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Social engagement (also social involvement, social participation) refers to one's degree of participation in a community or society.


Definitions

Prohaska, Anderson and Binstock (2012) noted that the term social engagement is commonly used to refer to one's participation in the activities of a
social group In the social sciences, a social group can be defined as two or more people who interact with one another, share similar characteristics, and collectively have a sense of unity. Regardless, social groups come in a myriad of sizes and varieties ...
. The term has been defined by Avison, McLeod and Pescosolido (2007) as "the extent to which an individual participates in a broad range of social roles and relationships." and by Zhang, Jiang, and Carroll as "the commitment of a member to stay in the group and interact with other members". Prohaska, Anderson and Binstock (2012) noted that the term has not always been used consistently in literature, and can be sometimes confused with several other similar (but distinct) concepts from social sciences. Social engagement is different from the concept of a
social network A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods for an ...
, as social network focuses on a group, rather than the activity. They similarly note the difference between social engagement and
social capital Social capital is "the networks of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society, enabling that society to function effectively". It involves the effective functioning of social groups through interpersonal relationships ...
, the latter defined as "resources available to individuals and groups through their social connections to communities".
Civic engagement Civic engagement or civic participation is any individual or group activity addressing issues of public concern. Civic engagement includes communities working together or individuals working alone in both political and non-political actions to ...
is also different, as it refers to political activity, membership and volunteering in
civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.


Characteristics

Social engagement is related to participation in collective activities, which reinforces
social capital Social capital is "the networks of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society, enabling that society to function effectively". It involves the effective functioning of social groups through interpersonal relationships ...
and
social norms Social norms are shared standards of acceptable behavior by groups. Social norms can both be informal understandings that govern the behavior of members of a society, as well as be codified into rules and laws. Social normative influences or soc ...
. Key elements of social engagement include activity (doing something), interaction (at least two people need to be involved in this activity), social exchange (the activity involves giving or receiving something from others), and lack of compulsion (there is no outside force forcing an individual to engage in the activity). For the most part, social engagement excludes activities for which one is getting paid, or family obligations. A common metric of social engagement is the quantifiable volume of activity. A traditional form of social engagement, such as church going, may be measured by the number of one's visits to the church. In the Internet setting a metric of social engagement on a discussion board may take the form of the number of posts made. One of the main topics in studying social engagement by social scientists has related to whether individuals are more or less engaged with various communities. Some studies have suggested that modern
information and communication technologies Information and communications technology (ICT) is an extensional term for information technology (IT) that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals) and computers, ...
have made it easier for individuals to become socially engaged in more distant or
virtual communities A virtual community is a social network of individuals who connect through specific social media, potentially crossing geographical and political boundaries in order to pursue mutual interests or goals. Some of the most pervasive virtual communi ...
, and thus have decreased their involvement in local communities (see also ''
Bowling Alone ''Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community'' is a 2000 nonfiction book by Robert D. Putnam. It was developed from his 1995 essay entitled "Bowling Alone: America's Declining Social Capital". Putnam surveys the decline of soc ...
''). Promotion of positive behavior in and opportunities for social engagement also serve as key goals in the field of
positive youth development Positive youth development (PYD) programs are designed to optimize youth developmental progress. ''Youth.gov'' states that "PYD is an intentional, prosocial approach that engages youth within their communities, schools, organizations, peer groups, ...
.


Health

High social engagement has been identified with improved happiness and health and well-being; however, context is important. High social engagement in deviant,
delinquent Delinquent or delinquents may refer to: * A person who commits a felony * A juvenile delinquent, often shortened as delinquent is a young person (under 18) who fails to do that which is required by law; see juvenile delinquency * A person who fai ...
activities such as membership in a
criminal organization Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...
can be detrimental to one's health, as can be being too involved (having too many
social roles A role (also rôle or social role) is a set of connected behaviors, rights, obligations, beliefs, and norms as conceptualized by people in a social situation. It is an expected or free or continuously changing behavior and may have a given indivi ...
), which can lead to stress due to conflicts between roles. Covid-19 has added a new level to social engagement which has relied heavily on face-to-face interactions to compliment the social media engagement when it comes to Social Grouping. In article written by (Elsayed W. 2021, 30 November) "Children are among the social groups most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic because they have found themselves forced to stay at home, far from their schoolmates, their friends, and far from all the activities they used to do before the pandemic". Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on increasing the risks of children's addiction to electronic games from a social work perspective


