Any evidence supporting the link between creativity and mental illness is extremely tenuous, says Prof James C Kaufman at the University of Connecticut. “Historiometric” analyses, for example, have plumbed the biographies of notable artists. While these studies seem to suggest that mental illness is more prevalent in creative personalities, any post-hoc diagnoses, based purely on a text, have to be treated with great caution. “They are not super objective,” says Kaufman. “Very few creativity researchers believe there is a strong connection.” And the idea that mental anguish may inspire great art certainly shouldn’t be grounds for avoiding treatment for a serious conditions, he says.

Michael Coyne, professor of educational psychology and chair of the Neag School’s Department of Educational Psychology, has served as a principal investigator since the original launch of the literacy research project in 2012

Casey D. Cobbs, the Raymond Neag Professor of Educational Policy at the University of Connecticut, and Gene V Glass, a statistician and researcher in educational psychology and social sciences, partner in the new book, Public and Private Education in America: Examining the Facts. This book is part of the ABC-CLIO’s Contemporary Debates reference series.