AUTHOR=Zhao Rongjun , Tang Zhiwen , Lu Fang , Xing Qiang , Shen Wangbing TITLE=An Updated Evaluation of the Dichotomous Link Between Creativity and Mental Health JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry VOLUME=12 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.781961 DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2021.781961 ISSN=1664-0640 ABSTRACT=

The theory of the mad genius, a popular cultural fixture for centuries, has received widespread attention in the behavioral sciences. Focusing on a longstanding debate over whether creativity and mental health are positively or negatively correlated, this study first summarized recent relevant studies and meta-analyses and then provided an updated evaluation of this correlation by describing a new and useful perspective for considering the relationship between creativity and mental health. Here, a modified version of the dual-pathway model of creativity was developed to explain the seemingly paradoxical relationship between creativity and mental health. This model can greatly enrich the scientific understanding of the so-called mad genius controversy and further promote the scientific exploration of the link between creativity and mental health or psychopathology.