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Long-term consequences of youth volunteering: Voluntary versus involuntary service
Abstract
Despite the renewed interest in youth volunteering in recent years, there remain major gaps in our knowledge of its consequences. Drawing data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, we examine the long-term effects of youth volunteering on the civic and personal aspects of volunteers’ lives. Our results suggest that youth volunteering has a positive return on adult volunteering only when it is voluntary, and that net of contextual factors neither voluntary nor involuntary youth service has a significant effect on adult voting. Regarding personal outcomes, our findings indicate that the psychological benefits of youth volunteering accrue only to voluntary participants, whereas both voluntary and involuntary youth service are positively associated with educational attainment and earnings in young adulthood. Taken together, these results lend support to the case for youth volunteer programs, though the civic benefits of these programs appear to be less dramatic than generally suggested.
... Some prior work in adolescents and young adults has assessed associations between volunteering and health and well-being. Volunteering has been associated with improved physical health (e.g., reduced cardiovascular risk: lower interleukin 6, cholesterol, & body-mass index [BMI] in a randomized controlled trial of adolescents), 8 health behaviors (e.g., increased physical activity, 9 decreased smoking, 10 decreased risk of heavy drinking, 11 decreased marijuana use, 12 reduced risk of teen pregnancy, 13 and decreased risky behaviors 14,15 ), improved psychosocial outcomes (e.g., decreased depressive symptoms, 14,[16][17][18] increased: life satisfaction, 19 purpose in life, 16,20 resilience, 21 and positive affect, 22 and higher perceived quality of volunteering has been associated with improved interpersonal skills 23 ). Further, volunteering in youth was positively associated with educational attainment and earnings in adulthood. ...
... Further, volunteering in youth was positively associated with educational attainment and earnings in adulthood. 14,17 However, volunteering has not been associated with health and well-being outcomes in other studies (e.g., null associations with smoking, 11 depressive symptoms, 22 and loneliness 24 ), and has even been associated with adverse health outcomes (e.g., increased drinking 10 and higher loneliness 25 ). ...
... 26 Second, there is limited longitudinal work looking at volunteering during young adulthood and health outcomes later in life. While there are several rigorous longitudinal studies, 14,17,18 most look at youth volunteering (prior to young adulthood) or look at outcomes crosssectionally in early life. 27 Cross-sectional studies on adolescent and younger populations may not adequately capture the health benefits of volunteering, given that young people generally enjoy good health, while longitudinal work allows us to look at the potential long-term health benefits of volunteering. ...
Purpose: To investigate whether changes in volunteering from adolescence to young adulthood are associated with subsequent health and well-being outcomes in adulthood.
Design: Longitudinal cohort study.
Setting: National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health.
Subjects: U.S. adults from Wave IV (2008/2009; N = 12,234) and Wave V (2016-2018; N = 9,971).
Measures: Any volunteering and nine types of volunteering (independent variables) and 41 health and well-being outcomes (dependent variables) using an outcome-wide approach with multiple linear-, logistic-, and generalized linear regressions.
Results: Volunteering in young adulthood was associated with better health behaviors (e.g., 34% decreased risk of binge drinking, 95% CI [0.54, 0.81]) and improved psychosocial and civic outcomes (e.g., lower depressive symptoms (β = −0.08, 95% CI [−0.14, −0.02]) in adulthood. Volunteering showed little evidence of associations with other health and well-being outcomes (e.g., loneliness, (β = −0.04, 95% CI [−0.09, 0.01])). Assessing volunteering by organization types showed a range of positive and negative outcomes. For example, volunteering in hospitals/nursing homes was associated with a 36% increased risk of high cholesterol (95% CI [1.06, 1.73]) and volunteering with political clubs was associated with a 52% increased risk of an anxiety diagnosis (95% CI [1.13, 2.05]).
Conclusion: Our findings suggest more work is needed to determine the conditions under which volunteering is health promoting and to minimize potential adverse effects associated with some types of volunteering.
... Volunteerism in adolescence is positively associated with future benefits (Celio et al., 2011), and extant research has examined how community service programmes facilitate volunteerism in adolescence and young adulthood longitudinally (Cheng & Sikkink, 2019;Kim & Morgül, 2017). Although high-quality volunteer experiences in adolescence-marked generally by depth, quality, content and context (Flanagan et al., 2015;Hart et al., 2007;Henderson et al., 2014)-are related to higher volunteerism rates later in life (Henderson et al., 2012;Taylor & Pancer, 2007), there is less clarity over contextualized features of these high-quality experiences in schools and communities, especially when school-based programmes are mandatory. ...
... Overall, compulsory school-based volunteerism is not unique to Singapore. About a quarter to a third of US high schools mandated some community service in the early 2000s, though the proportion may have decreased since (Kim & Morgül, 2017;Metz & Youniss, 2005). Every secondary school student in Ontario, Canada has been mandated to 40 hours of community involvement since 1999 (Henderson et al., 2012(Henderson et al., , 2014, and the International Baccalaureate programme also has a creativity, arts and service requirement. ...
... Every secondary school student in Ontario, Canada has been mandated to 40 hours of community involvement since 1999 (Henderson et al., 2012(Henderson et al., , 2014, and the International Baccalaureate programme also has a creativity, arts and service requirement. Kim and Morgül (2017) found that volunteerism in adolescence only led to volunteerism in young adulthood if it was voluntary. Voluntary and non-voluntary participants reported higher educational attainment and earnings compared to non-participants, but only voluntary participants benefited psychologically (Kim & Morgül, 2017). ...
High-quality volunteerism experiences in adolescence are associated with higher volunteerism later in life, yet less is understood about contextualized features of these experiences, especially when school-based programmes are mandatory. Relatedly, narrowing ‘bathtub volunteerism’ (i.e., increasing postgraduation youth volunteerism and shortening the period between volunteer disengagement and resumption) remains a research gap. Therefore, using in-depth retrospective qualitative interviews with 50 young Singaporeans, we aimed to understand features of high-quality volunteer experiences in schools (among adolescents) and communities (among young adults). Findings indicated that within a national context of compulsory school-based volunteerism, ‘bathtub volunteerism’ was narrowed efficaciously when adolescents and young adults were exposed to high-quality school- and community-based volunteer experiences, respectively. High-quality school-based experiences granted student autonomy and facilitated empathy development. Community-based ones combined cause selectivity, personal meaning and close interpersonal relationships. Our findings offer insights to raise volunteerism rates by developing and propagating high-quality volunteer experiences.
... A randomized control trial of high school students found that volunteering increased cardiovascular health (Schreier et al., 2013). Studies using National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health data found that adolescents' and young adults' community service predicted lower depressive | 3 THE CONTRIBUTION OF COMMUNITY SERVICE DURING THE TRANSITION TO ADULTHOOD TO HEALTH IN ADULTHOOD symptoms and lower substance use in adulthood (Ballard et al., 2019;Kim & Morgül, 2017;. ...
... Experiences in adolescence could be formative for establishing longer-term habits and commitments, particularly given that adolescents are exploring who they are and want to be (Flanagan, 2013). Research, although mostly dated, has shown that high school community service predicts diverse forms of civic engagement (including voting, values, community engagement, and leadership) up to 20 years later (Hart et al., 2007;Kim & Morgül, 2017;Youniss & Yates, 1999), suggesting some continuity between adolescence and adulthood. In our study, community service at the end of high school is captured by the intercept in a growth curve model, allowing us to simultaneously examine community service in high school and change in community service over the transition to adulthood in relation to health in adulthood. ...
... Our study suggests that community service is also important to consider beyond high school: across the transition to adulthood, the ways in which community service is sustained, increased, or declined appear to be linked to health later in life. Although some research has documented health benefits of college students' community service and helping behavior (e.g., Geng et al., 2022;Lederer et al., 2015;Martela & Ryan, 2016), relatively few studies are inclusive of youth who did not attend college, with the notable exceptions of Fenn et al. (2023) who cross-sectionally surveyed noncollege attending young adults and three studies that used the same nationally representative U.S. sample (Ballard et al., 2019;Kim & Morgül, 2017;. The latter studies could only examine long-term links between community service and health at two discrete time points. ...
Prior studies have linked young people's community service to indicators of health, yet little research takes the long view by connecting youth's community service to health in the next decade of life. Using a lifespan developmental lens, this study examined community service over the transition to adulthood and uses change over time in community service to predict indicators of behavioral, physical, and psychological health at ages 35 and 40. Data were taken from Monitoring the Future U.S. national multi‐cohort data spanning ages 18–40 in high school cohorts from 1976 to 1995 for age 40 ( N = 4300) and 1976 to 2000 for age 35 ( N = 5879). Models estimated a growth curve model for community service from ages 18 to 30 and found that the slope for community service was associated with alcohol use, binge drinking, marijuana use, healthy behaviors, and life satisfaction at ages 35 and 40, with cigarette use at age 35 only, and with self‐esteem and depressive symptoms at age 40 only. Less decline in community service over the transition to adulthood was associated with lower substance use, more healthy behaviors, and higher psychological well‐being in adulthood. This study contributes evidence that community service and health are linked across the lifespan and suggests the value of examining the long‐term implications of developmental change across adolescence and the transition to adulthood.
... Teenagers also build social capital through civic engagement and participation in political activities (Duke et al., 2009;Kahne et al., 2006;Kim & Morgül, 2017). High school student engagement plays a pivotal role in fostering norms for civic commitment and engagement, social trust, and knowledge of social networks (Duke et al., 2009;Kahne et al., 2006). ...
... High school student engagement plays a pivotal role in fostering norms for civic commitment and engagement, social trust, and knowledge of social networks (Duke et al., 2009;Kahne et al., 2006). Relatedly, Kim and Morgül (2017) emphasize that neighborhood resources and safety enhance adolescents' community involvement, while noting that socioeconomic disadvantages reduce their likelihood to volunteer. ...
... The teens' own categorization of their activities as "political" thus matters to feelings of connectedness. Building on previous research, our study highlighted the role of political engagement in fostering connectedness among teenagers, specifically in the context of disasters (Duke et al., 2009;Kahne et al., 2006;Kim & Morgül, 2017). Political activity can serve as a means for expressing dissatisfaction with the prevailing sociopolitical order, especially during extended periods of economic instability and social isolation. ...
The COVID-19 pandemic was characterized by loneliness, especially among teenagers. This study explored the coping mechanisms, activities, challenges, places visited, and sources of support that predicted teenagers feeling connected to others during COVID-19. Data come from surveys administered in the United States and Canada in summer 2022. Multivariate logistic regression showed that producing personal protective equipment, supporting siblings, getting involved in the local community, becoming more politically active, and taking language classes were positively associated with connectedness. In addition, teens in Canada were more likely to feel connected to others than teens in the United States. These findings can inform policies to enhance resilience in teenagers during protracted crises.
... As stated previously, the link between mandatory volunteering and future voluntary action has been controversial and less explored in the literature. However, it has been found that meaningful and satisfactory mandatory community services can benefit participants' sense of achievement and help further cultivate social awareness and civic development (Henderson et al., 2013;Kim & Morgül, 2017). Therefore, it would be worthwhile to study what influences mandatory volunteers' attitudinal outcomes, such as volunteer satisfaction and future civic intention. ...
... Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, Kim and Morgül (2017) suggested that both voluntary and involuntary youth volunteering activity is positively associated with later volunteering, even though voluntary activity is a stronger predictor than involuntary one. Their study also found that youth volunteering, whether voluntary or required, is positively related to educational attainment and earnings in young adulthood, while the influence of involuntary participation was larger in magnitude in comparison to voluntary participation. ...
... Their study also found that youth volunteering, whether voluntary or required, is positively related to educational attainment and earnings in young adulthood, while the influence of involuntary participation was larger in magnitude in comparison to voluntary participation. Even when required, volunteering helps adolescents and young adults cultivate social skills and selfconfidence and establish new social ties that contribute to their academic, occupational, and social success (Kim & Morgül, 2017). ...
Rationale/Purpose
This study drew upon social exchange theory to investigate the mediation effects of perceived benefits and costs on the relationship between perceived organizational support (POS) and the attitudinal outcomes of mandatory volunteers (voluntolds), namely volunteer satisfaction and future civic intention.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 513 respondents who were voluntolds (i.e. mandatory volunteers) at a large-scale sport event in China. They were analyzed using the partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).
Findings
The results indicated that POS was positively and more significantly associated to perceived benefits and negatively associated with perceived costs. POS also positively predicted volunteer satisfaction, but it did not directly predict future civic intention. In addition, perceived benefits were positively associated with volunteer satisfaction but not with future civic intention, whereas perceived costs were negatively related to both volunteer satisfaction and future civic intention.
