We Love Reading has recently released a new research paper titled: “Social Networks, Empowerment, and Wellbeing among Syrian Refugee and Jordanian Women: Implications for Development and Social Inclusion.” The publication represents a collaborative effort involving researchers from Boston College, Hang Seng University, Yale University, and the University of Jordan.
The research, featured in the “World Development” journal, delved into the examination of social networks among Syrian and Jordanian women and their impact on empowerment and overall wellbeing. Notably, the study found a strong correlation between the size of one’s social network and empowerment, motivation to lead, and access to social support.
Furthermore, the research highlighted the positive effects of engaging in volunteering activities on diversifying networks beyond the confines of the home, leading to enhanced psychological empowerment and social inclusion for women. As a result, the study suggests that expanding opportunities for volunteer work could serve as an effective means of diversifying networks and empowering women to actively participate in the workforce, acquire knowledge, and foster social interactions.
Ultimately, this research showed how women can be supported to take leadership roles and plant seeds of social change in their community. The study was conducted in response to the challenges posed by large-scale refugee crises, as the researchers aimed to shed light on the vital role of social networks in empowering women and fostering their wellbeing and social inclusion.
The research project involved 106 Syrian refugee women and 109 Jordanian women residing in impoverished households across five neighborhoods in Amman. Utilizing a standard network survey instrument (PERSNET), the team of researchers assessed the structure and composition of their social networks. Furthermore, they examined associations between network characteristics and six essential measures of psychological empowerment and wellbeing (PE, MRS, MTL, Cantril, PWB, MSPSS).
The findings yielded fascinating insights, with networks proving to be highly homogeneous, especially among Syrian women who exhibited smaller networks compared to their Jordanian counterparts. Additionally, women from very poor households had smaller networks overall. Nevertheless, as the size of the network increased, so did levels of psychological empowerment, motivation to lead, and perceived social support. A noteworthy discovery was the negative correlation between empowerment levels and the increasing kin-based nature of networks.
To gain a deeper understanding of social networks’ dynamics, the research team employed participatory network mapping (Net-Map). Through this method, they assessed the local meanings of empowerment and visually mapped the connections between social actors, community-based work, and psychological outcomes. The qualitative data gathered showed that women perceived empowerment as “ability” and “proof of existence,” and they actively engaged in volunteering opportunities to broaden their social networks beyond the confines of their homes.
Lina Qtaishat, Research Project Manager at We Love Reading, took us on a detailed tour of the process of scientific research and data collection, emphasizing that one of the most important pillars of the We Love Reading program is sharing the results of scientific research not only with the local community but also with the research participants.
she also valued the role of field workers and research assistants, who should be from within the local community to be able to communicate effectively with the participants to achieve the best outcomes.
The team of researchers consists of distinguished individuals, including Jannik J. Eggerman, Prof. Rana Dajani, Prof. Praveen Kumar, Prof. Susannah Chui, Eng. Lina Qtaishat, Prof. Amal El Kharouf, and Prof. Catherine Panter-Brick.