RESEARCH PAPER
Adolescent volunteering in Poland – contextual and individual determinants
 
More details
Hide details
1
Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Lublin, Poland
 
2
The John Paul II Catholic University, Lublin, Poland
 
 
Corresponding author
Stanisław Lachowski   

Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Lublin, Poland
 
 
Ann Agric Environ Med. 2023;30(3):522-530
 
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
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.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The study was financed by the National Science Centre, Kraków, Poland (Project No. UMO-2014/15/B/HS6/03534).
 
REFERENCES (62)
1.
Conduit J, Karpen IO, Tierney KD. Volunteer engagement: conceptual extensions and value-in-context outcomes. J Service Theory Practice. 2019;29:462–487.
 
2.
Wilson J. Volunteering. Ann Rev Sociol. 2000;26(1):215–240.
 
3.
Clary EG, Snyder M, Ridge RD, Copeland J, Stukas AA, Haugen J, Meine P. Understanding and assessing the motivations of volunteers. A functional approach. J Personality Soc Psychol. 1998;74:1516–1530.
 
4.
Matos M, Fernandes T. Volunteer engagement: drivers and outcomes on non-profits’ cocreation of value. Inter Rev Public Nonprofit Marketing. 2021;18(4):471–490.
 
5.
Willems J, Dury S. Reasons for not volunteering: Overcoming boundaries to attract volunteers. Service Industries J. 2017;37(11–12):726–745.
 
6.
Holdsworth C, Quinn J. The epistemological challenge of higher education student volunteering: “Reproductive” or “deconstructive” volunteering? Antipode. 2012;44(2):386–405.
 
7.
Mantovan N, Sauer RM, Wilson J. The Influence of Parenting Styles on Early Adolescence Volunteering. Nonprofit Voluntary Sector Quarterly. 2023;0(0):1–25. https://doi.org/10.1177/089976....
 
8.
Kim J, Morgül K. Long-term consequences of youth volunteering: Voluntary versus involuntary service. Soc Sci Res. 2017;67:160–175.
 
9.
Hooghe M, Stolle D. Age matters: Lifestyle and cohort differences in the socialisation effect of voluntary participation. Eur Political Sci. 2003;3(2):9–56.
 
10.
Musick MA, Wilson J. Volunteers: A social profile. Bloomington: Indiana University Press; 2008.
 
11.
Enjolras B. Explaining the Varieties of Volunteering in Europe: A Capability Approach. 2021;32:1187–1212. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266....
 
12.
Plagnol AC, Huppert FA. Happy to help? Exploring the factors associated with variations in rates of volunteering across Europe. Soc Indicators Res. 2010;97(2):157–176.
 
13.
El Mallah S. Conceptualization and Measurement of Adolescent Prosocial Behavior: Looking Back and Moving Forward. J Res Adolesc. 2020;30 (Suppl 1):15–38. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.1....
 
14.
Fényes H, Pusztai G. Volunteering among higher education students: Focusing on the micro-level factors. J Soc Res Policy. 2012;3:73–95.
 
15.
Wilson J, Musick M. Who cares? Toward an integrated theory of volunteer work. Am Soc Rev. 1997;62(5):694–713. https://doi.org/10.2307/265735....
 
16.
Voicu, B, & Voicu, M. Volunteers and volunteering in Central and Eastern Europe. Sociológia. 2009;41(6):539–563.
 
17.
Smith KA, Holmes K, Haski-Leventhal D, Cnaan RA, Handy F, Brudney JL. Motivations and benefits of student volunteering: Comparing regular, occasional, and non-volunteers in five countries. Canad J Nonprofit Soc Econ Res. 2010;1(1):65–81.
 
18.
Hyde MK, Dunn J, Bax C, Chambers SK. Episodic Volunteering and Retention: An Integrated Theoretical Approach. Nonprofit Voluntary Sector Quarterly. 2016;45(1):45–63.
 
19.
Handy F, Brodeur N, Cnaan RA. Summer on the island: Episodic volunteering in Victoria, British Columbia. Voluntary Act. 2006;7(2):31–46.
 
20.
Volunteering in the United States – 2015 Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2016; February 25. https://www.bls.gov/news.relea....
 
