Dataset Information

The effects of political protests on youth human capital and well-being in Egypt.

ABSTRACT: Protests are one of the most common expressions of modern political conflict, and the wave of demonstrations that marked the onset of the Arab Spring contributed to a global increase in protest activity. Yet few studies have examined the effects of exposure to protests on population well-being even though such exposure may have profound and lasting effects, especially if experienced at critical stages of development over the life course. The aim of our study is to estimate the effects of exposure to political protests on the human capital accumulation and well-being of youth during the tumultuous political transition experienced in Egypt from 2011 to 2014. For a nationally representative panel of youth captured in the 2009 and 2013/2014 waves of the Survey of Young People in Egypt (SYPE), we exploit exogenous geospatial variation in the occurrence of political protests from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED) Project to estimate individual-level changes in social trust, uncertainty, education, and health outcomes for youth exposed to protests. In our panel, 31.1% of the sample lived in districts where riots or protests occurred. Exposure to protests increased overall perceptions of uncertainty about the future. Young men ever exposed to protests were slightly more likely to report good overall health, but experienced sizable worsening in mental health compared to young women ever exposed. Differences by own and family participation in protest events were found for perceptions of uncertainty and mental health. In the aftermath of the Arab Spring and other mass protest movements around the globe, these findings highlight the importance of examining the population-level impacts of different forms of political conflict, particularly as substantial numbers of youth in Middle East and North Africa and elsewhere progress to adulthood under conditions of political instability.

SUBMITTER: Liu J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6897331 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

The effects of political protests on youth human capital and well-being in Egypt.

Liu Jenny J Modrek Sepideh S Sieverding Maia M

Social science & medicine (1982) 20191017

Protests are one of the most common expressions of modern political conflict, and the wave of demonstrations that marked the onset of the Arab Spring contributed to a global increase in protest activity. Yet few studies have examined the effects of exposure to protests on population well-being even though such exposure may have profound and lasting effects, especially if experienced at critical stages of development over the life course. The aim of our study is to estimate the effects of exposur ...[more]

PMID: 31678814

Similar Datasets

Project description:ImportanceLittle is known about temporal trends in children's well-being and how the COVID-19 pandemic may have influenced the well-being of young Australians. Certain demographic groups may be more vulnerable to experiencing declines in well-being.ObjectiveTo examine well-being trends over 6 consecutive years among South Australian students and explore the influence of sociodemographic characteristics.Design, setting, and participantsLongitudinal analyses of annual (2017 to 2022) cross-sectional data of students in grades 4 through 9 (n = 40 392 to 56 897 per year) attending South Australian government schools from the Well-being and Engagement Collection (WEC) census.ExposuresCalendar year (2017-2022) and sociodemographic characteristics (sex, school grade, parental education, language spoken at home, residential region) from school enrollment records.Main outcomes and measuresStudents self-reported life satisfaction, optimism, happiness, cognitive engagement, emotional regulation, perseverance, worry, and sadness.ResultsOver 6 years (2017 to 2022), a total of 119 033 students (mean [SD] age, 12.1 y; 51.4% male) participated in this study. Most well-being measures declined over time, with consistent worsening of well-being from 2020 onward. For example, compared with 2017, sadness was 0.26 (95% CI, 0.25-0.27) points higher in 2020 (standardized mean difference [SMD], 0.27) and remained elevated by more than 0.26 points (SMD, 0.27) in 2021 and 2022. At almost every time point, greatest well-being was reported by students of male sex (except cognitive engagement and perseverance), in earlier school grades, with highest parental education, speaking a language other than English at home, and residing in outer regional and remote settings (for satisfaction, optimism, and emotional regulation). Sociodemographic differences in well-being were generally consistent over time; however, sex differences widened from 2020 for all indicators except cognitive engagement and perseverance. For example, between 2017 and 2022, sadness increased by 0.27 (95% CI, 0.25-0.29) more points among females than males (SMD, 0.28).Conclusions and relevanceIn this longitudinal analysis of annual census data, there were downward trends in students' well-being, especially since 2020. The largest sociodemographic disparities were observed for students of female sex, those in later school grades, and those with lowest parental education. Urgent and equitable support for the well-being of all young people, particularly those facing disparity, is imperative.

Dataset Information

The effects of political protests on youth human capital and well-being in Egypt.

Publications

The effects of political protests on youth human capital and well-being in Egypt.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets