# An Examination of Schizotypy, Creativity, and Wellbeing in Young Populations

## TL;DR

This study explores how creativity, mental health, and wellbeing are connected in young people, finding that certain traits linked to schizophrenia can boost creativity but lower wellbeing.

## Contribution

The study reveals new associations between schizotypy, creativity, and wellbeing in young populations using both frequentist and Bayesian methods.

## Key findings

- Disorganized schizotypal traits correlate with higher ideational fluency and more creative hobby engagement.
- Interpersonal schizotypal traits are linked to lower wellbeing in young people.
- The study highlights dynamic relationships between mental health traits, creativity, and wellbeing.

## Abstract

A wide array of scholarship has revealed the somewhat paradoxical relationship between creativity and mental health. On the one hand, substantial evidence demonstrates that certain forms of mental illness are associated with enhanced creativity. On the other hand, considerable evidence also confirms that engagement in creative pursuits improves wellbeing. In this paper, we examined the associations between creative potential, the pursuit of creative hobbies, wellbeing, and schizotypy in young people aged 16–22 years. Frequentist and Bayesian approaches revealed that a higher degree of disorganized schizotypal traits was associated with greater ideational fluency and more engagement in creative hobbies, and that a higher degree of interpersonal schizotypal traits was associated with lower wellbeing. The potential drivers of this dynamic association are discussed in this paper.