21.
7 million Americans Volunteered in 2021, AmeriCorps Reports An official website of AmeriCorps. 2023. https://americorps.gov/newsroo....
 
22.
Muddiman E, Taylor C, Power S, Moles K. Young people, family relationships and civic participation. J Civil Soc. 2019;15(1):82–98. doi:10.1080/17448689.2018.1550903.
 
23.
Public Opinion Research Center. Aktywność Polaków w organizacjach obywatelskich. Komunikat z Badań. 2018; 29. Retrieved from https://www.cbos.pl/SPISKOM.PO....
 
24.
Volunteering in 2016. Statistics Poland. GUS 2017. Warsaw.
 
25.
Volunteering in 2022. Statistics Poland. GUS 2022. Warsaw. https://stat.gov.pl/files/gfx/....
 
26.
Szymańska-Palaczyk A. Wolontariat w Polsce. Przykład projektu Polska Cyfrowa Równych Szans. Ruch Prawniczy, Ekonomiczny i Socjologiczny. 2016;78(1):255–271.
 
27.
Nowosielski M. Odradzanie się społeczeństwa obywatelskiego. Rozwój polskiego trzeciego sektora w latach 1989–2008. Poznań: Instytut Zachodni; 2008.
 
28.
Poczta W. Gospodarstwa rolne w Polsce na tle gospodarstw Unii Europejskiej. Warszawa: GUS; 2013.
 
29.
Statistical Yearbook of Agriculture 2019. Statistics Poland 2020. Warsaw.
 
30.
Lachowski S. Agricultural family identity against the background of transformation of rural areas in Poland. In: Yevtukh V, Wysocki A, Kisla G, Jekaterynczuk A, editors. Identities of Central-Eastern European Nations. Kyiv; 2016. p. 197–222.
 
31.
Apinunmahakul A, Barham V, Devlin RA. Charitable Giving, Volunteering, and the Paid Labor Market. Nonprofit Voluntary Sector Quarterly. 2009;38(1):77–94.
 
32.
Parboteeah KP, Cullen JB, Lim L. Formal volunteering: A cross-national test. J World Business. 2004;39:431–441.
 
33.
Niebuur J, van Lente L, Liefbroer AC, Steverink N, Smidt N. Determinants of participation in voluntary work: A systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal cohort studies. BMC Public Health. 2018;18. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889....
 
34.
Gil-Lacruz AI, Marcuello-Servos C, Saz-Gil MI. Youth volunteering in countries in the European Union: Approximation to differences. Nonprofit and Voluntary Quarterly. 2016;45(5):971–991.
 
35.
Damian, E. Formal volunteering in Europe: Evidence across nations and time. Cross-Cultural Research. 2018;53(4):1–25. https://doi.org/10.1177/106939....
 
36.
Gil-Lacruz AI, Marcuello-Servos C, Saz-Gil MI. Individual and social factors in volunteering participation rates in Europe. Cross-Cultural Res. 2017;51(5):464–490.
 
37.
Son J, Wilson J. Generativity and Volunteering. Soc Forum. 2011;26(3):644–667.
 
38.
Chacón F, Gutiérrez G, Sauto V, Vecina ML, Pérez A. Volunteer functions inventory: A systematic review. Psicothema. 2017;29(3):306–316.
 
39.
Ryan RM, Deci EL. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation from a self-determination theory perspective: definitions, theory, practices, and future directions. Contemporary Educ Psychol. 2020;61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedp....
 
40.
Kee YH, Li C, Wang JCK, Kailani MIB. Motivations for volunteering and its associations with time perspectives and life satisfaction: A latent profile approach. Psychol Reports. 2018;121(5):932–951.
 
41.
Ackerman, K. Predisposed to volunteer? Personality traits and different forms of volunteering. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. 2019;48(6):1119–1142.
 
42.
Atkins R, Hart D, Donnelly TM. The association of childhood personality type with volunteering during adolescence. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly. 2005;51(2):145–162.
 
43.
Harter S. The construction of the self: A development perspective. New York: Guilford; 1999.
 
44.
Tłuściak-Deliowska A. Sense of Self-Efficacy and Helplessness Among Students of Higher Grades of Primary School During the COVID-19 Pandemic. New Educat Rev. 2022;69:107–118.
 
