Introduction: The arts and humanities are vital for mental health and flourishing, with studies linking its engagement to positive emotions, growth, vitality, life satisfaction, civic engagement, and perspective change. However, empirical evidence for the underlying psychological mechanisms, which are potential targets for intervention development, is limited. The Mechanisms of Engagement in the Arts and Humanities Scales (MEAH) is a 70-item scale that measures five psychological mechanisms based on the RAISE model-Reflection, Acquisition, Immersion, Socialization, and Expression. However, given its length, an abbreviated 45-item version (MEAH-45) was recently developed.


Purpose: This study aimed to translate and validate the MEAH-45 in Korean to assess RAISE mechanisms to explain how engagement in the arts and humanities leads to flourishing among Korean adults.


Method: The MEAH-45 was translated, back-translated, and reviewed by a panel of researchers and laypersons experienced in the arts and humanities and finalized as the Korean version (MEAH-45-K). An online panel survey of 500 adults included the MEAH-45-K and the Korean version of the Brief Inventory of Thriving (K-BIT), which assesses overall flourishing. Data were analyzed using SPSS 22.0 to
assess reliability and Mplus 8.1 to conduct confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for model fit. Criterion validity was examined through correlations with flourishing, and the rwa package in R 4.2.2 was used to analyze the mechanisms contributing to flourishing.


Results: The MEAH-45-K demonstrated high internal consistency(Cronbach's α= .86~.97) and good model fit(CFI= .95~1.00, TLI= .90~1.00, SRMR= .00~.04). Correlation analyses showed that all RAISE mechanisms were significantly and positively associated with flourishing(rs= .52~.62, p< .001). Relative Weight Analysis showed Socialization contributed most in arts engagement, and Acquisition in humanities engagement.


Conclusions: The MEAH-45-K demonstrated reliability and validity, confirming its suitability for assessing the RAISE mechanisms. This scale can be utilized as a tool to provide an empirical basis for arts and humanities-based interventions to promote flourishing.