Socially excluded young adult Israeli women's social activism: A new approach to promoting well-being

The present study explored the developmental trajectories and increased well-being of socially excluded young Israeli adult women participating in civic engagement peer groups. Twenty-one women participated in a qualitative longitudinal study design comprising 50 in-depth semistructured interviews at four assessment times. The interoperative phenomenological analysis approach revealed three main themes demonstrating a shift from survival to thriving. The first theme, "group connectedness," describes participants' positive feelings from participating in the group. The second theme, "exploring and practicing civic engagement," covers the gains in women's civic engagement abilities and definitions. The third theme, "From flaws to sparks," describes women's changes in mindset and their growing ability for reflection and making plans. The findings are discussed through the lens of the social justice paradigm to suggest a developmental model which sees developmental well-being as a human right. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The civic engagement community participation thriving model: A multi-faceted thriving model to promote socially excluded young adult women

Social policies to promote socially excluded young adult women generally concentrate on education, employment, and residence but tend to neglect thriving. The current article puts forward a Civic Engagement Community Participation Thriving Model (CECP-TM) that views thriving as a social policy goal in and of itself. It posits that civic engagement, beyond its contribution to social justice, serves as a vehicle for thriving through self-exploration and identity formation. Both are considered key components of successful maturation and thriving. Nonetheless, civic engagement and self-exploration tend not to be nurtured in socially excluded young adult women, a unique group experiencing intersecting discrimination. The model shows how active civic engagement in the context of a community of peers contributes to developing a sense of belonging and connectedness and promotes new self-reflection, identity formation, and agency capabilities. When situated within the context of intersectionality, these encourage the development of critical consciousness and new understandings of “who I am and how I fit into the social world in which we live.” These can provide a sense of meaning, contribute to identity formation, and promote the thriving of the self and the community. Several examples illustrate the model.

Civic Engagement in Socially Excluded Young Adults Promotes Well-Being: The Mediation of Self-Efficacy, Meaning in Life, and Identity Exploration

Civic engagement is thought to contribute to well-being among young adults. However, less is known about the ways in which civic engagement promotes well-being in general and in particular in socially excluded populations. This study investigated whether civic engagement contributes to life satisfaction and hope in a sample of 127 socially excluded young Israeli women who participated in social activism programs for a period of eight months. A mediation model incorporating self-efficacy, meaning in life, and identity exploration was used to examine the contribution of positive attitudes toward civic engagement, civic engagement skills, and political awareness to the participants' life satisfaction and hope. Indirect effects were found between positive attitudes toward civic engagement, civic engagement skills, and political awareness and the participants' life satisfaction and hope via self-efficacy. Positive attitudes toward civic engagement and political awareness also predicted the participants' life satisfaction via meaning in life. A positive direct effect was found between political awareness and hope. However, contrary to the hypothesis, a negative direct effect was found between positive attitudes toward civic engagement and life satisfaction. Civic engagement skills and political awareness also predicted identity exploration. These findings underscore the need for clinicians to be aware of the potential benefits of civic engagement for the well-being of socially excluded populations.