Can social protection contribute to social connectedness in contexts of forced displacement and crisis? Lessons from Jordan’s labelled cash transfer for education
Bassam Abu Hamad , Nicola Jones , Shoroq Abuhamad , Sarah Baird , Erin Oakley
{"title":"Can social protection contribute to social connectedness in contexts of forced displacement and crisis? Lessons from Jordan’s labelled cash transfer for education","authors":"Bassam Abu Hamad , Nicola Jones , Shoroq Abuhamad , Sarah Baird , Erin Oakley","doi":"10.1016/j.worlddev.2024.106886","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>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.</div><div>Mixed-methods data collected during the Covid-19 pandemic with 996 Syrian adolescents living in Jordanian host communities involved beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries of <em>Hajati,</em> UNICEF’s unconditional cash transfer. Explicitly labelled to promote adolescent education, Hajati also encourages enrolment in an adolescent empowerment programme, <em>Makani</em> (My Space), designed to foster resilience and social connectedness.</div><div>Survey results were mixed, finding evidence of modest improvements among beneficiaries on a subset of social connectedness and resilience outcomes. <em>Hajati</em> 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.</div><div>We conclude with suggestions on how to strengthen programming to promote social cohesion and sustainable peace.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48463,"journal":{"name":"World Development","volume":"188 ","pages":"Article 106886"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8000,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"World Development","FirstCategoryId":"96","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X24003577","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/12/11 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"DEVELOPMENT STUDIES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
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 Hajati, UNICEF’s unconditional cash transfer. Explicitly labelled to promote adolescent education, Hajati also encourages enrolment in an adolescent empowerment programme, Makani (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. Hajati 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.
期刊介绍：
World Development is a multi-disciplinary monthly journal of development studies. It seeks to explore ways of improving standards of living, and the human condition generally, by examining potential solutions to problems such as: poverty, unemployment, malnutrition, disease, lack of shelter, environmental degradation, inadequate scientific and technological resources, trade and payments imbalances, international debt, gender and ethnic discrimination, militarism and civil conflict, and lack of popular participation in economic and political life. Contributions offer constructive ideas and analysis, and highlight the lessons to be learned from the experiences of different nations, societies, and economies.
京公网安备 11010802042870号
京ICP备2023020795号-1
分享
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：
扫码关注我们
