitative data. Such a design can enhance research rigor (Guetterman et al.,

2021). The mixed-methods design utilizes data from a quantitative survey and qualitative

interview. Quantitative data from the survey will compose of responses to structured questions

where respondents respond with a numerical value or rating that is captured numerically into the

dataset. The qualitative data will emerge from the respondents’ responses to unstructured written

interview questions. Leko et al. (2021) notes that such approaches help to cross-validate findings.

Therefore, the study uses qualitative and quantitative methods.

Participants

The targeted participants will be “artists in the UK,” where the definition includes

individuals doing music, visual arts, creative writing, and acting by using their own artistic

expressions to routinely pursue such a goal as earn money or grow an audience or appear to drive

a commercial or social goal using the same artistic work or events based on the work. Identifying

the individuals is practical and easy to do on social media platforms that have search bars where

searching “music artists,” “painting artists,” “visual artists,” or “actors” brings up long lists of

verified artists on the platforms. The platforms where the researcher will perform the searches

will include Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter, which are the largest in the UK (Dixon,

2023).

Sampling

In the power estimation and sample size calculation, the studies considered included Palmiero et

al., (2023) and Smith et al. (2022).

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The following assumptions went into the power calculation:

1. Alpha (α): I set this at 0.05 (i.e., 95% confidence level).

2. The Desired Power (1–β): We set this at 0.80 (i.e., 80%).

3. The Effect Size (d): I assumed a moderate effect size at 0.50 as a starting point as this

particular study’s research question has not been particularly examined in any past

research data.

4. Measurements: There are no groups and thus I consider one measurement per

respondent.

5. Number of Covariates: The assumption is one covariate, age.

6. Population Variance (σ²): A moderate population variance of 1 is assumed.

Therefore, the sample size calculation for the single-group survey is as follows:

Sample (n) = [((Zα + Zβ)² * σ²) / (d)²] + Number of Covariates

= [((1.96 + 0.84)² * 1) / (0.50)²] + 1

= [((2.80)² * 1) / 0.25] + 1

= [7.84 * 1 / 0.25] + 1

= [7.84 / 0.25] + 1

≈ 31.36 + 1

≈ 32 respondents

Effect Size:

Sample (n) = [((1.96 + 0.84)² * 1) / (d)²] + 1

(d)² = [((1.96 + 0.84)² * 1) / (Sample (n) - 1)]

(d)² = [((2.80)² * 1) / (32 - 1)]

(d)² = [(7.84 * 1) / 31]

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(d)² = 0.25290322581

d ≈ √0.25290322581 ≈ 0.50

Therefore, I expect a moderate effect size regarding the impact of “tortured artist” perceptions on

mental health aspects of the artists.

In the above estimations, the study approximately needs 32 respondents to attain an 80%

power at a 95% confidence in the single-group survey design exploring the relationship between

the "tortured artist stereotype" and mental health while controlling for one covariate (i.e., age).

To account for the possibility of non-responsive individuals and dropouts, a higher target will be

pursued, which will increase the odds of attaining a sample of 32. Therefore, the researcher will

target to get 200 artists agreeing to participate and thus recruit them, proceed to solicit for their

contact emails or preferred digital response channel, then send them the survey questionnaire and

written interview in one combined document.

Materials

A vignette (see appendix) will provide a definition of the tortured artist stereotype and

three typical examples that are widely acknowledged as “tortured artists.” After reading the

vignette, the respondents will proceed to respond to the quantitative survey that has items based

on the three research questions then fill a corresponding qualitative written interview with open-

ended questions with items also based on the three research questions.

Structuring of the Survey

The survey question items are structured in the following manner (see appendix for detailed

survey tool):

1. To what extent do artists associate mental health incidents with the tortured artist stereotype?
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Here, the respondents will first respond to a question on whether they have ever been

diagnosed with a mental health problem by providing the number of times they’ve had such a

diagnosis (the lowest being zero and other scores being integer values). The respondents will

then respond to how many of those incidents they believe were largely due to “troubled

experience as an artist.” Furthermore, the respondents will then respond to how many of the

incidents associated to being a “troubled artist” led to a performance decline such as a failed

project or other major failures in their works.

2. Does perceiving glamour in the stereotype discourage artists from seeking mental health?

To cover this RQ, there will be a question gauging whether the respondents perceive the

“tortured artist” trait as glamorous in ways that may not warrant mental health (A. “the

experiences of a "tortured artist" should warrant seeking menta health help and ” B.

