402864

The Effect of Civic Engagement on Mental Health and Behaviors among Adolescents

Article

Last updated: 25 Feb 2025

Subjects

-

Tags

Public health, social and preventive medicine.

Abstract

Adolescence is a critical developmental stage marked by significant psychological, social, and physical transformations that significantly impact mental health and behaviors. Civic engagement, encompassing activities such as volunteering, political participation, and environmental behaviors, has been identified as a vital contributor to adolescent development. This review explores the impact of civic engagement on adolescents' mental health and behaviors, drawing on global literature and highlighting regional gaps in understanding.
Civic engagement promotes mental well-being by fostering social connections and providing a sense of purpose and belonging while reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression. It has also been shown to mitigate risky behaviors, including substance abuse, and encourage pro-social behaviors and life skills development. Volunteering and environmental behaviors, in particular, stand out as pathways to enhance resilience and personal growth. However, certain types of activism may pose challenges to mental health.
This review also underscores the scarcity of research on civic engagement among adolescents in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, where socio-political and economic barriers limit youth participation. Most existing studies in the area focus on college students and political engagement, leaving a critical gap in understanding adolescents' civic engagement and its impact on their mental health and behaviors.
To address this gap, the review emphasizes the need for studies in the MENA region that explore the prevalence and forms of adolescent civic engagement and its effects. These insights are crucial for designing effective interventions to promote adolescent well-being and empower them as active contributors to their communities.

DOI

10.21608/muj.2025.348094.1197

Keywords

Civic engagement, Adolescents, Mental health, risky behaviors

Authors

First Name

Nihal

Last Name

Sharaf Eldin

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Community Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Port Said University

Email

nihalsharafeldin@gmail.com

City

-

Orcid

0000-0002-9743-1143

First Name

Nesreen

Last Name

Ibrahim

MiddleName

Farouk

Affiliation

Department of Public Health, Community, Environmental and Occupational Medicine, faculty of medicine port Said university, Port Said, Egypt

Email

nesreen.farouk@med.psu.edu.eg

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

Nesrine

Last Name

Farrag

MiddleName

Saad

Affiliation

Department of Public Health, Community, Environmental and Occupational Medicine, faculty of medicine port Said university, Port Said, Egypt

Email

nesrine.farrag@gmail.com

City

-

Orcid

0000-0003-4073-1855

First Name

Enas

Last Name

Elsheikh

MiddleName

Ibrahim

Affiliation

Department of Public Health, Community, Environmental and Occupational Medicine, faculty of medicine port Said university, Port Said, Egypt

Email

eelsheikh47@gmail.com

City

Port Said

Orcid

-

Volume

21

Article Issue

21

Related Issue

53962

Issue Date

2025-04-01

Receive Date

2024-12-27

Publish Date

2025-04-01

Page Start

76

Page End

92

Online ISSN

2682-2741

Link

https://muj.journals.ekb.eg/article_402864.html

Detail API

http://journals.ekb.eg?_action=service&article_code=402864

Order

402,864

Type

Review Article

Type Code

951

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

Medicine Updates

Publication Link

https://muj.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

The Effect of Civic Engagement on Mental Health and Behaviors among Adolescents

Details

Type

Article

Created At

25 Feb 2025