Practical implications
The findings provide insightful implications for sport event organizers to develop a volunteer management program with particular attention to orientation, training and support, performance management, and recognition practices for mandatory volunteers.
Research Contribution
The findings suggest the proactive role of event organizers in enhancing perceived benefits and volunteer satisfaction and, consequently, promoting the civic behaviors of mandatory volunteers.
https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/KPBZSSNCKKAVRSMT9SZS/full?target=10.1080/23750472.2022.2115394
... Here, the tradition of social studies dominates although the curriculum is also devolved to individual states and provinces and so may reflect the ideological interests of those in power, and vary significantly within each country. Several of these studies focused on aspects of pedagogy, including the role of 'Open Classroom Climate' (Godfrey & Grayman, 2014), volunteering (Kim & Morgül, 2017), and student voice (Serriere et al., 2011). Some of the articles focused on particular interventions and programmes-for example, Andolina and Conklin (2018) evaluated 'Project Soapbox', whilst Linimon and Joslyn (2002) evaluated the impact of the 'Kids Voting USA' programme. ...
... We also noted that Campbell (2019) cited Helms (2013) as a reason to be cautious about a possible backfire effect of compulsory volunteering. This note of caution is strengthened by Kim and Morgül's (2017) large longitudinal study of 15,701 young people (11-18 years of age), which concluded that those who participated in youth volunteering were more likely to volunteer as adults, but this did not apply when youth volunteering was forced rather than optional. They also confirmed that voluntary volunteering is positively correlated with psychological well-being, but forced voluntary activity is not. ...
This article reports on a systematic review of the evidence concerning the impact of citizenship education, specifically focusing on the effect of different teaching activities on a range of active citizenship outcomes. It provides a narrative synthesis of 109 articles in peer reviewed journals, representing a wide range of methodological approaches. The review was undertaken for a teacher audience and the research team identified four themes with practical implications. First, we discuss the significance of school ethos and distinguish between distinctive aspects of ethos in the literature including relationships between students and teachers, values and behaviours. Second, we explore some of the characteristics of successful projects, including detailed consideration of the type of projects selected for action by young people, the role of teachers, and the duration of projects. This discussion suggests that, whilst full project cycles (involving students identifying and researching areas for action and devising, implementing and reviewing action plans) are valuable, there is also evidence to suggest that short, partial projects may be easier to implement and still secure comparable benefits. Third, we consider the evidence about whether and how citizenship education can have some compensatory effect, closing the civic gap between different groups of young people. In the fourth theme we consider the wide range of teaching strategies which have been demonstrated to have some success in practice.
Context and implications
Rationale for this study
This literature review was undertaken on behalf of a teacher's organisation to consider the evidence base for citizenship education.
Why the new findings matter
The review demonstrates the breadth of evidence for the positive impact of citizenship education and highlights several avenues for further exploration relating to school ethos, action projects and reducing inequalities.
Implications for researchers and educational institutions
Implications for practice relate to the importance of how students perceive the ethos of the school as a whole, as well as their experiences when learning citizenship. This has specific implications for school leaders whose support is required to nurture a positive school ethos (beyond the formal curriculum). Implications for citizenship teachers include making use of short, partial active citizenship projects more routinely; and adopting strategies for closing the civic gap. Researchers are urged to move beyond large‐scale surveys to explore longitudinal studies in specific contexts to track impacts over time for different students.
... Although there have been many studies in this area, they mainly concern people aged over 16, and thus the issue is relatively understudied in younger age groups [7]. At the same time, investigating the scale and determinants of young adolescent volunteering seems to be especially important in view of its long-term consequences, such as educational attainment in young adults [8], and its great potential for the socialization of youth oriented towards pro-social behaviours [9]. ...
... Definition of volunteering. Volunteering is considered a form of pro-social behaviour [8,13] which means voluntarily devoting one's own time and services in order to help others without any financial or material remuneration [2,14]. Taking into account the level of their formality, two major categories of volunteering can be distinguished: formal and informal [15]. ...
Introduction and objective:
Studies on volunteering concern mainly the population aged over 16, and the results refer mainly to Western Europe. Adolescent volunteering in Eastern European countries is relatively understudied. The aim of the study was to investigate and discuss the scale of this phenomenon in Poland, the predictors of being a volunteer, and factors which explain how much time adolescents spend volunteering.
Material and methods:
The study was conducted on a representative group of 3,545 respondents aged 14-15. 26.6% of the surveyed adolescents were involved in volunteering in the 12 months preceding the study.
Results:
The probability of being a volunteer is explained by contextual factors (higher regional income per capita and higher unemployment rate decrease this probability, whereas it increases by living in a city), family factors (father's work in agriculture and more children in the family), individual factors (higher self-esteem of physical fitness and less helplessness). The amount of time devoted to volunteering is explained by contextual factors (the higher the income from agriculture), family factors (mother's work in agriculture; mother's lower level of education), individual factors (greater self-efficacy, lower feeling of helplessness). Volunteering undertaken because of a passion for volunteering is associated with longer volunteering time, while undertaken because of the desire to be liked and respected - with shorter volunteering time.
Conclusions:
The results are of practical importance, as they show the possibility to promote adolescents' volunteering.
... Schools structure youth experiences of volunteering especially when school-based volunteerism is mandatory, determining the activities and values to which youth are exposed (Wilson, 2012). In turn, as students interact with teachers and other socializing agents (Kim & Morgül, 2017), schools can shape youth volunteer motivations (Flanagan et al., 2015). ...
... Mandatory service is not experienced by all youth uniformly, in part because of wide variations in how schools offer opportunities and provide support for volunteerism experiences. This study has clear implications for improving school-level implementation of compulsory volunteerism policies (Kim & Morgül, 2017;Wilson, 2012). Regardless of their motivations, youth have high-quality volunteer experiences in schools perceived to have strong intrinsic cultures of volunteerism. ...
Compulsory volunteerism is required in many countries, with the goal of building long-term capacities for service in adolescence, yet the policy may not necessarily result in volunteerism or civic engagement in adulthood. Little is also understood about different school-based volunteering environments and how they interact with youth volunteer motivations. We aimed to understand varied experiences of mandatory school-based volunteerism – resulting from interactions between youth motivations and school environments – using in-depth retrospective interviews with
50 young Singaporean adults. Findings indicated that schools’ volunteerism culture and practices intersected with and influenced youth volunteer motivations in important ways. Schools with a strong intrinsic culture of volunteerism provided high-quality experiences to benefit everyone, whereas youth in schools that were extrinsically or minimally focused on volunteerism often reinforced individuals’ extrinsic motivation or amotivation for volunteering. Because interactions of youth motivations and
school environments resulted in different volunteer experiences, understanding how compulsory volunteerism can be better tailored may potentially raise rates of long-term service. This study has implications for best practices in schools that may make compulsory school-based volunteerism more beneficial for youth.
... Therefore, generalized attempts to predict the motives that will result in a volunteering commitment have limited effectiveness, but some indicators could benefit volunteer recruitment efforts. For example, volunteering as a youth is a characteristic that has shown an increased potential for volunteering as an adult (Kim & Morgül, 2017). They found that people who volunteered voluntarily in their youth were likelier to volunteer as adults. ...
... In addition, the mixed-method study of Haski-Leventhal et al. (2018) found that people were likely to accept invitations to volunteer when asked by family and friends who were already members of an organization. The social motive was likewise seen in children and young adults, as the volunteering activities of their parents influence their own decisions for volunteering (Kim & Morgül, 2017). These research outcomes demonstrate the influence that social connections can have in determining a person's decisions toward volunteering. ...
Abstract
The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how individuals describe their initial and continued motivation to volunteer at a Texas Veterans Service Organization (VSO). The literature review indicated a gap in understanding the motivations of those who volunteer to support VSOs. The ABCE model of volunteer motivation was used as the theoretical foundation, which consists of four motivational directions and nine motivational functions. Three research questions guided this study. The questions explored how individuals describe their initial and continued motivation to volunteer at a Veterans Service Organization. How do individuals describe their motivation to volunteer at a VSO utilizing the ABCE model direction of beliefs (prosocial, religious, and organizational motives)? How do individuals describe their motivation to volunteer at a VSO utilizing the ABCE model direction of egoistic (enhancement and protective motives)? The sample consisted of 22 participants. Sixteen semi-structured interviews were conducted along with a focus group with six participants. The data was hand-coded and analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis, which resulted in the development of seven themes. The volunteer's connection to the military and wanting to serve others through volunteering were two important themes for this study. They demonstrated that the
participant’s connection to the military and prosocial values consistently motivated their initial and continued volunteerism. Additionally, feeling fulfilled through volunteering was a theme that expressed how volunteering benefited the participants.
Keywords: Veterans Service Organizations, volunteerism, motivation, volunteer
recruitment, volunteer retention, ABCE model of volunteer motivation
... Previous studies revealed that participation in volunteerism gives abundant positive impact to the participants (Kim & Morgul, 2017;Hustinx et al., 2015;Van Aken & Hart, 2014;Goethem et al., 2010;Sax et al., 1999;Hamileton & Fenzel, 1988). Wilson (2000) mentioned that students who volunteered have tendency to grab a better understanding of their role and responsibility as a citizen. ...
... Experiential learning is introduced to help student bridges the gap between theory and practical by enabling them to apply their theoretical knowledge to real situation. In line with that, different studies have proven (Hamileton & Fenzel, 1988;Sax et al., 1999;Goethem et al., 2010;Van Aken, & Hart, 2014;Van et al., 2015;Kim & Morgul, 2017) that community service or volunteering is the platform to build student and achieve the vision set by the Minister of Education. ...
... Engaging in voluntary programs allows YPVTs to interact with people from diverse socio-economic backgrounds, which gives them a sense of community and being needed. Moreover, lower possibility of depression and higher life satisfaction and self-esteem is linked with youth volunteering [25,33]. ...
Terminally ill children (TIC) in pediatric palliative care often encounter psychological deprivation due to isolation, impacting their self-discovery and identity formation. The Young Pioneer Voluntary Teams (YPVTs), initiated by the Ministry of Education of China, address these challenges while also benefiting adolescents with enhanced self-esteem and self-efficacy. However, the current lack of a standardized approach in integrating youth volunteerism into pediatric care raises concerns about potential negative impacts on TIC. This paper introduces a framework to standardize YPVTs training, focusing on psychological resilience, respectful attitudes, and enthusiasm, which are crucial for quality engagement with TIC. This framework includes a selection session, a training session, a feedback collection mechanism, and a framework evaluation. The selection session is composed of a questionnaire for basic information, the General Self-Efficacy Scale and the Motivation of Volunteers Scale, accompanying a scenario-based interview to assess genuineness of their capability to navigate situational challenges. The training session starts with program orientation and responsibility introduction. Lectures, workshops, and exercises are incorporated, aiming to strengthen the three main qualities. Further feedback will be collected from YPVTs with the assistance from child psychologists to detect present flaws and enhance operational quality. Framework effectiveness is evaluated by reassessing the Identity Scale for Adolescents, the General Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Motivation of Volunteers Scale for YPVTs and TIC. Developed through observations at a pediatric palliative care center in China, this framework aims to enhance the well-being of both TIC and YPVTs, embodying person-centered care in healthcare.
... It is possible that a little money in the pocket contributes to the growth in self-confidence and agency since agency is, according to ecological agency theory, dependent on available resources (Priestley et al. 2015;Biesta and Tedder 2007). Previous research (Kim and Morgül 2017) has also highlighted the benefits of volunteering, such as civic engagement, psychological benefits, educational attainment and earnings in young adulthood, which relate to the achievement of student agency. ...
In light of the fact that an increasing number of upper secondary school students in Estonia work in parallel with attending school or during school holidays, the purpose of the study was to ascertain whether work experience and the competencies acquired through work are, in combination with other school-related (teacher agency support), personal (resilience, achievement in Estonian language, mathematics and history) and socio-demographic (gender and mother tongue) factors, related to student agency in school. The second aim was to broaden the understanding of what students learn at work. The study used a mixed-methods approach involving a survey of upper secondary students (aged 16–19, N = 3179) in 30 schools followed by qualitative interviews with 18–19-year-old students who have gained work experience (N = 13). The analysis comprises a hierarchical linear regression analysis (N = 1947) and a thematic analysis of the interviews. The results indicate that work experience, perseverance, teacher agency support, male gender and Estonian mother tongue are positively related to agency while various skills learned at work had no relationship and student achievement in history was only relevant before work experience was added to the model. The interviews showed that students develop skills related to, e.g., self-regulation, self-awareness, career-awareness, social skills and self-confidence through work.
