ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Psychology of Aging
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1651086
This article is part of the Research TopicAging: Challenges and Opportunities for Inclusion and Active Participation - Volume IIView all 3 articles
Crafts as an Example of Active and Productive Aging: Profiles of Artisans and Family Transmission in a UNESCO Creative City of Crafts and Folk Art
Provisionally accepted
- RISE-Health, Department of Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Porto (ICBAS-UP), Porto, Portugal
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In light of global demographic changes, sustainable solutions promoting active and healthy aging are crucial. Crafts, besides preserving cultural heritage, offer a meaningful occupation. Barcelos (Portugal), a UNESCO Creative City of Crafts and Folk Art, stands out for its strong craft activity, predominantly by older artisans. However, studies addressing their profiles, family transmission dynamics, and craftsmanship as an example of active aging are lacking, which this study aims to explore. An observational crosssectional study was conducted, with primary data collection through on-site questionnaires at the ateliers. A non-probability sample of older artisans (aged 55 or older) from different craft sectors was recruited. The participants (n = 55) were mostly male (60%, n = 33), with a mean age of 67.5 years (SD = 8.02) and 6.4 years of formal education (SD = 3.32). They worked across eight craft and folk art sectors, with the Imagery sector being the most represented (52.7%). A weekly average of 51 hours (SD = 17.05) dedicated to the activity was reported. Most participants started in crafts before the age of 20 (76.3%; n = 42), and 60% (n = 33) continued the craft activity after retirement. The activity was transmitted by family members from previous generations (63.6%; n = 35), and 70.9% (n = 39) had family members involved in the activity; among those practicing the craft with other or same-generation relatives (n = 34), 58.8% engaged in the craft with collateral or affinal relatives. Most artisans reported that the activity began in the family three or more generations ago and dates to the 19th century. This study makes an original contribution to gerontological research, highlighting craftsmanship as an example of active and productive aging. It informs public policy discussions supporting older artisans, fostering intergenerational craft transmission, family business sustainability, and cultural heritage preservation.
Keywords: older adults, Crafts, Folk art, Active aging, Work, family transmission Number of participants, rₛ: Spearman's Rank Correlation Coefficient, χ²: Chi-square Test
Received: 24 Jun 2025; Accepted: 11 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Igreja, Teles and Paúl. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Sandra Igreja, RISE-Health, Department of Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Porto (ICBAS-UP), Porto, Portugal
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