Civic Engagement and Well-Being: Examining a Mediational Model Across Gender

“Additionally, Sobel tests were used to determine mediational effects.(43) All significance tests were conducted with alpha set at .”

“All transformations were successful in producing values that were normally distributed for each of these variables.(39,40) Data were missing across both gender groups, particularly in the measure of civic activity.”

“capital and positive health outcomes like lowered stress, fewer depressive symptoms, and declining mortality rates, particularly among low-income communities.(12,13) However, other research examining social capital shows mixed results, particularly among individuals from low to middle-income countries, as scholars pos…”

“The ISEL-12 is a 12-item scale designed to measure perceived level of social support.(38) Participants were asked to respond to questions such as “If I were sick, I could easily find someone to help me with my daily chores” using a 4-point Likert scale ranging from Definitely False (0) to Definitely True (3).”

“This finding is consistent with much of the positive psychology literature, in which meaning in life—or connection to something greater than the self—often results in positive well-being.(23,24) Still, other studies examined how civic engagement relates to measures of empowerment and self-efficacy as opposed to specif…”

“The MHC-SF is a 14-item scale based upon Keyes’ conceptualization of wellbeing as either flourishing or languishing.(34) Participants respond to questions like “During the past month, how often did you feel satisfied with life?” on a 6-point Likert scale ranging from Never (0) to Everyday (5).”

“However, other research examining social capital shows mixed results, particularly among individuals from low to middle-income countries, as scholars posit that group involvement may place additional strain on overly burdened individuals.(6,14) Relationships between social capital and well-being are not fully understo…”

“Prior studies have positioned civic engagement as a health behavior, and some have even gone so far as to “prescribe” volunteerism – one type of engagement – to attain health benefits.(27,28) However, relationships between civic engagement and well-being must first be clarified within the young adult population before…”

“Students were asked about age, gender, race/ ethnicity, and SES.”

“80) and discriminant validity in US college samples.(35) The MHC-SF is comprised of 3 subscales (emotional, psychological, and social well-being), and the current study used a composite score by summing all 3 subscales to create an overall well-being score.”

“However, other research examining social capital shows mixed results, particularly among individuals from low to middle-income countries, as scholars posit that group involvement may place additional strain on overly burdened individuals.(6,14) Relationships between social capital and well-being are not fully understo…”

“The current findings are consistent with previous literature regarding individuals from lower SES communities engaging less than those from higher SES communities.(10,47) However, for those who did choose to engage, the relationship between engagement and well-being appeared to be a positive one when meaning in life a…”

“Given that most college students are at a critical age for social, political, and civic identity development, more information is needed to disentangle civic engagement’s role in health and well-being if it is to be used as a point of intervention.(9,10) Civic engagement is conceptualized as 1 of 3 core tenets of soci…”

“In this instance, a suppression effect may be operating where the predictive power for sociopolitical voice is increased after adding meaning in life and service self-efficacy to the model.(48) Thus, the analysis might be capturing different associations across different individuals, so longitudinal studies are indica…”

“Further, the present study investigated these associations through recruitment of a young adult sample – a developmental period known to be crucial for social and political identity formation, and a group that has been largely understudied amidst the civic engagement literature.(9,10,45) Using crosssectional data from…”

“The SETS is a 5-item assessment using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from Strongly Disagree (1) to Strongly Agree (5).(37) The scale measures how strongly students believe in their ability to contribute time and service to the larger community.”

“as a result.(16) One explanation may be that women in the current study reported higher levels of civic activity, which encompasses activities like belonging to community organizations and acts of volunteerism.”

“This finding is consistent with much of the positive psychology literature, in which meaning in life—or connection to something greater than the self—often results in positive well-being.(23,24) Still, other studies examined how civic engagement relates to measures of empowerment and self-efficacy as opposed to specif…”

“This is consistent with other research where female adolescents report more volunteering whereas older adolescents report greater political activism.(46) Similarly, Ehsan & De Silva(6) have highlighted the impact of socioeconomic status on ability to participate among those already feeling overburdened.”

“Still, other studies examined how civic engagement relates to measures of empowerment and self-efficacy as opposed to specific mental and physical health outcomes.(25) For instance, the framework behind Brown et al.”