... In another study, college students with social anxiety experienced more discomfort when learning through pedagogy that involved explaining concepts to other students, and this social-anxiety related discomfort predicted lower final course grades, which may be interpreted as diminished learning (Cohen et al., 2019). Regarding autonomy, when volunteering among adolescents is required by schools, parents or other authority, it has been found to afford less future mental health benefit than volunteering with autonomy (Kim & Morgül, 2017). Higher perceptions of autonomy have also been found to enhance student's capacity for learning new information (Schneider et al., 2018), and autonomous motivation during mental health treatment predicts better treatment outcomes (see Zuroff & Koestner, 2023 for a review). ...
Purpose
This study evaluates in college students a novel type of mental health intervention designed to both support the recipient and to help the recipient share what they have learned with others. Through sharing intervention content with others, participants of an intervention for applying learning to self and others (I-ALSO) may benefit from the learning-by-teaching effect and expand the reach of an intervention to their broader social network. The learning-by-teaching effect is commonly employed in other fields that promote learning but has not yet been experimentally tested with therapeutic information.
Methods
Participants were randomized (1:1:1) to complete a mental health intervention designed as a typical self-focused intervention or designed as two different versions of an I-ALSO. Specifically, participants completed an intervention in one of three conditions: as a resource to help oneself (n = 71); as an I-ALSO with an opportunity to support one’s peers through teaching via writing (n = 69); or as an I-ALSO with an opportunity to support one’s peers through teaching in-person (n = 69). Participants completed surveys at baseline, post-intervention, and one-week follow-up to assess learning of intervention content, change in putative intervention targets, and theory-informed moderators.
Results
Results indicated that the I-ALSO with an opportunity to support one’s peer through teaching in-person supported recall of mental health intervention content at one-week follow-up but did not affect an ad-hoc measure of comprehension. No between-condition effects on putative intervention targets were detected; however, across conditions, lower perceptions of autonomy during the intervention predicted less benefit, and contrary to hypotheses, heightened social anxiety predicted stronger learning effects.
Conclusions
This study demonstrates that the learning-by-teaching effect can enhance therapeutic learning, a critical process in all cognitive-behavioral interventions. It also offers implementation-relevant insight into the importance of considering college-students’ sense of autonomy during mental health interventions.
... Existing research on the impact of mandatory service or volunteering has yielded mixed results. While some studies demonstrate that mandatory volunteering leads to positive outcomes in future civic engagement like voting and volunteering (Hart et al., 2007;Janoski et al., 1998;Metz & Youniss, 2005), others suggest that it does not effectively foster civic attributes and engagement (Henderson et al., 2007;Kim & Morgül, 2017). Helms (2013) (2017) are two recent studies that leveraged natural experiment settings to address this question. ...
Diminishing civic vitality has been reported in numerous societies, irrespective of democratic maturity. Mandatory community service initiatives in schools have garnered attention as a strategy for fostering long-term civic engagement. However, methodological challenges such as selection bias and observation timing have led to inconsistent empirical results. This study leverages a unique natural experimental context where mandatory community service requirements were nationally implemented in middle and high schools in South Korea. Employing a non-parametric regression-discontinuity design, we provide robust evidence that such programs increase the likelihood of volunteering in adulthood among lower socioeconomic groups. We found no indications that these mandates increase or decrease the propensity for civic engagement among higher socioeconomic groups.
... By investigating the underlying reasons for their involvement, such as altruism, social responsibility, or career advancement, researchers can tailor volunteer programs to better meet the needs and interests of students. This, in turn, fosters a culture of service and civic engagement within the university community [28]. ...
Volunteering requires a high level of commitment to community development, especially from young people. The first study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of university students of education regarding volunteering and the second study, analysing the differences in students’ knowledge regarding interest in volunteering. The survey method using Google form was distributed among the students of volunteer course semester 2 2022/2023 at Sultan Idris Education University. A total of 459 respondents provided the feedback. Overall, students’ knowledge about the volunteer course was excellent. Their attitudes towards volunteering activities tend to undertake activities related to their interests in terms of the types of volunteers available. Encouraging things in volunteering practice shows that students keep learning things related to volunteering, keep looking for opportunities to help others, and influence others to do it together. The analysis of students’ knowledge related to volunteering among students by interest showed that there was a significant difference in the mean of students’ knowledge by interest, where respondents’ interest in volunteering for the community was much higher than in other volunteering activities. Further studies should be conducted to better understand volunteerism among high school students who are now immersed in technology.
... Különösen jelentős ez akkor, ha ifjúsági nonprofit szervezetekről beszélünk, s még jelentősebb akkor, ha fiatalok bevonásával működik a szervezet. A fiatal önkéntesek jellemzője ugyanis, hogy életállapot-változásukkal (házasság, munkakezdés, gyermekek vállalása) a fókuszuk máshova kerül az önkénteskedés helyett (Willems et al, 2012;Willems -Walk, 2013;Kim -Morgül, 2017); illetve az ezen a területeken működő szervezetek gyakran valamilyen speciális életszakaszhoz is kapcsolódnak (pl. középiskolához, egyetemhez), így a befejezéssel az önkéntesek kisebb-nagyobb mértékben eltávolodnak a szervezettől. ...
Nonprofit szervezetet bárki alapíthat, elég hozzá az a döntés, hogy az „ügy” képviselete, a választott küldetés megvalósítása hatékonyabbnak tűnik formalizáltabb keretek között. Ezzel azonban az is együtt jár, hogy az ügyet szolgáló önkéntesek az alaptevékenység szervezésén felül egy szervezet működtetésének kérdéseivel is kényte-lenek szembesülni, azok operatív, fejlesztési-növekedési és utódlási aspektusaival együtt, amelyek számos – akár idegen és váratlan – kihívást jelenthetnek.Ifjúsági nonprofit szervezetek esetében még hangsúlyosabban merül fel ez a kérdés. Hogyan lehet a fiatalok be-vonásával együtt, önkéntesen működtetni civil szervezetet? Hogyan tudjuk elérni, hogy a szervezet működése fennmaradjon, noha a fiatal önkéntesek jellemzője, hogy az életszakaszuk változásával változik az önkénteskedésre fordítható idejük? Hogyan tudjuk biztosítani az utódlást?Jelen tanulmányban a Magyar Cserkészszövetség helyi szervezeteit, a cserkészcsapatokat vizsgáló kutatás eredményei kerülnek bemutatásra. Ezek a helyi szervezetek tisztán önkéntesek koordinációjából működnek. A kutatás fontos szegmense volt annak a témakörnek a vizsgálata, hogyan érdemes önkéntesként egy új, helyi ifjúsági szervezetet létrehozni, hogyan tudjuk bevonni az első önkénteseket, hogyan tudjuk elérni, hogy a szervezet hosszabb távon is fenntarthatóvá váljon. A továbbiakban először a szervezeti növekedés releváns (a szervezetek kezdeti szakaszait tanulmányozó) megállapításai olvashatók. Ezután következik – az empirikus kutatásra támaszkodva – annak a leí-rása, mi jellemző a kis, kevés önkéntessel (illetve tisztán önkéntesek bevonásával) működő ifjúsági szervezetekre, hogyan érdemes a növekedés és a továbblépés kihívásait kezelni, valamint hogyan működhet az utódlás. Végül pedig az ezekből származó tanulságok és javaslatok olvashatók.
... For example, individual's development of their capacity to solve problems without experiencing anxiety is highly related to family support (Benard, 1993;Rothon et al., 2012), while social capital is less prominent (Rothon et al., 2012). In addition, opportunities for individuals to participate and be involved in activities in society are not always positively related to their mental health (Rothon et al., 2012), unless their participation is purely voluntary or driven by their intrinsic motivation (Kim and Morgül, 2017). ...
This study investigates the intricate connections between relational wellbeing and individual resilience, through family and community protective factors. As such, we aim to bridge an existing gap in resilience literature by examining the elements that contribute to individual resilience from a relational perspective through a random sample of slum dwellers in Indonesia. To address this research gap, we adopted White’s conceptualisation of relational wellbeing and integrated Benard’s perspective on individual resilience and applied them using established measures to assess the general population living in slum areas across three Indonesian cities: Bima, Manado and Pontianak. Rigorous confirmatory factor analysis were conducted to establish the validity and reliability of all employed measures. The results of the mediated-path analysis underscore the significance of family protective factors in most relationships between dimensions of relational wellbeing and individual resilience. Notably, the two mediators exhibited distinct effects: the former positively mediated the relation, while the latter demonstrated an inverted mediation effect. These findings significantly enhance our understanding of the nuanced interplay between wellbeing and resilience, particularly regarding the impact of familial and community support on individuals’ ability to cope with daily life challenges, especially in disaster-prone areas.
... In this same direction, EC work laid the ground for students to introspect their personal inclinations and to revisit their career ambitions. This finding resonates coherently with many previous works that proposed that volunteering could be a place to better comprehend one's own predispositions which favours making the right decisions either in academic curricula or in vocational life (Barton et al., 2019 ;Kim & Morgül, 2017). Our DTA also offered evidence in consistency with findings highlighting the strict link between voluntary service and the capitalisation of employability resources (Knepperet al., 2015 ;Păceșilă, 2015). ...
The consensus among scholars who have studied career skills is that volunteering plays a vital role in enhancing personal, interpersonal, and professional abilities. In fact, for students, voluntary work offers an opportunity to discover, acquire and develop some fundamental skills to live among others and to succeed in life. Furthermore, from a human resource management perspective, it can be a good start for a professional career. Our research's aim is to explore how involvement in extracurricular activities can offer a suitable context for discovering, acquiring and developing a set of skills that can facilitate employment placement of higher education students. Data was collected from 35 students involved in different para academic activities (humanitarian initiatives, cultural and artistic workshops, sportive events, etc.) in Morocco. In light of the study goals, the participants were invited to share with the researcher their experience of voluntary work, their motivation to take part of it, how they think it relates to their employability capital and what resources they may concretely get from volunteering. The data collected was subject to a diatextual analysis that revealed the meanings given by students to their involvement in extracurricular activities. Our paper constitutes a contribution to the inquiry of perceptions regarding students' involvement in extracurricular service and about the extent to which it can foster their ability to build a human capital that can enhance their employability and facilitate, later on, their professional integration into the labour market. Résumé Le consensus parmi les chercheurs qui ont étudié les compétences professionnelles est que le bénévolat joue un rôle essentiel dans le renforcement des capacités personnelles, interpersonnelles et professionnelles. En effet, pour les étudiants, le travail volontaire offre l'occasion de découvrir, d'acquérir et de développer des compétences fondamentales pour vivre avec les autres et réussir dans la vie. De plus, du point de vue de la gestion des ressources humaines, il peut être un bon début pour une carrière professionnelle. Notre recherche vise à explorer comment l'implication dans des activités parascolaires peut offrir un contexte approprié pour découvrir, acquérir et développer un ensemble de compétences qui peuvent faciliter l'insertion professionnelle des étudiants de l'enseignement supérieur. Les données ont été recueillies auprès de 35 étudiants impliqués dans différentes activités para-académiques (initiatives humanitaires, ateliers culturels et artistiques, événements sportifs, etc.) au Maroc. En fonction des objectifs de l'étude, les participants ont été invités à partager avec le chercheur leur expérience du travail bénévole, leur motivation pour y participer, comment ils pensent que cela est lié à leur capital employabilité et quels avantages concrets ils peuvent retirer du bénévolat. Les données recueillies ont été soumises à une analyse diatextuelle qui a révélé les significations attribuées par les étudiants à leur implication dans des activités parascolaires. Notre article constitue une contribution à l'enquête sur les perceptions concernant l'implication des étudiants dans le service parascolaire et sur la mesure dans laquelle cela peut favoriser leur capacité à développer un capital humain qui peut améliorer leur employabilité et faciliter, par la suite, leur intégration professionnelle sur le marché du travail. Mots clés : Capital employabilité, gestion de carrière, compétences douces, apprentissage tout au long de la vie, bénévolat.
... The deliberate decision to participate in activities without expecting payment is known as volunteerism. Academics have studied volunteerism in relation to social action, organizational behavior, and community service (Bonnesen, 2018;Kim & Morgül, 2017;Kirbis, 2017;Ljubojević, 2020;Wani, 2016). The research on volunteerism among SK members in the Philippines is noticeably lacking, presenting an opportunity for further exploration into their motivations and contributions to community development initiatives. ...