Social Engagement and Poverty

Poverty is a social problem that can greatly impact one’s ability to engage in the occupation of social participation. The World Federation of Occupational Therapists fully endorses the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Global conditions that threaten the right to occupation include poverty, disease, social discrimination, displacement, natural and man-made disasters and armed conflict. In addition, the right to occupation is subject to cultural beliefs and customs, local circumstances and institutional power and practices. WFOT strongly condemns any action or circumstance that infringes the rights of all human beings to live purposeful and engaged lives and to go about their daily business in safety and peace. Engagement in social activities can be impacted by an individual’s employment or the lack of it. Additionally, the global conditions to threaten the right to occupation have been addressed specifically for individuals with disabilities. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities also highlights the requirement to promote, protect, and ensure the full enjoyment of human rights by persons with disabilities. Articles 4–32 define the rights of persons with disabilities and the obligations of states parties towards them. Rights specific to this convention include the rights to accessibility including the information technology, the rights to live independently and be included in the community (Article 19), to personal mobility (article 20), habilitation and rehabilitation (Article 26), and to participation in political and public life, and cultural life, recreation and sport (Articles 29 and 30). In addition, parties to the Convention must raise awareness of the human rights of persons with disabilities (Article 8), and ensure access to roads, buildings, and information (Article 9). Poverty and limited access to the occupation of social participation is an occupational injustice. Occupational justice requires universal rights to occupation, broadly defined and recognising differences related to the cultural, social, political (current and historic) and geographical context. Occupational justice is the fulfilment of the right for all people to engage in the occupations they need to survive, define as meaningful, and that contribute positively to their own well-being and the wellbeing of their communities (WFOT, 2019). Occupational justice requires occupational rights for all to: * Participate in a range of occupations that support survival, health and well-being so that populations, communities, families and individuals can flourish and realise their potential, consistent with the Ottawa Charter * Choose occupations without pressure, force, coercion, or threats but with acknowledgement that with choice comes responsibility for other people, lifeforms and the planet * Freely engage in necessary and chosen occupations without risk to safety, human dignity or equity. = Areas of Work: Social Inclusion in United Nations = In all stages of policy formulation, social inclusion is critical to ensure that the needs of disadvantaged social groups such as indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, older persons, youth and women, are considered so that no one is left behind. UN DESA assists countries develop policies that address social vulnerability dimensions – including gender, income group, and rural-urban disparities – by training government to the use of new methodologies for data collection and mechanisms for the participation of all disadvantaged groups (United Nations, n.d.). Key tools to build capacity in the area of social inclusion include: * Provision of high-quality advisory services and technical expertise on social policy issues to governments and other relevant stakeholders, including through scoping missions, as well as analysis of existing legislative and policy frameworks in relation to relevant international instruments on social development; * Developing robust methodologies in capacity needs assessment, results-based management and monitoring and evaluation of social policies; * Methodologies for data collection on disadvantage social groups such as indigenous people, youth, women, older persons and persons with disabilities to facilitate evidence based policy formulation, implementation, monitoring and reporting; * Analysis of social impact and inequality (including income and rural urban inequalities); * Toolkit on Disability for Africa: its aim is to implement the Convention on the Rights for Persons with Disabilities.


Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) by United Nations

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol was adopted on 13 December 2006 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, and was opened for signature on 30 March 2007. There were 82 signatories to the Convention, 44 signatories to the Optional Protocol, and 1 ratification of the Convention. This is the highest number of signatories in history to a UN Convention on its opening day. It is the first comprehensive human rights treaty of the 21st century and is the first human rights convention to be open for signature by regional integration organizations. The Convention entered into force on 3 May 2008. The Convention follows decades of work by the United Nations to change attitudes and approaches to persons with disabilities. It takes to a new height the movement from viewing persons with disabilities as “objects”  of charity, medical treatment and social protection towards viewing persons with disabilities as “subjects” with rights, who are capable of claiming those rights and making decisions for their lives based on their free and informed consent as well as being active members of society. The Convention is intended as a human rights instrument with an explicit, social development dimension. It adopts a broad categorization of persons with disabilities and reaffirms that all persons with all types of disabilities must enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms. It clarifies and qualifies how all categories of rights apply to persons with disabilities and identifies areas where adaptations have to be made for persons with disabilities to effectively exercise their rights and areas where their rights have been violated, and where protection of rights must be reinforced. The Convention was negotiated during eight sessions of an Ad Hoc Committee of the General Assembly from 2002 to 2006, making it  the fastest negotiated human rights treaty. https://www.un.org/disabilities/documents/convention/convention_accessible_pdf.pdf


Occupational Therapy and Social Engagement

Occupational therapy is a client-centred health profession concerned with promoting health and well being through occupation. The primary goal of occupational therapy is to enable people to participate in the activities of everyday life. Occupational therapists achieve this outcome by working with people and communities to enhance their ability to engage in the occupations they want to, need to, or are expected to do, or by modifying the occupation or the environment to better support their occupational engagement (WFOT 2012). Occupational therapists work in a variety of settings, and focus on occupation through an individualized client-centered approach, which may include supporting individual participation in activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, rest and sleep, education, work, play, leisure, and social participation (Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: Domain & Process).


