Abu Hamad Bassam, Jones Nicola, Abuhamad Shoroq, Baird Sarah, Oakley Erin
Al-Quds University, School of Public Health, 101, Tel El Hawa Gaza, Palestine.
ODI and Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE), UK.
World Dev. 2025 Apr;188:106886. doi: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2024.106886.
Social protection programming can help address gender- and lifecycle-specific vulnerabilities, particularly in humanitarian contexts. Although adolescents are disproportionately affected by crises, there remains limited evidence about how such programming can mitigate risks they face, including social isolation. This article explores how a 'cash-plus' social protection response enhances refugee adolescents' social connectedness and contributes to broader social cohesion and sustainable peace. Mixed-methods data collected during the Covid-19 pandemic with 996 Syrian adolescents living in Jordanian host communities involved beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries of UNICEF's unconditional cash transfer. Explicitly labelled to promote adolescent education, Hajati also encourages enrolment in an adolescent empowerment programme, (My Space), designed to foster resilience and social connectedness. Survey results were mixed, finding evidence of modest improvements among beneficiaries on a subset of social connectedness and resilience outcomes. beneficiaries (particularly girls and older adolescents, aged 15-18) report higher levels of family support and better coping with pandemic stressors. Among younger adolescents (12-14) and girls, beneficiaries were more likely to report having a trusted adult, and greater social support from non-family adults. Beneficiary status was not associated with measures of peer connectedness or perceived social cohesion. Qualitative interview findings, however, indicate beneficiaries enjoy stronger peer networks, partly due to participating in group-based programming. Overall, programme participation helped girls (and, less so, boys) cope with pandemic stressors, while strengthening adolescent social connectedness through opportunities for in-person and online interaction. We conclude with suggestions on how to strengthen programming to promote social cohesion and sustainable peace.
社会保护方案编制有助于应对特定性别和生命周期的脆弱性问题，尤其是在人道主义背景下。尽管青少年受危机影响的比例过高，但关于此类方案编制如何减轻他们所面临的风险，包括社会孤立风险的证据仍然有限。本文探讨了“现金加”社会保护应对措施如何增强难民青少年的社会联系，并促进更广泛的社会凝聚力和可持续和平。在新冠疫情期间，对生活在约旦收容社区的996名叙利亚青少年收集了混合方法数据，其中包括联合国儿童基金会无条件现金转移的受益人和非受益人。哈贾蒂明确标注以促进青少年教育，还鼓励参与一项旨在培养复原力和社会联系的青少年赋权方案（“我的空间”）。调查结果喜忧参半，发现受益人在社会联系和复原力结果的一个子集中有适度改善的证据。受益人（特别是女孩和15至18岁的青少年）报告说得到了更多家庭支持，并且能更好地应对疫情压力源。在较年轻的青少年（12至14岁）和女孩中，受益人更有可能报告有一个值得信赖的成年人，以及从非家庭成年人那里得到更多社会支持。受益身份与同伴联系或感知到的社会凝聚力指标无关。然而，定性访谈结果表明，受益人享有更强的同伴网络，部分原因是参与了基于群体的方案编制。总体而言，方案参与帮助女孩（男孩的效果稍差）应对疫情压力源，同时通过面对面和在线互动机会加强了青少年的社会联系。我们最后就如何加强方案编制以促进社会凝聚力和可持续和平提出了建议。