“would/would not seek mental health treatment if you were regarded to as a “tortured artist.”

3. In what ways does the stereotype influence the artist's perceived performance?

The respondents will then respond tow whether they perceive the trait to be

“Empowering the artist to excel in their career as an artist.” The responses will also be over a

Likert Scale of agreeableness with the statement.

Procedure

Participant Recruitment:

The researcher will set up accounts on the social media platforms Facebook, YouTube,

Instagram, and Twitter, labelling them appropriately with the researcher’s name and the goal of

completing a research project into the “tortured artist” stereotype and an invitation banner for

UK artists. The researcher will then make direct searches for artists using the search bar features

on the platforms to find artists in music, visual arts, creative writing, and acting. 32 respondents
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are needed to attain a research power of 80% at a 95% confidence based on the previous power

calculation and the process of participant recruitment will account for the possibility of non-

responsive individuals and dropouts using a higher target of 200 artists.

Informed Consent:

To gain the participants’ informed consent, a document for providing such consent will

be supplied and it will detail the study's title, purpose, and Min questions, the nature of the

information in the questionnaire, the participant’s free and uninhibited volition for participating

or withdrawing at any stage without further consequences, the process by which participant

privacy is to be guarded by not sharing any personally-identifying data and anonymizing

responses with random keys, storing the collected data in a password-protected device, and

destroying all raw data in a time frame of three months following its collection, and a section for

the clients to tick “I agree”.

Reliability and Validity

Research Reliability:

Standardizing the Data Collection: To attain reliability of the study, the data collection will be

standardized such that the exact same questions in the same format and document will be

deployed consistently to all participants. The approach will apply to both the survey questions

and interview questions. The uniformity of the data collection process will minimize differences

in measurement errors and ensure that all participants respond to the same prompts.

Pilot Testing: In sharing the survey and interview with three peers, the data collection tool was

deemed understandable and the responses were in a form that could be analyzed with intended
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application to the research questions. Prior to administering the survey and interview

participants, the researcher will conduct more pilot test using a group of ten randomly sampled

artists from the social media platforms to identify evaluate whether the responses reflect any

ambiguities, challenges, or inconsistencies that can be fixed when any affected questions are

improved. If the responses from the first test are unclear or have mostly missing data, subsequent

improvements and adjustments will be done in successive rounds to reach a useful and more

reliable set of items.

Inter-Rater Reliability: The qualitative data that is to come from open-ended interviews will be

coded by both the researcher and an independent coder to compare and the codes discussed then

the emerging sub-themes will also be compared in iterative rounds.

Consistent Sampling: The study will consistently sample respondents using random sampling

before identifying a minimum of 50 artists in each of the categories of music, visual arts, creative

writing, and acting in the initial pool and attempting to ensure a final sample of at least eight

artists in each of the four groups to attain the minimum of 32 participants.

Validity:

Content Validity: Aligning the survey and interview questions to the research questions helps

ensure they are also aligned to the objectives of the study. Such content validity ensures the

intended data is captured in measures.

Vignette Clarity: The other approach to improve validity was ensuring the vignette that is to be

provided to participants at the beginning of the survey has clarity and is easy to understand. In

showing the vignette to a scholar that has researched the same concepts, it will be critical to get

the confirmation that it effectively communicates the concept of the "tortured artist" stereotype to
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participants. A preliminary exposure of three peers to the vignette confirmed that they fully

understood the idea.

Ethics

The principal ethical concern of the proposed study revolves around the principles of

informed consent and anonymity. The research methodology will emphasize the idea of

voluntary involvement, with particular attention given to the potential sensitivity of the study's

subject matter. The primary focus will be placed on guaranteeing that individuals possess the

prerogative to discontinue their involvement in the research at any juncture if they are unwilling

to continue participating (MRC Principles and Guidelines for Good Research Practice, 2014).

The study also targets to follow the BPS Code of Ethics regarding human research (BPS, 2021)

and criteria for trustworthiness as outlined by Ginis et al. (2022). Given that the intended investigation

will focus on persons with creative abilities, the preservation of secrecy will be prioritized by

safeguarding private exchanges, including the extent of eccentricity required to be considered a

creative individual. The research endeavour aims to mitigate potential negative consequences

and hazards while maximizing positive outcomes. It also adheres to the principles and standards

outlined by the Medical Research Council (MRC) for promoting ethical research practices,

which include upholding privacy, human dignity, and individual autonomy (MRC Principles and

Guidelines for Good Research Practice, 2014).

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ANALYSIS AND REPORTING

Quantitative Data Analysis:

1. Descriptive Statistics: The analysis will start by computing descriptive statistics on

participant demographic data of age, i.e., range and mean, and the descriptives for

RQ1(i), RQ1(ii), RQ2(ii), RQ3(i), and RQ3(ii)

2. Correlations and Regression Tests:

o Research Question 1: To what extent do artists associate mental health incidents

with the tortured artist stereotype?

 Correlation analysis (Pearson correlation) will be used to explore the

relationship between the number of mental health diagnoses and the

perception of being a "troubled artist."

 A regression analysis will also help assess how the perception of being a

"troubled artist" relates to performance.

o Research Question 2: Does perceiving glamour in the stereotype discourage

artists from seeking mental health?

 The study will analyze the Likert scale responses via inferential statistics

(ANOVA) to compare the perceived glamour's impact on seeking mental

health treatment.

o Research Question 3: In what ways does the stereotype influence the artist's

perceived performance?

 Using ANOVA, inferential statistics will help examine the relationship

between the perception of the stereotype and its impact on artist

performance.
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Qualitative Data Analysis:

The analysis of qualitative data will follow the following steps:

1. Data Compilation: The collected responses will be reviewed for completeness and

compiled.

2. Coding: The subsequent step will be thematic coding of the data to identify units and

phrases that capture perceptions around the RQs. The researcher will seek an independent

coder to also generate comparative codes in 3 rounds. Comparing the codes will show

whether the process has reliability. The alternative would be to use software.

3. Qualitative Data Analysis: The subsequent phase will be analyzing the coded data to

based on participants' reported experiences to derive categories on how the "tortured

artist" stereotype is associated to mental health by determining subthemes that show

commonalities and major perspectives across the codes.

4. Identifying Major Themes: The final phase will involve reviewing the subthemes for

further commonalities to generalize related themes into main themes. The process will

also involve examining and providing the quotes and excerpts from the qualitative

interviews that associate the categories and thus support the thematic findings.

Integrating Quantitative and Qualitative Results:

1. Triangulation: The last phase will be comparing and contrasting findings from

quantitative and qualitative sections. The goal will be to understand whether and how the

findings explain each other, and whether they diverge to help in more comprehensive

reporting of the results to the reader.

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2. Discussion: Following the analysis, a discussion and deduction of implications of the

findings will be presented with proper relations made to literature. The stud will also

offer recommendations for practice and future research.

Interpretation

1. Descriptive Statistics: When calculating the mean for variables (e.g., RQ1(i), RQ1(ii),

RQ2(ii), RQ3(i), and RQ3(ii)), the magnitude of differences from the mean will show

whether there are strong or moderate or weaker perceptions and attitudes towards the

respective items being assessed per question. All these will be descriptively reported

2. Correlations: The strength of the relationship between perceptions of “tortured artist”

and mental health aspects that are inquired (including seeking mental health or having

past diagnosed incidents) and the relationship’s direction will also show potential effect

sizes.

3. Regression Analysis: Regression analysis will evaluate how the perception of being a

"troubled artist" (RQ1(ii) relates to the mental health items RQ2 (i) and RQ2(ii). (RQ1(ii)

will also be regressed to items reported under RQ3.s

4. ANOVA: The proportion of variance in torture artist perception (RQ1 (ii) on RQ2(ii).

(RQ1(ii) and RQ3 elements will also be evaluated. If there are large values of η² or large

partial η² values, these will indicate large effect sizes.

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CONCLUSION

Conclusive Summary

The proposal describes a study to explore the impact of the "tortured artist" stereotype on the

mental health perceptions of artists, including seeking mental health support, perception of

mental health in relation to their work, and perceived implications on their artistic performance.

The introductory premise is that artistic or creative works intertwine with some artists’

challenging life experiences, the potential costs, and psychosocial concerns, and this may go as

far as social stigma for some artists. Still, the tortured artist is still glamourized as in such figures

as Vincent van Goh, Kurt Cobain, Sylvia Plath, and XXXTentacion or Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo

Onfroy, and the practices associated with it continue, some being self-imposed or reinforced

(Alacovska & Kärreman, 2022). Therefore, the study sets out to answer the research questions:

 To what extent do artists associate mental health incidents with the tortured artist

stereotype?

 Does perceiving glamour in the stereotype discourage artists from seeking mental health?

