The effects of volunteering on the young volunteer (original) (raw)
1996, The Journal of Primary Prevention
This article reviews some of the best researched volunteer service programs for adolescents and addresses three major questions: 1) What do existing data tell us about the effectiveness of community volunteer service programs in positively influencing the lives of the participants? 2) What do we know about why such programs work? 3) What are the most promising directions for future research and programming efforts to pursue? The review suggests that diverse, successful volunteer programs for adolescents, along with school-based support, are related to improvements in both the academic and social arenas. Specifically, volunteering relates to reduced rates of course failure, suspension from school, and school dropout, and improvement in reading grades; to a reduction in teen pregnancy; and to improved self-concept and attitudes toward society. The conditions under which the volunteering occurs, such as number of hours and the type of volunteer work, seem in some cases to be important to these outcomes, as does the age of the student volunteer; however, much is yet to be understood about these factors.
Related papers
Does Volunteerism Shape Adolescent Attitude and Behavior?
Driven by schools’ need and professional demand, both the academy and society have become preoccupied with how to teach social and emotional skills. This study examines the relationship between adolescent volunteerism and outcomes of attitude and behavior. Data were selected from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79) Child and Young Adults surveys for adolescents from 10 to 14 years old. Four hypotheses were crafted and tested using contemporaneous analyses of 2004 and 2006 data, and by controlling for 2004 volunteering in the analyses of 2006 outcomes. A negative relationship between volunteering and indicators for problematic behavior and depressive symptoms was supported in at least one series of regressions. A positive relationship between volunteerism and adolescent self-perception was supported in two time frames. In addition to demographic characteristics, the influence of siblings, maternal education, father presence, and mother-child relationship were controlled in analyses. This study offers some support for the influence of volunteerism on adolescent attitudinal and behavioral outcomes.
Youth Volunteering: Making a Difference to Community Relations
2010
Often when society discusses young people the focus tends to be on social and personal issues, such as anti-social behaviour, underage drinking, school bullying, and poor mental health. By comparison, much less time is spent considering the valuable role which young people play in their communities. This Research Update aims to redress this imbalance by highlighting the positive contribution that young people make to society through voluntary activities. It will also evidence the positive experiences that volunteering has given young people, which include providing opportunities for them to meet people who are different to them, racially, socially, politically, or religiously.
Journal of Youth Development
Volunteers are essential to the viability of a large segment of youth development programs. Yet, research on this topic has been relatively limited and it has not thus far congealed into a cohesive area of study. The contributions to this special issue advance our understanding of a number of important issues having to do with volunteerism in youth programs and provide a solid foundation for catalyzing both the further generation of knowledge in this area and its practical application. One priority should be to more rigorously establish and delineate suggested connections among program practices, volunteer skill development, behaviors, and experiences, and the outcomes of participating youth. There also is a need to substantially broaden the scope of programs studied in order to clarify both areas of generalizability and dynamics that may vary as a function of volunteer contexts and roles. Finally, as the knowledge base matures, translational research is needed to apply this knowled...
Loading Preview
Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.