From margin to meaning: testing developmental mechanisms of civic engagement in politically marginalized emerging adults

The present study explored the developmental and psychological functions of civic engagement among socially excluded Arab emerging adult citizens in Israel, examining both outcomes and underlying mechanisms. Using a brief longitudinal design with two measurement points over 12 months (N = 290), we evaluated changes in civic engagement skills and attitudes, identity development, self-perception, and psychopathology. Structural equation modeling was employed to test a mediation model in which group belonging, meaning in life, and hope functioned as mechanistic pathways linking changes in civic engagement to developmental outcomes. The mean-level changes indicated developmental activation rather than a consolidated transformation, and included increased engagement, a greater sense of meaning in life, greater life satisfaction, identity exploration, and decreased loneliness. The SEM results demonstrated that these increases in civic engagement were directly correlated with enhanced self-perception and identity development, and indirectly associated with lesser psychopathology, mediated by heightened meaning in life and a sense of group belonging. These findings point to civic engagement as a developmental context that can promote meaning-making, relational integration, and future-oriented agency in politically marginalized emerging adults.