Socially engaged theater

Socially engaged theater is performance work that comments on or raises awareness about social issues around race, gender, disability sexuality and equality. The audience is invited to participate in aspects of the performance.


Community Based Rehabilitation by WFOT

This position implies that occupational therapists engage in coalitions with people who experience disabilities, their families and communities, advocating with them and for their issues, sharing individual experiences and enabling professional organizations to support people with disabilities' social engagement needs and rights of dignity and inclusion, in both developing and developed societies. WFOT recognizes that there is a wide range of opinions and philosophies about what community based rehabilitation (CBR) actually is or what it should be. CBR can cover very diverse disability related practices. This paper is based on the understanding of CBR as a strategy within community development for the rehabilitation, equalization of opportunities and social integration of people with disabilities. Occupational therapists are developing a critical awareness and understanding about these realities, guided and informed by new notions, such as occupational apartheid occupational deprivation and occupational justice. Occupational therapists are committed to advance certain core principles, one of which is the right of all people-including people with disabilities-to develop their capacity and power to construct their own destiny through occupation, which seems congruent with the basic tenets of CBR. practice-research-education projects in CBR.


See also

*
Civic engagement Civic engagement or civic participation is any individual or group activity addressing issues of public concern. Civic engagement includes communities working together or individuals working alone in both political and non-political actions to ...
* Community engagement *
Engaged hermeneutics Hermeneutics () is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts. Hermeneutics is more than interpretative principles or methods used when immediate c ...
*
Positive youth development Positive youth development (PYD) programs are designed to optimize youth developmental progress. ''Youth.gov'' states that "PYD is an intentional, prosocial approach that engages youth within their communities, schools, organizations, peer groups, ...
*
Vocational Rehabilitation Vocational rehabilitation, also abbreviated VR or voc rehab, is a process which enables persons with functional, psychological, developmental, cognitive, and emotional disabilities, impairments or health disabilities to overcome barriers to access ...
*
Occupational Therapy Occupational therapy (OT) is a global healthcare profession. It involves the use of assessment and intervention to develop, recover, or maintain the meaningful activities, or ''occupations'', of individuals, groups, or communities. The field of ...
*
Occupational Therapist Occupational therapists (OTs) are health care professionals specializing in occupational therapy and occupational science. OTs and occupational therapy assistants (OTAs) use scientific bases and a holistic perspective to promote a person's abilit ...
*
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is an international human rights treaty of the United Nations intended to protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities. Parties to the convention are required to promote, ...


References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite book, author1=William R. Avison, author2=Jane D. McLeod, author3=Bernice A. Pescosolido, title=Mental Health, Social Mirror, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n6SxV6Z0hMQC&pg=PA333, access-date=16 September 2012, date=8 January 2007, publisher=Springer, isbn=978-0-387-36319-6, page=333 {{cite book, author1=Keith G. Banting, author2=Andrew Sharpe, author3=France St-Hilaire, title=The Review of Economic Performance and Social Progress, 2001, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WAH1bV-KehUC&pg=PA54, access-date=16 September 2012, date=6 January 2001, publisher=IRPP, isbn=978-0-88645-190-5, page=54 {{cite book, author1=Laura L. Carstensen, author2=Christine R. Hartel, title=When I'm 64, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1MagZZ0O_qcC&pg=PT119, access-date=16 September 2012, date=28 February 2006, publisher=National Academies Press, isbn=978-0-309-10064-9, page=119 {{cite book, author1=Thomas R. Prohaska, author2=Lynda A. Anderson, author3=Robert H. Binstock, title=Public Health for an Aging Society, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8Yjlq5LLSAQC&pg=PT249, access-date=16 September 2012, date=5 April 2012, publisher=JHU Press, isbn=978-1-4214-0535-3, pages=249–252 Zhang, S., Jiang, H., & Carroll, J. M. (2011). ''Integrating online and offline community through Facebook.'' 2011 International Conference on Collaboration Technologies and Systems (CTS), 569-578. doi: 10.1109/CTS.2011.5928738 {{cite web , url=http://www.personal.psu.edu/suz114/paper/CTS2011.pdf , title=Archived copy , access-date=2012-09-16 , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140802052342/http://www.personal.psu.edu/suz114/paper/CTS2011.pdf , archive-date=2014-08-02 Community Sociological terminology