In the time of crisis brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, more individuals were affected by its unwanted impact socially, emotionally, and economically, making youth volunteerism imperative in addressing the adversity. This paper delves into the multifaceted dimensions of youth volunteerism during periods of crisis, presenting a comprehensive framework. The study employed an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design to investigate this phenomenon. For the data gathering in the qualitative phase, 12 participants undergone the key informant interview, while in the quantitative, 300 Sangguniang Kabataan members were surveyed to produce data for exploratory factor analysis. Findings revealed four dimensions: response to public service, personal fulfillment, social support and motivation, and personal development. Furthermore, a youth volunteerism framework was generated based on the identified dimensions. This framework might be considered by higher authorities responsible for youth organizations to advance and promote the spirit of volunteerism for community development and sustainability, particularly in times of crisis.
... The most often studied indicator was depressive symptoms. Existing literature showed that different forms of civic engagement, such as social engagement among American youth (Ballard et al., 2019;Hope et al., 2018;Kim & Morgül, 2017;Wray-Lake et al., 2019), conventional engagement among American adolescents (Ballard et al., 2019;Wray-Lake et al., 2019), and online engagement among Canadian undergraduate women (Foster, 2014) led to a decrease in these symptoms and thus could be considered beneficial for mental health. On the other hand, Wray-Lake et al. (2019) supported conventional engagement (e.g., contributing money to a political party) as a positive predictor of depressive symptoms in a sample of American youth, but this was not true for voting, which was measured outside other conventional activities. ...
Youth civic engagement is usually framed positively by existing literature, which finds that it can benefit young people’s well-being. Despite that, the literature lacks summarized evidence of the effects of various forms of youth civic engagement on different dimensions of well-being (i.e., psychological, emotional, social, and mental health). This scoping review identified 35 studies on this topic. Results demonstrated that social engagement (e.g., volunteering) generally positively affected psychological and social well-being and mental health. In contrast, the effects of other forms of civic engagement (i.e., protest action, conventional and online engagement) on these dimensions were more heterogeneous. Mixed evidence was found for the effects of all forms of civic engagement on emotional well-being. The issue of possible opposite effects, i.e., from well-being dimensions to civic engagement, was also addressed. They were found mainly for emotional well-being, which usually predicted civic engagement but not vice versa. Overall, this scoping review stresses the importance of distinguishing between different forms of civic engagement and between different dimensions of well-being in future research.
... Volunteerism is defined as voluntary, ongoing, and planned help that increases the well-being of strangers and provides no monetary compensation. It typically occurs within an organizational and community context [18]. ...
This study examines student volunteering at the University of Gondar in Ethiopia, aiming to understand motivation and areas of engagement. Using a mixed research method, data from surveys, in-depth interviews, and key informant interviews were analyzed. The sample included 422 participants selected through probability and non-probability sampling techniques. Quantitative findings reveal that understanding the functions of volunteering motivates students, with a desire for learning experiences and applying their skills being primary motivators. The value function and career enhancement function also contribute to motivation. Survey results indicate that students engage in volunteer activities to enhance their resumes and have a strong belief in the importance of helping others. Notably, 47% of volunteer students focus on social and disability affairs. This study emphasizes the need for careful planning and implementation to encourage student volunteerism and maximize its benefits for all involved parties.
... Both empathy and prosocial responding have been found to play a key role in the development of healthy social and emotional functioning among young people (Shaffer & Kipp, 2010;Wagaman, 2011). Research shows that these constructs are linked to higher levels of emotional and psychological adjustment (Kim & Morgül, 2017;Wray-Lake et al., 2017), including enhanced self-esteem, improved mental health and increased life satisfaction (Anderson et al., 2014;Martela & Ryan, 2016). Greater empathy and prosocial behaviour have also been linked with better cognitive performance and higher academic achievement among children and adolescents (Ballard et al., 2018;Gerbino et al., 2018). ...
The aim of this study is to explore young people's perspectives on the factors that facilitate or inhibit empathy and prosocial responding among youth. Qualitative focus groups ( n = 29) were undertaken with Irish young people aged 13–17 years relating to their views on the factors that facilitate or inhibit the expression of empathy. Parents, friends, and social media were found to be key influences, whereas barriers identified included societal norms, gender norms, lack of skill, or knowledge and target characteristics. This research provides important insights into adolescents’ perceptions of the social correlates of empathy. Concepts from the sociology of empathy, such as empathy maps and paths, are helpful in drawing out the implications for future research and practice.
... Furthermore, the form, timing, and frequency of engagement in family care and grandparenting are often not predictable or controllable, and not always fully voluntary. Involuntary prosocial behavior usually has less favorable outcomes for an individual (Kim & Morgül, 2017). Therefore, prosocial activities may be less beneficial for mental health than leisure activities, which may also lead to less positive outcomes in terms of cognitive health. ...
An active lifestyle has been associated with better cognitive performance in many studies. However, most studies have focused on leisure activities or paid work, with less consideration of the kind of prosocial activities, many people engage in, including volunteering, grandparenting, and family care. In the present study, based on four waves of the German Ageing Survey (N = 6,915, aged 40–85 at baseline), we used parallel growth curves to investigate the longitudinal association of level and change in volunteering, grandparenting, and family care with level and change in processing speed. Given the gendered nature of engagement in these activities over the life span, we tested for gender differences in the associations. Only volunteering was reliably associated with higher speed of processing at baseline, no consistent longitudinal associations were found. Our results show that although prosocial activities are of great societal importance, expectations of large rewards in terms of cognitive health may be exaggerated.
... NEET youths' spirit of caring was evoked by participating in the volunteer programme. Volunteering is an empowerment tool that can be used to create civic-minded citizens among the youth (Kim and Morgül 2017). By taking part in the volunteer programme, NEET youth began to show an interest in caring for their community members. ...
Volunteering plays an important role in enabling young people to harness their social skills—social skills that enhance youth capability and, subsequently, connect them with the community in a dignified manner. This paper aims to understand to what extent the volunteer programme promotes positive youth development in the context of Covid-19 among those youth not in employment, education, or training (NEET). A qualitative research method was used to guide the collection and analysis of the data. The study was conducted in the Western Cape, where data were collected from a sample of 30 NEET youth and analysed through discourse analysis. The study found that a volunteer programme contributes positively to the development of NEET youth by helping them to become active citizens and to develop a sense of self-worth. The study recommends that youth workers and adult educators should encourage and support the entry of NEET youth participation in a volunteer programme in order for them to gain valuable skills that are needed in the digital age, such as communication and social skills.
... adolescents can involve in voluntary work or aid activities with parents or guardians' authorisation) (Blaskó et al., 2019). This aspect surface in empirical studies in which volunteer work does not shape a civic outcome for adolescents when it is not intrinsically voluntary, as it is often mandatory or supervised (Blaskó et al., 2019;Kim & Morgül, 2017). Thus, there are age-related limitations for adolescents to express themselves as citizens from the perspective of the third citizenship goal: civic engagement. ...
Studies that cover civic engagement in adolescents approach its understanding from the cognitive domain of civics and citizenship. However, it is crucial to also pay special attention to the adolescents’ affective-behavioural domain regarding political and social issues and how they could affect their civic engagement in adulthood, particularly in complex contexts with emerging and challenging fragile democracies such as Peru. Concerning this, we propose a model about adolescents’ attitudes toward relevant societal issues as predictors of their expected conventional political participation, an approach to future civic engagement. We applied a multilevel path analysis based on data from 5,166 Peruvian 8th-grade students (Mage = 14.03; SD = .88) participating in the 2016 International Civic and Citizenship Education Study. Our results showed that agreed attitudes toward equal rights of men and women, ethnic/racial groups, homosexuals, and trust in civic institutions positively predict expected electoral participation, but agreed attitudes toward corrupt practices in government turn out to be a negative predictor. Likewise, agreed with attitudes toward equal rights of ethnic/racial groups, disobedience to law, authoritarianism and corruption in government, and trust in civic institutions positively predict expected active political participation; however, agreed attitudes toward equal rights of men and women are a negative predictor. Promoting the exercise of civic attitudes would help to follow fewer passive roles and thus tend towards active political participation, which, in addition, would be seen not only as a space to obtain benefits but also to develop citizenship genuinely committed to democracy.
... People with higher social responsibility and empathy than others, have considered life events more controllable and calculable. Hence, increasing the level of awareness and knowledge of the situation and having enough information increases the power and empathy of people (12,13,(26)(27)(28). ...
Background: The coming various disasters, especially probable pandemics, will need a large number of volunteers with different capabilities. Motivation of volunteers, as a driving force, will be very important for future pandemic disaster planning. The aim of this study was to determine the enablers and barriers to the engagement of healthcare professionals in voluntary activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the General Internal Medicine Departments of Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex in Tehran, Iran. A 44-item questionnaire was designed based on the Literature Review and Experts Panel. Items were scored on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from “strongly disagree (1)” to “strongly agree (5)”. Content validity and face validity of the questionnaire were checked by 10 experts and 10 respondents, respectively. Cronbach’s alpha of the items of stimulating and inhibitory factors’ section was calculated 0.83 and 0.92, respectively. A self-administrated paper-based questionnaire has been distributed among healthcare team members. Results: Out of 105 health care professionals, 80 (76.2%) were female and 41 (39%) were married. The most significant demographic predictor of willingness to volunteering was having no child (p-value=0.001). History of infection, admission, or death of family members or friends in the current pandemic was an important factor to reduce the desire to voluntary activities significantly (p-value=0.019). Depressive disorders and using antidepressants had no relation with the attraction to volunteering, but anxiety disorders had a significant relation with the willingness to be a volunteer (p-value=0.04). Conclusion: The most important demographic variables influencing the unwillingness to participate in voluntary activities during the COVID-19 crisis are parenting role, history of anxiety disorders, and history of hospitalization or death of relatives or friends. Furthermore, the voluntary participation of healthcare professionals is influenced by facilitating factors such as giving rewards, reducing the period of obligatory military service, having a sense of altruism, and helping others.
... А. А. Кузнецова и Н. А. Соловьева предполагают, что поле социального взаимодействия и коммуникации, в которое вовлечены социально-активные молодые люди и девушки, обеспечивает и поддерживает их коммуникативные компетенции и психологические характеристики [38]. В то же время, дополнительного изучения, по мнению J. Kim и K. Morgul, требует обратная связь выявленной зависимости, когда люди с определенными психологическими особенностями скорее других приобретают опыт волонтерства и намерения им заниматься с определенной регулярностью [39]. ...
Introduction . The relevance of the study is associated with the need for scientific understanding of youth volunteering, deepening ideas about its educational potential, which is realised in the education system. In the context of international and national studies, it is important to evaluate the volunteer participation of the younger generation, its social effects on society. The social effectiveness of volunteering is a necessary condition, the result of educational activities organised in the educational environment. The study meets the practical request to determine the conditions for changing the qualitative characteristics of students volunteering with an active agenda of state assistance to the pro-social activity of the youth in the Russian Federation. Understanding the motivation, intentions and real opportunities for volunteer participation of high school students and students is important for improving the effectiveness of solving the task of increasing the social activity of young people, defined in the framework of the state youth policy.
Aim. The article aimed to concretise the social significance of the volunteer participation of high school students and students and to determine the conditions for overcoming the motivated refusal of youth volunteering in the educational environment in order to increase the effectiveness of its organisation.
Methodology and research methods. The methodological basis of the article is a set of theoretical ideas about the formation of social solidarity and stimulation of pro-social behaviour of young people. The theory of social participation has received a certain development in the article. The article is based on the materials of the authors’ research projects implemented in 2017–2020 in the Sverdlovsk region. Having used the questionnaire method, the authors analysed the data of a mass survey of young people in the Sverdlovsk region from 14 to 24 years old from 81 settlements of the region. A representative sample consisted of 1105 people, the error is no more than 3,5%. The sample was based on four quotas: gender, age, the main type of employment (school, college, and university) and type of city by population.
Results and scientific novelty. The study showed that while maintaining a large number of students with experience in volunteering, the number of those, who consciously refuse or doubt that they will be engaged in volunteering in their future, increases. In recent years, the number of those, who have gained volunteering experience through initiatives in educational institutions, has increased significantly. The involvement of young Uralians in social projects has decreased. The study proves that the voluntary activity of young people is a necessary condition for the accumulation of social capital in territorial communities. The involvement of schoolchildren and students in youth organisations, in socio-cultural urban life is an important and necessary condition for effective volunteer participation of young people. It was revealed that volunteer experience is directly related to student interest in public life. It is proved that high school students and students with volunteer experience and intentions to continue it are more likely to be involved in the social and political life of their city or village than those who do not have such experience.
