Engaging for change: the influence of civic engagement on at-risk Arab minority youth in Israel

Aims – This study examined how an organized civic engagement program affected socially excluded young Arab adults in Israel, who face systemic discrimination, political alienation, and socioeconomic disparities. Method – The sample included 132 participants (M_age = 20.40, SD = 2.04, 57% women) from the Meidad Enterprise-Social Engagement project. Using a longitudinal pre–post design with repeated MANOVA analyses, we assessed changes in civic attitudes, behaviors, and wellbeing. Additionally, K-means cluster analyses, with repeated-measures MANOVAs, measured civic engagement gains among subgroups based on baseline wellbeing, depression, and loneliness. Results – The results indicated significant gains in civic engagement attitudes, perceptions, and skills (μ² = 0.13), civic engagement behaviors (μ² = 0.09), and wellbeing (μ² = 0.08). Participants with higher self-reported depressive symptoms and loneliness, in addition to lower levels of self-worth, life satisfaction, meaning, and hope, demonstrated the most pronounced improvements over time. Conclusion – Findings suggest organized civic engagement could benefit marginalized minority youth, especially those with moderate psychopathology and low wellbeing.