Youth civic engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic: promotive factors and correlations with mental health

During the COVID-19 pandemic, civic and prosocial activities were indispensable actions complementary to public health. Two cross-sectional survey studies (N = 216 and N = 300) were conducted. We analyzed the roles of individual (i.e., resilience, empathy, and positive orientation) and social (i.e., family communication) factors in promoting civic engagement and mental health indicators of adolescents and young adults during the COVID-19 crisis. We also tested the relationships between civic engagement and pandemic-related mental health indicators. We utilized the multidimensional conceptualization of civic engagement, including its individualistic (i.e., social commitment and individual political activity) and collective (i.e., social participation and political participation) forms. Resilience and empathy positively predicted individualistic forms of civic engagement. People with better family communication were involved in individualistic and collective civic engagement. Resilience negatively predicted pandemic burnout, anxiety, and depression and was a factor protecting from internalizing symptoms. In both studies, social commitment positively predicted pandemic burnout, reflecting the frustration and disengagement of young people having limited in-person opportunities to help others. Our findings may help policymakers, educators, and mental health professionals to enhance young people’s civic engagement by promoting resilience, empathy, and positive family communication.