Practical significance. In schools, colleges and universities, there is an important task of organising not only the educational process, but also educational activities. When requesting mass youth participation and the typicality of socially significant events, it is important to understand the conditions when the qualitative characteristics of volunteering by young citizens as members of the local community are being developed.
... For young people, empathy is associated with healthy physical and psychological functioning [54][55][56] and improved coping and self-esteem [57]. It has also been linked to greater emotional resilience [58,59], improved cognitive performance and self-efficacy [60,61]. The presence of empathy also forms a critical element of the social support structure for young people [62]. ...
Young people engaging in volunteering are encountering some of the greatest, unanticipated challenges facing society in decades including the impact of Covid-19, the rise in extreme poverty and an increase in the number of migrants and displaced persons globally. Youth volunteering is understood as embracing a wide range of civic and societal objectives. It acts to encourage young people to become active citizens and agents of positive change for communities. It has a role in providing developmental opportunities to young people including pathways to education, training and work. While some characterisations of volunteering highlight benefits it accords at the individual level, increasingly, policy responses are focusing on the ‘other-oriented’ elements that contribute to an inclusive, committed and tolerant society. This paper examines the potential role of volunteering in fostering a culture of citizenship, democracy and social cohesion among youth, in particular, an emerging focus on empathy and global consciousness as key elements of policy and practice.
... Most young adults may volunteer in various sectors to obtain better job opportunities or acceptance into a good school/university. For young adults entering the workforce, any related experience may be the foot in the door, and often volunteering could be an important step toward a new job or career (Kim & Morgul, 2017). However, older volunteers may have different reasons than younger ones as their objectives and needs are likely other than to enter a university program or the job sector. ...
Volunteers of various ages and backgrounds are an essential contribution to society in countries worldwide. In Taiwan, the healthcare sector greatly benefits from volunteers which are mostly elderly individuals. In this study, we examine the various psychosocial factors that prompt volunteers within Taiwan’s healthcare sector to set aside their time and resources for this important activity. A total of 144 valid surveys containing 19 questions relevant to the healthcare volunteering experience were collected from participants. The Cronbach’s Alpha for this pilot study was 0.8988. Participants expressed among important motivating factors the following: serving the community, improved well-being and health, recognition among friends and family, connections, avoiding loneliness, and a feeling of self-worth. Our study revealed some important motivating factors prompting individuals in society to dedicate their time and resources to volunteer in Taiwan’s healthcare sector, contributing to the reduction of healthcare costs and benefiting society in many ways.
Titel der Studie: Scan Your Skills im Ehrenamt – Informelles Lernen und der Transfer beruflich relevanter Fähigkeiten
In dieser Studie von Joachim E. Lask (WorkFamily-Institut) und Juliane Rath (Universität Würzburg) wird untersucht, wie ehrenamtliches Engagement zur Entwicklung von beruflich relevanten Fähigkeiten (Skills) beiträgt und wie diese in andere Lebensbereiche, insbesondere den beruflichen Kontext, übertragen werden können. Die Forschung zeigt, dass das Ehrenamt eine wichtige Plattform für informelles Lernen bietet, bei dem Skills wie Führung, Kommunikation und Problemlösung erworben werden.
Die Studie bezieht sich auf die Theorie des Work-Family Enrichment (Greenhaus & Powell, 2006) und zeigt, dass 85 % der Ehrenamtlichen bedeutsame Fähigkeiten durch ihr Engagement entwickeln, von denen 70 % angeben, dass diese ihnen im Job helfen. Besonderes Augenmerk wird auf geschlechtsspezifische Unterschiede gelegt, wobei Frauen häufiger von einem größeren Skill-Erwerb und einer höheren Übertragbarkeit dieser Fähigkeiten in den Beruf berichten.
Ziel der Studie ist es, die Mechanismen zu erforschen, die hinter der Entwicklung und dem Transfer informell erworbener Fähigkeiten stehen, sowie praktische Empfehlungen für Freiwilligenorganisationen und Arbeitgeber zu geben, wie sie diese Prozesse fördern können.
Engaging youth is paramount for progressing towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This quantitative research studies the active involvement of Malaysian youth as volunteers in initiatives centred around the SDGs, with a specific focus on the All-Party Parliamentary Group Malaysia on Sustainable Development Goals (APPGM-SDG) platform. Data was gathered from 323 volunteers who applied as volunteers at the Malaysian Youth SDG Summits, the Young Asian Voices for the United Nations We Need, and the Malaysian Youth SDG Agent 22/23 and 23/24 Cohort initiatives. The objective of the study is to identify the demographic involvement of youths in volunteerism through the initiatives of APPGM-SDG. This research analyses the nature of youth participation in SDG-oriented volunteerism, investigating their demographic concentration in active engagement, including engagement by gender, organisational affiliation, and prior experience in volunteerism and how these factors contribute to voluntary work related to the SDGs. Descriptive analysis was conducted to identify the demographic distribution of youths toward the involvement in SDG-oriented volunteerism. Findings indicated a moderate distribution between males and females, a greater number of participants affiliated in organisations, and a greater number of participants with prior experience in volunteerism. By examining the quantitative nature of these volunteers with the comprehensive study of literature and discussion, we gain valuable insights into the dynamics of youth engagement in localising the SDGs. These insights, rooted in the context of Malaysia, can inform strategies for fostering youth-driven progress toward the SDGs both nationally and globally, providing recommendations to parliamentarians, civil societies, and youth groups as a whole.
Youth volunteering is associated with a host of individual benefits, in addition to the service provided to organizations and communities. However, little is known about the volunteering behaviors of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) youth. This is a large and growing lacuna in the literature, as recent demographic surveys show that younger people are far more likely to identify as LGBTQ than those in older generations across many countries. Using Hustinx et al.'s Inequality in Volunteering model as a theoretical lens and analyzing survey data from 16‐year‐olds in Northern Ireland, this research explores whether LGB youth experience inequalities in volunteering activities relative to their non‐LGB peers. Measures of volunteering activities include propensity to volunteer in formal and informal settings, motivations, location for formal volunteering, and experiences while volunteering. Findings indicate that LGB youth are less likely to volunteer in sports or religiously oriented organizations, more likely to volunteer in order to expand social networks, and less likely to report feeling appreciated by the organizations they volunteer with. I discuss implications for philanthropic organizations wanting to move towards creating inclusive environments for LGBTQ youth volunteers and call for increased investment in data collection within gender and sexual minority populations.
This article explores how teacher agency support, students’ perseverance and work experience outside of school are related to student agency in the context of Estonia, where Estonian and Russian-speaking students are often educated separately in schools with either Estonian or Russian instructional language. The student-level data (n = 9060) were collected after piloting the survey instrument in 2022. To ascertain the factors and common causes that correlate with student agency, which is measured in a scale constructed by factor analysis, a structural equation modelling analysis was conducted. Besides the main positive effects of teacher agency support, students’ perseverance and work experience on student agency, other statistically positive covariates were found to be Estonian instructional language, male gender, higher school stage and students’ socio-economic background as measured in number of books at home. Among different types of work experience, working on holidays, in student work camps, doing other paid work (i.e., working in their own business), and voluntary unpaid work were significantly positively correlated with the agency. Therefore, students learned many specific and generic skills while working. Overall, our findings highlight the importance of teacher support and work experience in fostering student agency. The type of agency measured in this scale, which combines agentic engagement in the classroom with capacity for resistance to perceived injustice, is more articulated by male students in higher school stages.
Indonesia is a multicultural country with many indigenous people, including the Tengger tribe, who live in the mountainous area called Tosari. Limited access in rural areas and various risky behavior are the challenges for youth to develop optimally. To fill this gap, Tosari youth, together with midwives and the village office, initiated a youth-integrated health post called posyandu youth (PR), which was adapted to local culture. This study determined outcomes, program quality, and the possibility of PR program development using the positive youth development (PYD) framework. This study employed a qualitative design with a case study approach. From semi-structured interviews with various key stakeholders of PR, findings reveal a connection between the PR program quality and the positive health and well-being outcomes among participants. Based on these findings, several recommendations for maximizing PR as a youth development program to improve PYD and well-being among indigenous youth are provided.
Objective
This study examined whether learning disability (LD) in adolescence is associated with civic engagement in young adulthood. A comprehensive set of social‐psychological mechanisms was examined.
Methods
Using a nationally representative longitudinal data set from the United States ( N = 9909), this study employed school fixed effect models to take into account unobserved school‐ and neighborhood‐level confounding factors. Sobel tests were conducted to formally test for mediation.
Results
Students with LD were less likely to volunteer and vote in young adulthood than their peers without LD. These associations remained statistically significant at conventional levels ( b = −0.037 for volunteering and b = −0.028 for voting) even after adjusting for educational attainment. Sobel mediation tests suggested that part of the association was mediated by disruption of peer relationships (8.3 percent for volunteering and 15.5 percent for voting) and school detachment (7.6 percent for volunteering and 7.4 percent for voting). In contrast, neither teacher relationships nor neighborhood attachments mediated the observed association.
Conclusion
LD in adolescence was associated with a decrease in the likelihood of volunteering and voting in young adulthood. Given the mediating role of peer relationships and school attachment, policymakers and practitioners may consider developing school‐based programs to promote adolescents’ school integration.
A serious challenge facing Western democracies is the falling propensity of successive cohorts of citizens to vote. Over the last fifty years, newly eligible voters –particularly from poorer backgrounds – have become less likely to vote in their first elections, and so more likely to develop habits of non‐voting. This trend has prompted greater interest in policies with the potential to increase first‐time voter turnout, such as lowering the voting age or compulsory political education. Despite a growing academic interest in volunteering as a means of youth political expression or route to civic revival, however, the promotion of youth volunteering has not been seriously considered as a potential tool to help address generational turnout decline. An extensive literature argues that volunteering can increase first‐time voter turnout, but it is hindered by the limited use of panel data and failure to account for confounding and selection effects. It has not, moreover, considered the potential for the effects of childhood volunteering to be conditional on prior political socialisation, particularly the influence of parents. This study uses the United Kingdom Household Longitudinal Survey and structural equation modelling to overcome these limitations and examine the impact of childhood volunteering on the turnout of newly eligible voters. It shows that for most young volunteers, there is no significant benefit, but for the children of politically disengaged parents volunteering does have a significant, positive effect. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
The disruptions to community functioning caused by the COVID‐19 pandemic spurred individuals to action. This empirical study investigated the social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) skill antecedents to college students' volunteering during the COVID‐19 pandemic (N = 248, Mage = 20.6). We assessed eight SEB skills at the onset of a volunteering program, and students' volunteer hours were assessed 10‐weeks later. Approximately 41.5% of the sample did not complete any volunteer hours. Higher levels of perspective taking skill, abstract thinking skill, and stress regulation were associated with more time spent volunteering. These results suggest that strength in particular SEB skills can prospectively predict prosocial civic behaviors.
Introduction. The study of the problem of school well-being and anxiety of adolescents with and without disabilities is of fundamental importance for the psychological support of the process of academic adaptation.
Aim. The present research aimed to conduct a comparative analysis of the characteristics of school well-being and school anxiety as the main indicators of academic adaptation of young adolescent schoolchildren with disabilities.
Methodology and research methods . The authors used a questionnaire aimed at identifying the main demographic indicators; the Phillips test aimed at assessing the main indicators of school anxiety: general anxiety, social stress, frustration of success, fear of self-expression, fear of testing knowledge, fear of not meeting expectations, low resistance to stress, problems in relationships with teachers; original scales for assessing indicators of school well-being, including the areas of relationships with classmates and teachers, self-assessment of educational activities, educational motivation, self-regulation of emotional states. The use of the subject approach in the study allowed the authors to identify the subject (emotional-regulatory) factors of school well-being and to determine the ways of psychological support for the academic adaptation of adolescents with disabilities. The study involved 120 primary young adolescent schoolchildren (46.7% girls, 53.3% boys) enrolled in general education schools and in schools that offer adaptive learning programmes.
Results . The authors found out that well-being indicators, which characterise interpersonal relationships, satisfaction with learning, and motivation for achievements, unpleasant physical sensations, are higher in adolescents with disabilities. The ability to be insistive and to have a differentiated attitude to lessons is an external negative motivation for learning in relatively healthy adolescents. Higher indicators of school anxiety of relatively healthy students reflect increased psychological tension in the conditions of general education schools and there is the need for special organisational and content changes in schools to create a real inclusive environment. The confirmatory model of school well-being indicators reflects three important aspects of it: “Self-organisation based on reflection”, “Ability to emotional self-regulation” and “Positive school motivation”.
