Civic Attitudes and Engagement Among Middle Eastern and North African Refugees and Immigrants in the U.S.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18060/23687Keywords:
civic engagement, civic attitudes, refugees, immigrants, Middle East and North AfricaAbstract
Given the importance of civic engagement to the well-being of immigrants and refugees and their communities, the goal of the current study was to investigate civic attitudes among immigrants and refugees from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). First, the researcher examined predictors of civic attitudes. Second, the mediating effect of attitudes between the potential predictors (i.e., gender, health status, English proficiency, and the U.S. length of stay) and level of civic engagement was investigated. The researcher recruited 145 respondents to complete online and paper-based surveys. Using linear regression models, the results show that health and English language proficiency significantly predict civic attitudes among this group. Attitudes also mediated between health status and level of civic engagement. This study provides some implications for social work, resettlement programs, health policies, and civic organizations that can be beneficial for the target group as well as for the host communities.
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Author note: Address correspondence to Dr. Sara Makki Alamdari, West Texas A&M University Department of Psychology, Sociology, and Social Work: salamdari@wtamu.edu
Acknowledgements: The researcher is immensely grateful to Dr. Hea-Won Kim, Associate Professor in the Indiana University School of Social Work for her constructive and valuable comments during the planning and development of this research. The researcher would also like to thank Wafa Alhajri for her assistance with data collection.