 In what ways does the stereotype influence the artist's perceived performance?

The preliminary literature review reveals relationships between mental health and artistic

creativity in the context of the “tortured artist” archetype, including the complexity of the

relationship between artistic creativity and mental health (e.g., Ginis et al. (2022; Palmiero et al.

2023; Kumar, 2019), and the context of issues characterizing artists’ experiences and thus

warranting extended research into their perceptions regarding aspects of mental health and

associated issues.

The selected research methodology will involve a quantitative survey and qualitative

interview with each artist in the targeted sample of 32 artists in the UK, the initial sample being
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200 to ensure that this target will be attained. A vignette to introduce the concept of the "tortured

artist" stereotype will be part of the data collection tool – a structured set of survey questions and

a set of open-ended interview questions. The structured survey questions align with the three

main research questions and explore artists' associations with mental health incidents,

perceptions of glamour in the stereotype, and its influence on perceived performance. The

qualitative interview questions probe deeper and more openly into these aspects by allowing the

respondents to explain the associated responses. Reliability and validity attainment will be

enhanced, including standardizing the data collection process, pilot testing, consistent sampling,

inter-rater reliability in thematic coding, content validity, and ensuring vignette clarity.

Limitations

The proposed study will be limited as a single-group study whose findings should be

carefully generalized because the proposed effect size estimate is also moderate and this is a

limited form of research by a single researcher and over a small sample. The need to only

harness reasonable data amount within the limits of available resources for an individual and

which can be handled in this context creates the limitation. However, the delimitations include

the use of both quantitative and qualitative data, which improves the detail of the responses, and

thus the opportunity for triangulation of quantitative and qualitative findings. The approach may

bolster the rigor of this research, making it reasonably generalizable to UK artists in similar

contexts as that of the study.

Ethical Considerations

The proposal for ethical considerations is that the study will follows major principles of research

ethics as provided by MRC and concepts of informed consent and trustworthiness. The study will

conform to the ethical principles by MRC (2014), BPS Code of Ethics regarding human research
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(BPS, 2021), and also criteria for trustworthiness as outlined by Ginis et al. (2022). The

acknowledgement of the importance of maintaining anonymity will be appropriately recognized

throughout this investigation. Consequently, significant emphasis will be placed on safeguarding the

anonymity of participants in the ultimate written output, mitigating any possibility of identification

through its contents.

Bridging the Research Gap

While past studies have examined mental health among different groups of artists and

creative workers, they have not narrowed down to all artistic traits or contextualized such a

stereotype as the “tortured artist” to the mental health seeking perceptions based on how artists

view the “tortured artist.” Therefore, the proposed study will be filling this narrow gap in

knowledge and literature where this stereotype is yet to be examined for the particular mental

health perceptions stipulated in Q1 and Q2 and associations examined for Q3, and also for the

assortment of artists described in this study.

Methodological Strengths and Weaknesses

As a single-group study targeting the individual level unit of analysis and for a limited

sample of 32, this study has limited and very specific generalization requiring larger future

studies that may examine other groups of artists to establish whether they can reproduce the

potential trends or outcomes in the proposed study’s findings. For example, examining more

genres of artists or groups could show whether there are variations from the proposed study’s

outcomes. Examining artists that work closely in the mindfulness and self-care domains could

help show the actual effect of the “tortured artist” stereotype on mental health perceptions.

Word Count: ~ 4760

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Appendix

The Vignette

The "tortured artist" is the stereotype associated with artistic or creative people who also

experience emotional or psychological challenges or turmoil, and this sometimes emerges in

their work or the interpretation of such work. The stereotype suggests that artists, when pursuing

artistic excellence, encounter constraints related to their mind, challenges, and obstacles, which

could disorient them in many different possible ways. The problems could have begun prior to an

active career or could emerge during the career or simply worsen during the career. The typical

terms used for their turmoil include “inner demons,” “personal struggles,” and “emotional

issues,” but the broader umbrella term is “mental health.” Some of the “tortured artists” have

displayed depression, anxiety, and other metal disorders. Whether these problems facilitate their

artistic expressions or not is a subjective matter for interpretation, but there are many typical

examples where an association has been made in popular interpretations of their works. If you

have fully understood this premise, you can proceed to the interview questions in section B. If

you need some further elaboration, read the examples of the three “tortured artists” below then

proceed to section B.

