RT Journal Article
T1 Interventions to Promote Civic Engagement Among Youth and Its Outcomes on Mental Health: A Scoping Review
A1 Oubiña López, Marina
A1 Gómez Baya, Diego
AB Background/Objectives: Youth mental health significantly impacts future wellbeing,with nearly half of mental health disorders emerging during adolescence. Civicengagement is defined as active participation in the community to improve conditions forothers or to help shape the community’s future. It offers a unique opportunity to enhanceyouth mental well-being, acting as a protective factor against mental health struggles. Inthis line, Relational Developmental Systems Theory posits that positive youth developmentis positively linked to civic engagement. The main objective of this literature-basedpaper is to identify, select, assess, and synthesize the existing literature on interventionspromoting mental health in the youth through civic engagement, resulting in an up-to-datereview. Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, a search was conducted using PsycInfo,Scopus, and Web of Science to gather studies published between 2018 and 2023, basedon the combination of key terms: (“civic engagement” OR “social participation”) AND(“mental health” OR “psychological adjustment” OR “well-being”) AND (adolescen* ORteen* OR youth OR “young people”) AND (program* OR intervention OR training OReducation). Data extraction and risk-of-bias assessments were performed. Results: Tenstudies were included in this review which suggest that civic engagement programs improveyouth mental health outcomes, including reduced anxiety, reduced sadness, andincreased resilience. These programs foster empowerment, sense of belonging, and socialconnections, while also enhancing interpersonal skills and career aspirations. Youth alsogain valuable skills such as leadership, communication, and problem-solving, contributingto educational and vocational growth. However, challenges such as socio-economic barriersand attendance issues can impact some outcomes, with variations in effectiveness acrossprograms. Conclusions: Youth civic engagement programs should integrate mental healthsupport to mitigate the emotional costs of activism, ensuring greater participation andwell-being. It is important to adapt these programs to local contexts and provide flexibilityto strengthen participation and community impact. Future research should explore the roleof cultural, gender, and socio-economic factors in shaping program outcomes and utilizerandomized controlled trials to improve the validity and generalizability of findings.
PB MDPI
SN 2227-9067 (electrónico)
YR 2025
FD 2025-05
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10272/25569
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10272/25569
LA eng
NO Oubiña López, M., & Gómez Baya, D. (2025). Interventions to Promote Civic Engagement Among Youth and Its Outcomes on Mental Health: A Scoping Review. In Children, (Vol. 12, Issue 6, 665). MDPI. https://doi.org/10.3390/children12060665
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Huelva
RD 13 jul 2026