45.
Cattelino E, Chirumbolo A, Baiocco R, Calandri E, Morelli M. School Achievement and Depressive Symptoms in Adolescence: The Role of Self-efficacy and Peer Relationships at School. Child Psychiatry Human Develop. 2021;52(4):571–578. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578....
 
46.
Finkelstien M. Intrinsic vs extrinsic motivational orientations and the volunteer process. Personality and Individual Differences. 2009;46(5–6):653–658.
 
47.
Rotolo T, Wilson J. Sex segregation in volunteer work. Soc Quartely. 2007;48:559–585.
 
48.
Gil-Lacruz AI, Marcuello C, Saz-Gil MI. Gender differences in European volunteer rates. J Gender Studies. 2019;28(2):127–144. doi: 10.1080/09589236.2018.1441016.
 
49.
Statystyczne Vademecum Samorządowca 2019. https://stat.gov.pl/statystyka....
 
50.
Gołek B. Kwestionariusz Nastawień Intrapersonalnych, Interperso-nalnych i Nastawień wobec Świata (KNIIŚ). Podręcznik testu – wersja dla uczniów szkoły gimnazjalnej. Ministerstwo Edukacji Narodowej 2011. Kraków.
 
51.
Lachowski S. Lachowska B. Aktywność ekonomiczna młodzieży w Polsce. Lublin: UMCS; 2018.
 
52.
Lachowski S. Praca dzieci w rodzinach rolniczych. Uwarunkowania i konsekwencje. Lublin: Instytut Medycyny Wsi; 2013.
 
53.
Catalano RF, Hawkins JD, Kosterman R, Bailey JA, Oesterle S, Cambron C, Farrington DP. Applying the Social Development Model in Middle Childhood to Promote Healthy Development: Effects from Primary School Through the 30s and Across Generations. J Dev Life Course Criminol. 2021;7:66–86. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40865....
 
54.
Eberly Lewis MB, Franz S. Mothers’ and adolescents’ conversations about volunteering: Insights into the reasons and socialization processes. In: DJ Laible, G Carlo, LM Padilla-Walker, editors. The Oxford handbook of parenting and moral development. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2019. p. 269–286.
 
55.
Henninger M, Rottler M, Helmig B. Under Pressure. Social Information on Reference Groups and its Influence on Volunteering Intention—A Survey Experiment. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. 2023; 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/089976....
 
56.
Mekonen YK, Adarkwah MA, Volunteers in the COVID-19 Pandemic Era: Intrinsic, Extrinsic, or Altruistic Motivation? Postgraduate International Students in China. J Soc Serv Res. 2022;48(2):147–162, doi: 10.1080/01488376.2021.1980482.
 
57.
Ryan RM, Deci EL. Acting as One: Self-Determination Theory’s Scientific and Existential Import’. In: Ryan RM, editor. The Oxford Handbook of Self-Determination Theory. Oxford Acad; 2023. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxford..., accessed 20 July 2023.
 
58.
Richards JS, Hartman CA, Jeronimus BF, Ormel J, Reijneveld SA, Veenstra R, Verhulst FC, Vollebergh WAM, Oldehinkel AJ. Beyond not bad or just okay: Social predictors of young adults’ wellbeing and functioning (a TRAILS study). Psychol Med. 2019;49(9):1459–1469. https://doi.org/10.1017/S00332....
 
59.
Wuthnow R. Loose connections: Joining together in America’s fragmented communities. Cambridge: Harvard University Press; 1998.
 
60.
Son J, Wilson J. Genetic variation in volunteerism. Sociol Quarterly. 2010;51(1):46–64.
 
61.
Rooney P, Steinberg K, Schervish PG. Methodology Is Destiny: The Effect of Survey Prompts on Reported Levels of Giving and Volunteering. Nonprofit Voluntary Sector Quarterly. 2004;33(4):628–654.
 
62.
Stebbins RA. Volunteering: A Serious Leisure Perspective. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. 1996;25(2):211–224.
 
eISSN:1898-2263
ISSN:1232-1966
Journals System - logo
Scroll to top