Vincent van Gogh: The Passionate Tormented Painter

One typical example of the "tortured artist" is Vincent van Gogh, the Dutch post-impressionist

painter whose career began with events of an emotional breakup and spiritual turmoil in his

twenties. Towards his late twenties and into his late thirties, his career blossomed before ending

in his isolation and eventual suicide at age 37. His biography and work samples are here at

Britannica (n.d.a)

Sylvia Plath: The Literary Luminary in Darkness

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Another iconic "tortured artist" is Sylvia Plath, an American novelist and poet. Plath's artistic

career started at the age of eight when she published her first poem. Her father died when she

was eight years old. The artist’s career blossomed from around the age of 20 up to 1963, shortly

before her death at age 31. Some of the most famous works include “Daddy,” a poem she wrote

at age eight and which details the emotional turmoil of a woman struggling to cope with her

father’s death. While in college in her twenties (1952–1955), she experienced severe depression

and attempted suicide. In just 3 years from 1956 to 1960, she married, worked as a college tutor,

and moved between Cambridge and London. In 1962, she separated from her husband and

committed suicide in 1963. The artist’s biography and sample works are at Britannica (n.d.b)

Kurt Cobain: The Sonic Tormentor

Kurt Cobain, is another typical example of “tortured artist,” an American musician that founded

the Nirvana band. Kobain’s career blossomed from around age 20 in 1987. In 1988 he wrote

“Negative Creep” and all other major tracks (except one) on Nirvana’s debut album, and such

notable tracks were characterized by lyrics expressing social awkwardness and anti-social

expressions. Kobain’s life challenges were mainly from his childhood whereby his parents

divorced when he was nine years old and faced relationship challenges with his step-mother and

biological mother, eventually becoming homeless after his biological mother kicked him out for

failing to graduate high school – this inspired one of his songs, “Something in the Way.”. Prior to

this, Cobain had also experienced his mother being abused by his step-father. At the height of his

career, he faced addiction, chronic illness, and depression, leading to his suicide at age 31. His

songs like “Heart-Shaped Box" and Smells Like Teen Spirit" are largely themed on pain and

struggles. Cobain’s biography is at Britannica (n.d.c) and the mentioned tracks are available on

YouTube for listening.

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Quantitative Survey:

The survey will provide participants with the vignette in the first section, describing the

"tortured artist" stereotype. After reading the vignette, participants will be expected to complete

the structured quantitative survey’s three main sections corresponding to the research questions:

Research Question 1: To what extent do artists associate mental health incidents with the

tortured artist stereotype?

o The respondents will respond to questions:

i. How many times have you had mental health diagnoses by specifying the

number of times they've been diagnosed.

ii. How many of the diagnoses can you attribute to your work and

experiences as an artist?

Research Question 2: Does perceiving glamour in the stereotype discourage artists from

seeking mental health?

o The questions in this section will include:

i. Do you think that the experiences of a "tortured artist" should warrant

seeking menta health diagnosis and treatment?

a. Strongly Agree

b. Agree

c. Neutral

d. Disagree

e. Strongly Disagree

ii. If you were a “tortured artist” would you seek mental health treatment:
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a. Yes

b. No

Research Question 3: In what ways does the stereotype influence the artist's perceived

performance?

o The questions for this RQ will include:

i. Approximately how many times have mental health incidents associated

with any diagnosed problem led to any performance decline in your

artistic work?

ii. Approximately how many times have mental health incidents associated

with any diagnosed problems led to any performance improvement in your

artistic work?

Qualitative Written Interview:

In this section, respondents will answer the open-ended questions in depth.

Research Question 1: To what extent do artists associate mental health incidents with the

tortured artist stereotype?

The respondents will respond to questions:

i. What are your views on the occurrence of mental health problems for you and among

fellow artists here in the UK.

ii. Do you believe the process of creating art contributes to mental health problems for some

artists? Please explain.

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Research Question 2: Does perceiving glamour in the stereotype discourage artists from

seeking mental health?

o Here, the questions will be:

i. Explain whether or whether not you think that the experiences of a

"tortured artist" should warrant seeking menta health diagnosis and

treatment.

ii. Explain whether or whether not you would seek mental health treatment if

you were regarded to as a “tortured artist.”

Research Question 3: In what ways does the stereotype influence the artist's perceived

performance?

o The open-ended questions here include:

i. Explain whether any diagnosed mental health issue has ever led to a

performance decline for you as an artist.

ii. Explain whether any diagnosed mental health issue has ever led to a

performance boost for you as an artist.