“A survey study among college students found a positive association between electoral participation and well-being (Fenn et al. 2021).”

“As for the other categories of civic engagement, the stud - ies by Fenn et al. ( 2021, 2023) also explored protest action and found negative associations with well-being.”

“Civic engagement, which is characterized by caring for others and goals on the macro-level, can thus lead to the realization of personal potential [60–62], which in turn may stimulate well-being [36].”

“Engagement of this type can lead to a sense of connection, interrelatedness, and commitment to the community at large (Adler and Goggin, 2005; Vindhya, 2012; Fenn et al., 2021).”

“Findings from earlier studies also indicate that youth civic engagement or their contribution to the community do not only protect against poor mental health (7), but it also can improve their mental well-being (8).”

“…between civic engagement and positive health and social outcomes, the extant literature on this relationship is largely con fi ned to small samples, 10 special populations such as college students, 9,15 or limited geographic regions, 11 and does not examine whether positive outcomes related to…”

“Civic engagement, characterized by engagement in activities intended to improve the common good, fosters a sense of fulfilment, purposefulness, and relatedness (Fenn et al. 2021, 2023).”

“However, in two U.S. experiments, one involving volunteering and the other involving activism, helping did not increase hedonic well-being.”

“Relational health is a developed state of health and connectedness in which a person has the opportunity and capacity to: Empirical studies paid more attention to the relationship between civic engagement and well-being than mental or relational health [21,28–30].”

“…have analyzed the relationship between civic engagement and personal adjustment variables such as flourishing or personal distress during emerging adult-hood, despite the importance of understanding the relationship between the civic engagement and well-being of emerging adults (Fenn et al., 2021).”

“…impact on one’s physical and psychological wellbeing (Putnam, 2000), including social and emotional adjustment (Hansen et al., 2003), life satisfaction (Chan et al., 2014), mental health (Fenn et al., 2021; Hayhurst et al., 2019), and physical health (Brown et al., 2017; Harris & Thoresen, 2005).”

“Civic engagement, also defined by other-oriented-ness, has similarly shown positive associations with well-being, although these beneficial effects tend to vary by type of civic engagement, with some showing a nonsignificant influence (Wray-Lake et al., 2019; Fenn et al., 2021).”

“Prior studies often treated civic engagement as a broad, undifferentiated category (Brewer and Nicotera 2023; Wiium et al. 2023; Kiely et al. 2021; Fenn et al. 2021; Fenn et al. 2023), overlooking important distinctions between activity types (e.g., volunteering vs. activism) that may relate…”

“For example, Fenn et al. (2021) found that civic ef fi cacy positively associated with perceived well-being and even mediated a positive relationship between civic engagement and well-being in a sample of undergraduate students.”

“Given that civic engagement often involves some interaction with others who share similar interests and values, it can serve as a vital support network, reducing feelings of social isolation that may have been caused by pandemic-related restrictions [60].”

“Notably, another study found that civic engagement was positively associated with wellbeing for both men and women, with self-efficacy and meaning in life serving as mediators (Fenn et al. 2021).”

“Our findings support a generally positive relation between participation and well-being (Helliwell and Putnam 2004; Fenn et al. 2021; Hayhurst, Hunter, and Ruffman 2019) and provide a more detailed understanding of this link.”

“Studies have found that civic engagement is linked to positive youth development, such as health and well-being (Brewer & Nicotera, 2023; Fenn et al., 2021; Schreier et al., 2013; Wray-Lake et al., 2019).”

“Scholars have increasingly touted social capital and civic participation as novel, upstream factors that help to facilitate better mental health (Bassett & Moore, 2013 ; Elgar et al., 2011; Fenn et al., 2021).”

“Regarding civic and political engagement, men tend to participate more frequently in institutional political actions, while women show a stronger preference for civic activities (Fenn et al. 2021; Stefani et al. 2021).”

“In recent years, there has been an intensification of research focused specifically on the relationship between CE, health, and wellbeing in the population of university students and young adults (Albright et al., 2020; Fenn et al., 2021; Ng et al., 2025).”

“…et al., 2019), together with findings that meaning in life and service-related self-efficacy play a role in the relationship between civic engagement and well-being (Fenn et al., 2021), support the interpretation that empathy and mental well-being may serve distinct yet complementary functions.”