The Path to Social Identity

This book is focused on youth and young adults. We explore aspects of how youth are socialized and how they frame and form their self-identity. Our book looks at Kuwait, a multifaceted society which is often misunderstood by the Western world as mired in a legacy of war, hard-line Islamic values and oil. However, Kuwait is a sophisticated cosmopolitan where Islamic values mesh with Western ideals on consumerism, dating, media consumption and liberal arts education. Our book is centered on the youth and young adults in a society who are modernizing Kuwait beyond its concrete and glass skyscrapers and Western luxury brands. We explore the numerous aspects of the lives of young adults from media consumption, to the effects of gender segregation in university life, to altruism, to social media habits, the effects of Western cultural imperialism on their body image to depression and coping skills, and most recently, the effects of living with a pandemic.

Juliet Dinkha – A Licensed Clinical Psychologist and an affiliate with the American University of Kuwait. Being in the educational field for over 20 years, her interest has always been in teaching, educating, and disseminating information to the public. She loves to empower women to find their voice, stand for their beliefs and to develop their identity despite obstacles. Dr. Dinkha has a private practice whereby she provides psychoanalysis/psychotherapy and conducts assessments to a diverse client population both in the Middle East as well as the United States of America.

Aya Abdulhadi – A seasoned communications professional with over a decade of expertise consulting corporate and consumer- focused brands building their communication plans and brand strategy, across the MENA region. Her experience included working with one of the leading marketing and communications agencies, under the WPP Group. Her research focus includes topics of media theories, political communication, media and psychology, and behavioral sciences. She is a Communication and Media Studies graduate from the American University of Kuwait.