Psychological Characteristics of Volunteers of Different Types of Activity

Abstract

Objective. To study the relationship between the psychological characteristics of volunteers and the type of volunteer activity (helping people or homeless animals). Background. The normalization of the practice of volunteerism, the growth of the involvement of individuals in such activities require a thorough understanding of this phenomenon in order to better recruit and retain volunteers. On a number of characteristics of volunteers, the data are contradictory, volunteers with homeless animals were little studied, and there are few works devoted to comparing the types of volunteers. Study design. Groups of volunteers helping people or animals were compared based on activity motives, empathy, feelings of loneliness, and life satisfaction. Descriptive statistics, analysis of differences, contingency table were utilized. Participants. Volunteers working with people (n=71), average age 33.95 years (SD=11.23); of them 83.1% are women and 16.9% are men. Volunteers with stray animals (n=71), mean age 39.7 years (SD=9.05); of them 92.95% are women, 7.05% are men. Measurements. Russian-language versions of The Balanced Emotional Empathy Scale (Mehrabi¬an, Epstein), UCLA Loneliness Scale (Russell, Peplau, Ferguson), and The Satisfaction With Life Scale. To study motives, the author’s form is used, compiled according to the theory of motives by E.G. Clary. Results. Volunteers from both groups did not differ in characteristics: average level of emotional empathy, normal level of life satisfaction, low level of loneliness. Volunteers helping people are predomi¬nantly poly-motivated, while volunteers with animals are mono-motivated. Among volunteers with ani¬mals, individuals with the altruistic orientation prevail, among volunteers helping people — individuals who combine altruistic and egoistic orientations. Conclusions. Volunteers with animals are motivated altruistically, the motivation of volunteers helping people is variable and includes an egoistic component.

Keywords

• volunteerism
• volunteerism with animals
• helping people
• helping homeless animals
• motivation
• empathy
• life satisfaction