Practical significance of the current research lies in the possibility of using its results to optimise the process of academic adaptation of adolescents and to specify the principles of inclusive education in accordance with the specifics of adolescents’ school well-being and school anxiety.
Objective
Adolescents’ unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections have a significant impact on the individuals themselves and on society. Peer leaders are students trained to become role models and leaders who promote positive behaviour change in their schools and community. A few studies have examined the effects of taking the role of peer leaders on the teenagers themselves including the long-term benefits. The aim of this study was to enhance understanding of the peer leader experience as it relates to peer leaders themselves and to explore the lasting impact of their experience.
Design
The study used an exploratory qualitative design.
Setting
Included peer leaders were employed by a non-profit organisation working with Southeastern Massachusetts communities with a high teenage pregnancy rate.
Methods
Qualitative research included individual semi-structured interviews with 18 past and present peer leaders. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were coded and analysed for common themes.
Results
Being a peer leader was a life-changing experience. The benefits varied from learning reproductive health content to developing life skills, friendships and long-lasting career-related skills. Being a member of a peer leader group provided an instant support group and a new circle of friends as well as a purpose. It also removed peer leaders from health risk behaviours. Their experience assisting others in need was rewarding as well as being a confidence builder. Through community service, the peer leaders changed their perceptions about and towards the needs of the people residing in their community.
Conclusion
This study demonstrated the value of incorporating peer leaders in sexual and reproductive health programmes. The peer leader programme examined was not only instrumental in providing education in sexual health but it also created change in the lives of the peer leaders themselves, their families and communities.
The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) represents a data treasure for developmental psychologists working in both adolescent and life-span development. Add Health is a nationally representative sample of more than 20,000 adolescents in grades 7–12 in 1994–1995, who were followed for 25 years into early midlife over five interview waves. The innovative multilevel design collected direct measures of the social contexts of adolescent life and tracked developmental outcomes in health, health behaviors, cognition, achievement, and relationships over time. Biological data appropriate to the developmental stages of the cohort and relevant biosocial processes were integrated into the longitudinal waves of data collection. This review describes Add Health's design and data contents and highlights illustrative Add Health articles that examine developmental processes and outcomes in the areas of mental health, health behavior, cognition, and relationships. We conclude with new opportunities for developmental analyses and suggest future areas of research.
Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Developmental Psychology, Volume 4 is December 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.
To relieve the burden of increasing elderly services, enhancing social capital in the community is a practical and feasible strategy. Social capital is about the shared values that a group of individual working together to achieve a positive outcome. It is essential to actively promote social capital in the community because it allows the individuals, particularly volunteers, to link together by sharing their skills, time and even assets. The outcome of enhancing social capital can be tangible or intangible in elderly services. Participation of volunteers is undoubtedly a key element in the services provided for the ageing population. Volunteers, both the young and older adults, can help facilitate the use of social capital in the community. One of the emerging initiatives in social capital is time banking. Time banking is about the exchange of the time of volunteers to provide services for the elderly and earn personal time credit to exchange for services when necessary, usually at a later stage when the individual’s need arises. It is a virtuous cycle to sustain the service exchange by enhancing social capital. In achieving a holistic and humanistic care to the elderly, time banking in the community has the potential to alleviate the service demand and burden arising from an increasing ageing population as in the case of Hong Kong. The adoption of time banking in different countries will be analysed for better understanding of the operations and effectiveness of time banking.
This study examines whether the longitudinal association between cumulative exposure to lower community attachment and adolescent health differs by gender. Using seven waves of the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey spanning 2010–2016, this study examines the association between cumulative exposure to lower community attachment and self‐rated health among Korean adolescents. This study estimated fixed‐effects models to account for unobserved confounders at the individual level. Fixed‐effects estimates revealed that cumulative exposure to lower community attachment is associated with a decreased likelihood of reporting excellent health. Starting from the initial exposure, girls’ self‐rated health continued to deteriorate over time. In contrast, boys’ self‐rated health decreased for up to 3 years of persistent exposure, but has since returned to pre‐exposure levels. The association between cumulative exposure to lower levels of community attachment and a decline in self‐rated health is more pronounced among girls than boys. Gender‐specific community‐based interventions during adolescence may be required to promote adolescent health and well‐being. Community attachment (CA) is an important predictor of adolescent self‐rated health (SRH). SRH declines for up to five consecutive years in girls persistently exposed to lower CA. Boys’ SRH begins to return to pre‐exposure levels following three years of decline. To promote the health of adolescents, gender‐specific community‐based interventions are necessary. Community attachment (CA) is an important predictor of adolescent self‐rated health (SRH). SRH declines for up to five consecutive years in girls persistently exposed to lower CA. Boys’ SRH begins to return to pre‐exposure levels following three years of decline. To promote the health of adolescents, gender‐specific community‐based interventions are necessary.
This study examined the relationships between current anxiety problems and school engagement, community service or volunteer work, and paid work among U.S. adolescents. The 2018–2019 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH) dataset was analyzed and included 24,609 adolescents ages 12–17 years. We conducted unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression analyzes. A total of 12.6% of adolescents had healthcare provider-confirmed current anxiety problems. Adolescents with current anxiety were at decreased odds of engaging in school (aOR = 0.35, 95%CI = 0.29, 0.41) and participating in community service or volunteer work (aOR = 0.72, 95%CI = 0.59, 0.86) compared to adolescents without current anxiety. Adolescents with current anxiety were at increased odds of participating in paid work (OR = 1.18, 95%CI = 1.01, 1.38). This study reports that U.S. adolescents with anxiety were less likely to engage in school and participate in community service or volunteer work, but were more likely to participate in paid work compared to their peers without anxiety. Results should inform future interventions targeting adolescents.
Background: Social responsibility and democratic citizenship are essential outcomes of a college education. Yet limited research has examined how college experiences may relate to students’ moral and prosocial development, qualities that ground responsibility and citizenship. Purpose: This research sought to identify the college experiences, including six types of community engagement, associated with moral and prosocial developmental outcomes. Methodology/Approach: Participants ( n = 675) completed a survey consisting of items addressing their college experiences, attitudes and beliefs concerning social inequity and responsibility toward others, and six moral and prosocial outcomes. Blocked regression models assessed relationships between predictor variables (experiences and attitudes/beliefs) and the outcomes. Findings/Conclusions: Participation in public service was the only community engagement experience to predict any of the six outcomes. Rather, the attitudes and beliefs students hold seem to have a much greater relationship with moral and prosocial outcomes. Implications: Students’ existing attitudes and orientations to moral and prosocial concerns may determine which types of community engagement experiences they are attracted to and how these experiences may influence students’ development. Colleges and universities should therefore provide multiple modes of participation in community engagement rather than assuming a single type of engagement fosters all students’ development.
For high school community service programs to have a positive impact on subsequent civic engagement, students must volunteer in a sustained manner and must evaluate their volunteering experiences positively. Using a survey with 1,293 respondents and 100 semistructured interviews with past participants of the mandatory community service program implemented by the Ontario provincial government in 1999, the authors identify how and why students generate positive evaluations of community service requirements and whether the diversity of implementation or the mandatory nature might account for negative reactions to volunteering. The authors discuss the significance of these findings for academic debates about community service and for discussions about the ways in which public policy can promote the civic engagement of young people.
In two studies of 5th–12th graders (n = 2,371; n = 999), we compare four groups based on engagement patterns in community service (CS) and/or extracurricular activities (EC). In both studies, adolescents who engaged in BOTH CS (whether mandated or voluntary) and EC had the highest reports of bonding and bridging social capital, intergenerational harmony, and social support whereas those who did NEITHER had the lowest. For most outcomes, adolescents engaged only in CS had higher reports than peers engaged only in EC. Content analyses of what adolescents learned in CS suggest its potential for broadening their awareness of fellow members of their communities, their mutual obligations, and collective capacities.
Service-learning (SL) has become a popular teaching method everywhere from elementary schools to colleges. Despite the increased presence of SL in the education world, it is still unclear what student outcomes are associated with SL programs and what factors are related to more effective programs. A meta-analysis of 62 studies involving 11,837 students indicated that, compared to controls, students participating in SL programs demonstrated significant gains in five outcome areas: attitudes toward self, attitudes toward school and learning, civic engagement, social skills, and academic performance. Mean effects ranged from 0.27 to 0.43. Furthermore, as predicted, there was empirical support for the position that following certain recommended practices—such as linking to curriculum, voice, community involvement, and reflection—was associated with better outcomes. Current data should be gratifying for educators who incorporate SL into their courses, and should encourage more SL research to understand how students benefit and what conditions foster their growth and development.
Raskoff and Sundeen examine youth socialization and civic participation through community service among high school students, with special focus on California. The look at high school community service programs --their practices, their collaborative relations with community organizations for which the students volunteer, and the perspectives of students regarding their participation in these school-sponsored programs.
This paper uses recently released data from a national longitudinal sample to present new evidence of the longer term effects of adolescent depression on labor market outcomes. Results suggest reductions in labor force attachment of approximately 5 percentage points and earnings reductions of approximately 20% for individuals with depressive symptoms as an adolescent. These effects are only partially reduced when controlling for channels operating through educational attainment, adult depressive symptoms, or co-occurring illnesses. Further, the unique structure of the data allows for high-school fixed effects as well as suggestive evidence using sibling comparisons, which allows controls for potentially important unobserved heterogeneity. Overall, the results suggest that the links between adolescent depression and labor market outcomes are quite robust and important in magnitude, suggesting that there may be substantial labor market returns to further investments in treatment opportunities during adolescence.
Using a subsample of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY97), this study (N = 2,471) provides evidence in support of social capital and socialization theories. Intergenerational transmission of civic engagement activities was found to occur through mechanisms such as parental religiosity and voluntarism. Using multinomial logistic regression analysis, correlates of four types of civic engagement were examined: mixed motivation voluntarism (voluntary participation in activist and nonactivist activities, n = 401), exclusively activist (n = 109), exclusive voluntarism (n = 652), and as the referent non—civic minded (no voluntary participation in either activist or nonactivist activities, n = 1,309). Parental voluntarism, socialization, religious participation, education, and presence of children were found to be robust predictors of mixed motivation voluntarism; parental devotion, presence of children, and race/ethnicity, of exclusive activism; and parental religious affiliation and fundamentalism, socialization, and religious participation, self-perceived sense of trustfulness, presence of children, and race/ethnicity of exclusive voluntarism.
This article reports on the early lessons from a multiphase, multimethod study of youth civic engagement. We use insights from expert discussions along with a series of focus groups to explore how young adults approach politics, volunteerism, community, civic duty, and generational identity. We find many of the distinguishing characteristics of the today's youth to be subtle and nuanced, which poses unique challenges for quantitative research of the generation. The important implications of language are discussed in detail.
This study of 4,057 students from 52 high schools in Chicago finds that a set of specific kinds of civic learning opportunities fosters notable improvements in students’ commitments to civic participation. The study controls for demographic factors, preexisting civic commitments, and academic test scores. Prior large-scale studies that found limited impact from school-based civic education often did not focus on the content and style of the curriculum and instruction. Discussing civic and political issues with one’s parents, extracurricular activities other than sports, and living in a civically responsive neighborhood also appear to meaningfully support this goal. Other school characteristics appear less influential.
Have the core discussion networks of Americans changed in the past two decades? In 1985, the General Social Survey (GSS) collected the first nationally representative data on the confidants with whom Americans discuss important matters. In the 2004 GSS the authors replicated those questions to assess social change in core network structures. Discussion networks are smaller in 2004 than in 1985. The number of people saying there is no one with whom they discuss important matters nearly tripled. The mean network size decreases by about a third (one confidant), from 2.94 in 1985 to 2.08 in 2004. The modal respondent now reports having no confidant; the modal respondent in 1985 had three confidants. Both kin and non-kin confidants were lost in the past two decades, but the greater decrease of non-kin ties leads to more confidant networks centered on spouses and parents, with fewer contacts through voluntary associations and neighborhoods. Most people have densely interconnected confidants similar to them. Some changes reflect the changing demographics of the U.S. population. Educational heterogeneity of social ties has decreased, racial heterogeneity has increased. The data may overestimate the number of social isolates, but these shrinking networks reflect an important social change in America.
