Psychology for the Common Good: The Interdependence of Citizenship, Justice, and Well-being across the Globe

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Background

The special issue will examine the interdependence of citizenship, justice, and well-being across the globe. Citizenship is affected by, and, in turn, affects justice and well-being. There is a need to understand how citizens create conditions that support both justice and well-being, at the micro, meso, and macro levels of analysis. UNs Sustainability Goal's message of ´leaving no one behind is both an ethical imperative and vital to achieving social justice, well-being, and citizenship for all. 

Although there is emerging research showing that social justice and citizenship are predictive of individual, relational, community, and national well-being, more research is required to explore the interdependence among these constructs across geographical locations and settings as well as with diverse populations across the globe. There is also a need for work that investigates how these constructs are predictive of individual and collective outcomes in fields as diverse as health, education, economic output, autonomy, and solidarity. For example, the literature tells us that both social justice and citizenship are closely associated with a wide range of important individual and societal well-being outcomes like social connectedness and integration, personal and collective mattering, innovation, productivity, work and school performance, improved health (e.g., cardiovascular and immune system functioning), healthy behavior, and longevity. However, there is a paucity of research that integrates these findings.

The aim of the current Research Topic is to explore the interdependence among social justice, citizenship, and well-being across diverse communities and multiple levels of analysis. Specifically: how do we create communities where people feel valued and add value to others? How can the public sector, citizens and stakeholders work together to support citizenship, social justice, and well-being in communities? What governments can do to promote fairer, more connected, and civically engaged societies?

We are seeking quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods, and participatory action research projects, as well as theoretical papers and reviews of the literature that address how citizenship, justice, and well-being interact across multiple levels.

We are interested in contributions from different fields and disciplines that investigate possible synergies among wellness, fairness, and civic life, for both individuals and collectives. For the purpose of this special issue, we will consider various forms of social justice, including but not limited to distributive, procedural, contributive, and retributive justice. Similarly, we will consider broad conceptualizations/manifestations of citizenship, including social capital, social trust, volunteering, social movements, asset-based community development, and utopian communities. Finally, we will consider both subjective and objective assessments of individual, community, and national well-being.

Keywords: Social Justice, Citizenship, Well-being, Communities, Mattering, Inequality, Equity, Human Rights, Sustainable Development, Public Value, Welfare

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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