The impact of group-based arts activity participation on community residents’ psychological well-being: the roles of emotional intelligence and servant organizers

Amid rising global psychological well-being challenges, particularly among urban populations facing social isolation and role changes, community-based interventions have become critically important. Group arts activities provide a culturally accessible means of enhancing psychological well-being, but their underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood theoretically. Guided by social cognitive theory (SCT), this study proposes a triadic framework to examine how personal factors (e.g., emotional intelligence), behavioral factors (e.g., participation in group arts activities), and environmental factors (e.g., servant-oriented organizers) interact to enhance community residents’ psychological well-being. Using a cross-sectional study of 782 participants across 54 community art groups and hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), the findings show that participating in group arts activities significantly enhances psychological well-being, with emotional intelligence serving as a mediating factor. Additionally, servant organizers not only directly support participants’ well-being but also influence the relationship between involvement in group arts activities and psychological well-being. These results highlight the complex interplay among individual, behavioral, and environmental factors within community arts programs, extending SCT to these contexts. They offer practical insights for developing effective, theory-driven art initiatives to address the growing psychological well-being needs in urban settings.