What is the relationship between social movements and electoral politics? Although the empirical reality of American politics has increasingly blurred the lines between activism and electoral politics, sociology has yet to explore these changes and provide theoretical and methodological tools to understand them. Focusing on the experience of young Americans, this review explores this relationship and outlines opportunities for future research. It is broken down into three sections. First, I review the main themes in the study of youth political participation in America. Second, using examples from the 2008 election, the article examines recent increases in youth participation. Third and finally, this article discusses the case of the Obama campaign, its transition into the Democratic National Committee's Organizing for America, and aspects of the 2012 election to highlight the complex relationship between movements and electoral politics in America today. The paper concludes by highlighting opportunities ...
The developmental correlates of diffuse support for the polity and civic commitments were explored in a survey of 1,052 students (mean age = 14.96 years) from African American, Arab American, European American, and Latino American backgrounds. Results of structural equation modeling revealed that regardless of their age, gender, or ethnic background, youth were more likely to believe that America was a just society and to commit to democratic goals if they felt a sense of community connectedness, especially if they felt that their teachers practiced a democratic ethic at school. Discussion focuses on the civic purposes of education in inculcating a sense of identification with the polity in younger generations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Taking the position that there is a developmental process in the formation of citizenship, the authors reviewed studies that reported a link between youth's participation in organized activities and civic behaviors 15 or more years later in adulthood. Data uniformly showed that students who participated in high school government or community service projects, meant in the broad sense, are more likely to vote and to join community organizations than are adults who were nonparticipants during high school. Results support the authors' view that participation during the youth era can be seminal in the construction of civic identity that includes a sense of agency and social responsibility in sustaining the community's well-being.
This article uses long-term panel data on three generations of Americans to address several issues concerning the state of social trust and civic engagement and their inter-relationships. Social trust is indicated by the standard index and civic engagement by organizational involvement and volunteerism. We demonstrate that the decline in trust and engagement has been led by Generation X, rather than the Baby Boomers, who compare quite favorably with their predecessors, the highly lauded Long Civic Generation. Baby Boomers do, however, have a more sporadic and short-lived record of civic engagement than the preceding generation. Both social trust and, especially, civic engagement are also subject to consequential life cycle effects that may be disguised in cross-sectional designs. The interdependence between social trust and civic engagement is evident as individuals age, though trust is more a cause than a consequence of civic engagement, and the link disappears for voluntary associations based upon exclusive identities.Acta Politica (2004) 39, 342379. doi:10.1057/palgrave.ap.5500077
Service learning places teaching and learning in a social context, facilitating socially responsive knowledge. The purposes of this meta-analysis were to summarize evidence on (a) extent and types of change in participants in service learning programs, (b) specific program elements (moderators) that affect the amount of change in participants, and (c) generalizability of results across educational levels and curricular versus noncurricular service. We included 103 samples and found positive changes for all types of outcomes. Changes were moderate for academic outcomes, small for personal outcomes and citizenship outcomes, and in between for social outcomes. Programs with structured reflection showed larger changes and effects generalized across educational levels. We call for psychologists to increase their use of service learning, and we discuss resources for doing so.
The psychology of volunteerism has been informed by theoretical, empirical, and practical exploration. This article examines basic and applied scientific research on the antecedents, experiences, and consequences stages of the volunteer process. These stages of volunteerism are considered for individual volunteers, the recipients of volunteer services, the organizations through which volunteers serve, and the wider community in which volunteerism takes place. Theoretical and practical implications of volunteerism are also discussed.
The study examines the effects of cross age tutoring in school on the tutors’ empathy, altruism, and self-esteem. The sample consists of 73 high school freshmen, who participated in a year-long program of tutor-training, and a comparison group of 98 other freshmen. Controlling the effects of initial attribute scores, students’ sex, and socioeconomic status, it was found that program participation significantly increased the tutors’ empathy, altruism, and self-esteem. The findings, interpreted according to role-taking theory, suggest that school programs of cross-age tutoring may have some psychological benefits in addition to their already established influence on students’ academic achievements. Since no interactions were found between the effects of program participation and students’ social background on the increases in attribute scores, such programs may perhaps be used for the integration of students from different social-cultural backgrounds.
Prosocial behaviors are an aspect of adolescents’ positive development that has gained greater attention in the developmental literature since the 1990s. In this article, the authors review the literature pertaining to prosocial behaviors during adolescence. The authors begin by defining prosocial behaviors as prior theory and empirical studies have done. They describe antecedents to adolescents’ prosocial behaviors with a focus on two primary factors: socialization and cultural orientations. Accordingly, the authors review prior literature on prosocial behaviors among different ethnic/cultural groups throughout this article. As limited studies have examined prosocial behaviors among some specific ethnic groups, the authors conclude with recommendations for future research.
Volunteering is any activity in which time is given freely to benefit another person, group or cause. Volunteering is part of a cluster of helping behaviors, entailing more commitment than spontaneous assistance but narrower in scope than the care provided to family and friends. Although developed somewhat independently, the study of volunteerism and of social activism have much in common. Since data gathering on volunteering from national samples began about a quarter of a century ago, the rate for the United States has been stable or, according to some studies, rising slightly. Theories that explain volunteering by pointing to individual attributes can be grouped into those that emphasize motives or self-understandings on the one hand and those that emphasize rational action and cost-bene tit analysis on the other. Other theories seek to complement this focus on individual level factors by pointing to the role of social resources, specifically social ties and organizational activity, as explanations for volunteering. Support is found for all theories, although many issues remained unresolved. Age, gender and race differences in volunteering can be accounted for, in large part, by pointing to differences in self-understandings, human capital, and social resources. Less attention has been paid to contextual effects on volunteering and, while evidence is mixed, the impact of organizational, community, and regional characteristics on individual decisions to volunteer remains a fruitful held for exploration. Studies of the experience of volunteering have only just begun to plot and explain spells of volunteering over the life course and to examine the causes of volunteer turnover. Examining the premise that volunteering is beneficial for the helper as well as the helped, a number of studies have looked at the impact of volunteering on subjective and objective well-being. Positive effects are found for life-satisfaction, self-esteem, self-rated health, and for educational and occupational achievement, functional ability, and mortality. Studies of youth also suggest that volunteering reduces the Likelihood of engaging in problem behaviors such as school truancy and drug abuse.
There is widespread belief that dropping out of high school leads to economic hardship. This belief rests on tenuous evidence. High school dropouts likely face an increased risk of economic hardship because of differences beyond a high school diploma. In particular, dropouts are more likely to come from disadvantaged backgrounds and thus face an elevated risk of economic hardship. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1979 Cohort, I estimate the consequences of dropping out by comparing dropouts to their siblings who completed high school. I also present OLS regression estimates using the same data. OLS regression estimates are consistently higher than sibling fixed effects estimates with the largest discrepancy occurring between estimates of the effect of dropping out on income-to-poverty ratio. However, the sibling fixed effect estimates reveal that dropping out has an effect on economic hardship net of unobserved background characteristics that are shared by siblings. I conclude with a discussion of how recent policy shifts affect the economic standing of low-ability students and suggest avenues for future research.
Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Journal of Democracy 6.1 (1995) 65-78
As featured on National Public Radio, The New York Times, and in other major media, we offer this sold-out, much-discussed Journal of Democracy article by Robert Putnam, "Bowling Alone." You can also find information at DemocracyNet about the Journal of Democracy and its sponsor, the National Endowment for Democracy.
Many students of the new democracies that have emerged over the past decade and a half have emphasized the importance of a strong and active civil society to the consolidation of democracy. Especially with regard to the postcommunist countries, scholars and democratic activists alike have lamented the absence or obliteration of traditions of independent civic engagement and a widespread tendency toward passive reliance on the state. To those concerned with the weakness of civil societies in the developing or postcommunist world, the advanced Western democracies and above all the United States have typically been taken as models to be emulated. There is striking evidence, however, that the vibrancy of American civil society has notably declined over the past several decades.
Ever since the publication of Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America, the United States has played a central role in systematic studies of the links between democracy and civil society. Although this is in part because trends in American life are often regarded as harbingers of social modernization, it is also because America has traditionally been considered unusually "civic" (a reputation that, as we shall later see, has not been entirely unjustified).
When Tocqueville visited the United States in the 1830s, it was the Americans' propensity for civic association that most impressed him as the key to their unprecedented ability to make democracy work. "Americans of all ages, all stations in life, and all types of disposition," he observed, "are forever forming associations. There are not only commercial and industrial associations in which all take part, but others of a thousand different types -- religious, moral, serious, futile, very general and very limited, immensely large and very minute. . . . Nothing, in my view, deserves more attention than the intellectual and moral associations in America."
Recently, American social scientists of a neo-Tocquevillean bent have unearthed a wide range of empirical evidence that the quality of public life and the performance of social institutions (and not only in America) are indeed powerfully influenced by norms and networks of civic engagement. Researchers in such fields as education, urban poverty, unemployment, the control of crime and drug abuse, and even health have discovered that successful outcomes are more likely in civically engaged communities. Similarly, research on the varying economic attainments of different ethnic groups in the United States has demonstrated the importance of social bonds within each group. These results are consistent with research in a wide range of settings that demonstrates the vital importance of social networks for job placement and many other economic outcomes.
Meanwhile, a seemingly unrelated body of research on the sociology of economic development has also focused attention on the role of social networks. Some of this work is situated in the developing countries, and some of it elucidates the peculiarly successful "network capitalism" of East Asia. Even in less exotic Western economies, however, researchers have discovered highly efficient, highly flexible "industrial districts" based on networks of collaboration among workers and small entrepreneurs. Far from being paleoindustrial anachronisms, these dense interpersonal and interorganizational networks undergird ultramodern industries, from the high tech of Silicon Valley to the high fashion of Benetton.
The norms and networks of civic engagement also powerfully affect the performance of representative government. That, at least, was the central conclusion of my own 20-year, quasi-experimental study of subnational governments in different regions of Italy. Although all these regional governments seemed identical on paper, their levels of effectiveness varied dramatically. Systematic inquiry showed that the quality of governance was determined by longstanding traditions of civic engagement (or its absence). Voter turnout, newspaper readership, membership in choral societies and football clubs -- these were the hallmarks of a successful region. In fact, historical analysis suggested that these networks of organized reciprocity and civic solidarity...
In 1999, the Canadian province of Ontario joined a number of other jurisdictions in requiring its high school students to complete volunteer service before graduating. The primary objective of this program, and others like it around the world, was to address declining civic engagement within society. Using a quasi‐experimental design, we explore the impact of mandatory volunteering on its stated aims. Our findings suggest that volunteering in high school has positive impacts on the political dimensions of a student's subsequent civic engagement, measured here as political involvement, political activism, political interest, and political efficacy. However, those impacts are largely conditional on two features of the volunteering experience: sustained commitment to one placement and a positive experience as evaluated by the student. High school community service seems to be unrelated to social dimensions of civic engagement, measured here as involvement in a variety of social, cultural, and religious organizations.
En 1999, la provincia canadiense de Ontario se sumó a otros distritos en requerir a sus alumnos de educación media completar un servicio voluntario antes de graduarse. El objetivo principal de este programa y otros similares alrededor del mundo fue para hacer frente a una caída en la participación cívica en la sociedad. Usamos un diseño cuasi‐experimental para explorar el impacto del servicio social obligatorio de acuerdo a sus objetivos declarados. Nuestros hallazgos sugieren que el trabajo comunitario durante la educación media tiene un impacto positivo en el compromiso cívico posterior del estudiante, medido como la participación política, activismo político, interés político y eficacia política, pero que esos impactos están condicionados por dos características en la experiencia del servicio social: mantener un compromiso sostenido a una labor y el tener una experiencia positiva de acuerdo con el estudiante. El servicio social durante la educación media parece no estar relacionado a dimensiones sociales de compromiso cívico, medido en este estudio como la participación en una variedad de organizaciones sociales, culturales y religiosas.
Related Articles: “Public Service Motivation and Political Action,” (2011): http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747‐1346.2011.00316.x/abstract “Community Service Learning,” (2011): http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747‐1346.2003.tb00152.x/abstract “Promoting Civic Activism,” (2002): http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747‐1346.2002.tb00639.x/abstract
In 1992, Maryland became the first—and only—state to require service activity of all public high school graduates. Proponents of mandates note that since individual volunteer activity is correlated over time, mandates will create lifetime volunteers. Prior studies demonstrate differences in the observed characteristics of volunteers and nonvolunteers which could drive the correlation in service over time. Using restricted-access data from the Monitoring the Future project, I find the mandate increased volunteering among eighth-grade students. However, the mandate likely reduced volunteering among twelfth-grade students. In contrast to creating lifelong volunteers, my results suggest that the mandate changed the timing of volunteering.
Civic engagement refers to the ways in which citizens participate in the life of a community in order to improve conditions for others or to help shape the community’s future. This term has been used to date primarily in the context of younger people. But in the past few years, a new movement has emerged to promote greater civic engagement by older adults. This article begins by reviewing existing definitions of civic engagement and concludes that there is no single, widely agreed-upon meaning for the term. The second part of the article looks at attempts to measure how civic engagement is being practiced by Americans of different ages and finds that patterns of civic engagement differ dramatically between younger and older generations. The final part of the article describes some recent initiatives aimed at expanding the civic engagement of older adults.
This article summarizes the findings of a national study of 27 varied programs and concludes that experience-based educational programs can have a significant positive impact on the social, psychological, and intellectual development of adolescents.
Political socialization research has focused on the role of parents, extracurricular activities, and the school curriculum during adolescence on shaping early adult political behavior (Beck & Jennings, 1982; Flanagan, Syvertsen, & Stout, 2007; Torney-Purta, Richardson, & Barber, 2004). However, no study to date has examined how properties of adolescents’ social networks affect the development of adult political outcomes. Using social network analysis, we find that both a respondent’s social integration in high school and his friends’ perceptions of their own social integration affect the respondent’s later political behavior as a young adult. Peer and network effects are at work in political socialization. This has important implications for our understanding of the development of social capital, political trust, and political participation, as well as our general understanding about how one’s social network influences one’s own attitudes and behavior.
While large literatures have shown that cognitive ability and schooling increases employment and wages, an emerging literature examines the importance of so-called "non-cognitive skills" in producing labor market outcomes. However, this smaller literature has not typically used causal methods in estimating the results. One source of heterogeneity that may play an important role in producing both personality and other non-cognitive skills and labor market outcomes is family background, including genetic endowments. This paper is the first to use sibling differences to estimate the effects of personality on employment and wages and is also able to control for many other sources of heterogeneity, including attractiveness, cognitive ability, schooling, occupation, and other factors. Overall, the findings suggest that personality measures are important determinants of labor market outcomes in adulthood and that the results vary considerably by demographic group. The findings also highlight the potential role of extraversion in leading to favorable labor market outcomes, which has not been documented in many other studies.
Proponents of community service programs often claim that such programs succeed in educating youth for democratic citizenship where traditional civics instruction falls short. Yet it is not clear that all service programs envision such citizenship as linked to political engagement and participation. It is hypothesized that only service programs that frame service within a wide political context and offer opportunities for public action increase political engagement as measured by feelings of civic obligation. This citizenship framework may likewise be incorporated in traditional social studies classes with similar effects. This hypothesis is confirmed using panel data comparing the effects of different high school service programs and social studies courses. Path analysis, analyzing a subsample of students in a particularly effective service program, shows that political socialization effects remain even when accounting for self-selection processes.
This article examines whether the motive behind community service performed during high school—either voluntary or required—influences engagement in volunteer work during the young adult years. Using a sample of students from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (N= 9,966), service work in high school is linked with community service in young adulthood. The findings show that participation in community service declines substantially in the 2 years following high school graduation but then rebounds slightly once members of the sample reach their mid-20s. In general, community service participation in high school was related to volunteer work both 2 and 8 years after high school graduation. However, those who were required to participate in community service while in high school were only able to sustain involvement 8 years after graduation if they reported that their participation was voluntary. Strengths and limitations of the analysis as well as implications for youth policy are discussed.
Abstract—With the widespread emergence of required community-service programs comes a new opportunity to examine the effects of requirements on future behavioral intentions. To investigate the consequences of such “mandatory volunteerism” programs, we followed students who were required to volunteer in order to graduate from college. Results demonstrated that stronger perceptions of external control eliminated an otherwise positive relation between prior volunteer experience and future intentions to volunteer. A second study experimentally compared mandates and choices to serve and included a premeasured assessment of whether students felt external control was necessary to get them to volunteer. After being required or choosing to serve, students reported their future intentions. Students who initially felt it unlikely that they would freely volunteer had significantly lower intentions after being required to serve than after being given a choice. Those who initially felt more likely to freely volunteer were relatively unaffected by a mandate to serve as compared with a choice. Theoretical and practical implications for understanding the effects of requirements and constraints on intentions and behavior are discussed.
Previous research has suggested that volunteering may have beneficial developmental consequences for adolescents. However, the sparse research on youth volunteerism is generally limited by a cross-sectional design that does not elucidate causal relations. This study addresses the questions, "Who participates in volunteer work?" and "What are the effects of youth volunteerism?" A panel study of a representative community sample of both volunteers and nonvolunteers indicates that those adolescents who become involved in volunteer activities have higher educational plans and aspirations, higher grade point averages, higher academic self-esteem, and a higher intrinsic motivation toward school work. But irrespective of these bases of selection, there is evidence that volunteering affects important work-related and social outcomes. Volunteering is found to strengthen intrinsic work values and the anticipated importance of community involvement and to decrease the anticipated importance of career.
Wilson and Musick review some of the research on the supposed benefits of volunteering and describe briefly some of the results of their own work in this area. There is little doubt that there are individual benefits to be derived from doing volunteer work that reach far beyond the volunteer act itself and may linger long after the volunteer role is relinquished.
The influences of high school community service participation, extracurricular involvement, and civic knowledge on voting and volunteering in early adulthood were examined using the National Educational Longitudinal Study. The major finding in this study is that both voluntary and school-required community service in high school were strong predictors of adult voting and volunteering. In addition, involvement in high school extracurricular activities was predictive of voting and volunteering. Civic knowledge was related only to voting. The authors consider the findings for their policy relevance and their contributions to theoretical debates.
Responses from a nationally representative sample of 13,000 high school seniors were analyzed to identify predictors of normative, unconventional, and deviant orientations among youth. Normative orientation was indexed using indicators of conventional political involvement (e. g., voting), religious attendance, and importance of religion. Unconventional orientation was indexed with unconventional political involvement (e. g., boycotting). Deviance was measured through marijuana use. Frequency of community service substantially increased predictability of these variables over and above background characteristics and part-time work involvement. Involvement in most types of school-based extracurricular activities was positively associated with doing service, as was moderate part-time work. Background characteristics of attending Catholic school, being female, having high socioeconomic status, and coming from an intact family also predicted service involvement. Results are discussed in terms of a theory of social-historical identity development, suggesting that community service affords youth a developmental opportunity to partake of traditions that transcend the material moment and existential present.
Over the past few years, I have experimented with a classroom exercise that encourages students to think about how they perceive service and politics. I ask the students to create lists of service activities and political activities in which they and their friends and families engage. The service list typically includes such activities as working in a soup kitchen, delivering meals to the homebound, tutoring in the school system, and cleaning up parks. The list of political activities usually includes things like voting, protesting, raising money, lobbying, letter writing, and running for office.
Turning students' attention to the list of community service activities, I ask them to give some adjectives that people might use to describe the listed projects. The students usually offer such descriptors as altruistic, caring, helping, selfless, and giving, as well as individualistic and one-on-one. Often, the students will also add the words selfish or insincere to describe those students who engage in community service to enhance their resume or earn academic credit.
Asked for adjectives that describe politics, the words come fast and furious—dirty, corrupt, ambitious, crooked, dishonest, compromising, slow. After the initial rush of negative descriptors and with little prompting on my part, students will also talk about politics as a means to affect social change and make a difference for groups of people.
I have used this exercise with audiences ranging from young women uninterested in politics, to young people planning careers in politics and policy making, to foundation officials.
The crisis of the 9/11 terrorist attacks has sparked a surge of increased civic engagement by young people in the United States, but there is also evidence of a growing divide along class lines.
I use a volunteer process model to organize a review of recent research on volunteerism, focusing mainly on journal articles reporting survey research results. Scholars from several different disciplines and countries have contributed to a body of work that is becoming more theoretically sophisticated and methodologically rigorous. The first stage of the process model-antecedents of volunteering-continues to attract the most attention but more and more scholars are paying attention to the third stage, the consequences of volunteering, particularly with respect to health benefits. The middle stage-the experience of volunteering-remains somewhat neglected, particularly the influence of the social context of volunteer work on the volunteer's satisfaction and commitment.
Sociological theory suggests two reasons that volunteering runs in families. The first is that parents act as role models. The second is that parents who volunteer pass on the socioeconomic resources needed to do volunteer work. Panel data from two generations of women (N = 1, 848) are analyzed to see how much influence family, socioeconomic status and mother's volunteering have on daughter's volunteer careers. More highly educated women and women whose mothers volunteered donate more hours initially, but only family socioeconomic status increases volunteering over the life course.
Do the voluntary activities of youth increase political engagement in adulthood? Political participation is typically characterized by inertia: reproduced within families, highly correlated with social class, and largely stable after the onset of adulthood. This research illustrates an element of political socialization that occurs just before the transition into full citizenship, that mimics adult civic life, and that can be available regardless of family advantage. The authors use two longitudinal national datasets to identify the kinds of voluntary associations that encourage members to be more politically active later in life. They find that general involvement in extracurricular activities is important, but that in particular, involvement in youth voluntary associations concerning community service, representation, speaking in public forums, and generating a communal identity most encourage future political participation. The authors find these effects net of self-selection and causal factors traditionally characterized in political socialization research. The influence of youth voluntary associations on future political activity is nontrivial and has implications for both democratic education and election outcomes. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
In the spring of 2008, 1,847 principals of K-12 public schools, nationwide, responded to a survey on the prevalence of community service and service-learning in their schools. The "National Study of the Prevalence of Community Service and Service-Learning in K-12 Public Schools," sponsored by the Corporation for National and Community Service and conducted by Westat, collected data on the scope of community service and service-learning activities, as well as the policies and supports for service-learning provided by and for schools during the 2007-08 academic year. The survey utilized the same methodology as surveys of community service and service-learning conducted in 1999 and 2004, thereby allowing for a look at the trends in school-based community service and service-learning over the past decade. The study indicates that schools in low-income areas have not seen the same level of decline in service-learning that has occurred in schools that are not in low-income areas. As other research supports, this finding suggests that teachers and administrators of schools with a high proportion of students from low-income families are more likely to see the academic and civic benefits of service-learning. At a time when individuals see the civic and academic gap between youth from disadvantaged circumstances and those who are not growing, this is a positive sign that service-learning can help address this gap. The authors recommend that further research be conducted, not just with those civic-minded schools that support both community service and service-learning, but also with schools that report that they lack the time and the funds to incorporate service-learning into their classrooms. By better understanding both these groups, it will be possible to be responsive to the goals of schools to see their students succeed. Appendixes include: (1) Characteristics of Schools that Recognize Student Participation in Community Service and Arrange Community Service Opportunities for Students, 1999 and 2008, and (2) Characteristics of Schools with Service-Learning, 1999 and 2008. (Contains 22 footnotes, 11 tables, and 8 charts.)
Youth involvement in extracurricular activities reflects both family socialization influences and civic development. Parents can promote such activity through examples set by personal involvement in the community and through reinforcement of their children's interests. Using data (N = 362) from the 9th and 10th grade waves of the Iowa Youth and Families Project (Conger & Elder, 1994), we find that both the behavioral model set by parents and their personal reinforcement of children's actions make significant differences in the extracurricular activity involvement of boys and girls. However, parental reinforcement is most consequential when parents are not engaged in community activities. In this situation, warm parents are likely to reinforce their children, and this reinforcement strengthens children's involvement in community activities. The family dynamics of civic socialization deserve more attention than they have received to date.
Outlines the social and educational issues and suggested service agendas central to the concept of school-based community service, highlights specific points of the articles in this special issue, and identifies possible future research topics. Outcomes of school-based community service include individual character building, integration of youth into society, and contributions of youth service to organizational change and community development. The latter is the least studied, perhaps due to the concentration on psychological rather than sociological orientation of research efforts to date that focus more on individual as opposed to community development. It is suggested that the difference between service as charity and service as self-help and community development should become more basic, a more sociological orientation should be pursued, and a more outcomes-based educational system should be adopted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
University students who were involved in a community service field placement completed the Inventory of Service Experience (ISE), a measure that was designed to assess the extent to which they felt supported by family, friends, and the organizations with which they worked; and the extent to which they experienced positive outcomes (e.g., enhanced skills, a feeling of “having made a difference”) in their community service setting. Students who had a more supportive and positive experience, as assessed by the ISE, were more likely to have continued to work as volunteers in the setting 2 months after they had completed their course requirements. The implications of these results for community service programs are discussed.