In this study, 258 volunteers in human services and 104 nonvolunteers were asked to rank in importance 28 motives for volunteering that had been identified in a thorough literature review. According to the literature, most researchers assume that motivation to volunteer (MMV) is a two-or three-dimensional phenomenon, but very few studies have carried out an empirical analysis of the internal dimensionality of MTV. The present findings indicate that when all 28 motives were subjected to various types of factor analysis, most items were grouped together on one factor. In other words, a unidimensional scale was obtained.

T1he term volunteer is used too broadly in denoting nonsalaried service. In this article, the authors attempt to delineate the boundaries of the term volunteer. They first reviewed 11 widely used definitions of volunteer. Using a content analysis, they identified four key dimensions commonly found in most definitions of volunteer. They then proposed an internal continuum (Guttman scale) for each dimension that distinguished between "pure" and "broadly defined" volunteers. They analyzed the importance of these dimensions in determining how people perceive what makes a volunteer. They expanded this analysis by introducing and exemplifying the concept of the net cost of volunteering. They developed a 21-item instrument and asked 514 respondents to assess the extent to which each item represented their perceptions of a volunteer. Their findings support the dimensions and their continuum as well as the importance of net cost as a basis for public perceptions of what makes a volunteer.

The study of volunteerism has generated multiple conceptual frameworks yet no integrated theory has emerged. This article identifies three major challenges, or layers of complexity, that a unified theory of volunteering faces. First, volunteering is a complex phenomenon that has permeable boundaries and spans a wide variety of activities, organizations, and sectors. Second, different disciplines attribute different meanings and functions to volunteering. Third, existing theoretical accounts are biased toward covering the 'laws of volunteering' and have a strong empirical surplus.'Good theory' however is multidimensional so there is a need to include other views on theory. To overcome these challenges, we use a 'hybrid theoretical strategy' that seeks to combine the 'multiple goodness' of current approaches. Our hybrid framework builds on the three layers of complexity identified, and provides an innovative conceptual system of navigation to map, compare, and integrate existing theories more adequately.

Too few studies have assessed the relationship between youth risk behaviors and religiosity using measures which captured the varied extent to which youth are engaged in religion. This study applied three measures of religiosity and risk behaviors. In addition, this study ascertained information about youths' participation in religious activities from a parent or caretaker. Based on a national random sample of 2,004 teens (ages 11-18), this study indicates that youth perceive religion as important, are active in religious worship and activities, and further shows that perceived importance of religion as well as participation in religious activities are associated with decreased risk behaviors. Looking at ten risk behaviors, religiosity variables were consistently associated with reduced risk behaviors in the areas of: smoking, alcohol use, truancy, sexual activity, marijuana use, and depression. In the case of these six risk variables, religiosity variables were significantly associated with reduced risk behaviors when controlling for family background variables and self esteem. The study highlights the importance of further understanding the relationship between religious variables, background variables, self esteem, and youth risk behaviors. AbstractToo few studies have assessed the relationship between youth risk behaviors and religiosity using measures which captured the varied extent to which youth are engaged in religion. This study applied three measures of religiosity and risk behaviors. In addition, this study ascertained information about youths' participation in religious activities from a parent or caretaker. Based on a national random sample of 2,004 teens (ages 11-18), this study indicates that youth perceive religion as important, are active in religious worship and activities, and further shows that perceived importance of religion as well as participation in religious activities are associated with decreased risk behaviors. Looking at ten risk behaviors, religiosity variables were consistently associated with reduced risk behaviors in the areas of: smoking, alcohol use, truancy, sexual activity, marijuana use, and depression. In the case of these six risk variables, religiosity variables were significantly associated with reduced risk behaviors when controlling for family background variables and self esteem. The study highlights the importance of further understanding the relationship between religious variables, background variables, self esteem, and youth risk behaviors. In addition, a relatively consistent proportion of youth (three in ten) reported that religion played a very important role in their lives (Johnson, Bachman, and O'Malley (1976-1995).However far more youth report that religion is just "important" in their lives: Cnaan, Gelles, and found in a national representative sample of over 2,000 teens (aged 11 to 18) that the majority of youth reported that religion is important in their lives (83.7%). The BarnaResearch Group (1999Group ( , 2000 reported that over half of you...

This research takes the utilitarian view of volunteering as a starting point; for a student population we posit that volunteering is motivated for career enhancing and job prospects. In those countries where volunteering signals positive characteristics of students and helps advance their careers, we hypothesize that their volunteer participation will be higher. Furthermore, regardless of the signaling value of volunteering, those students who volunteer for utilitarian reasons will be more likely to volunteer but will exhibit less timeintensive volunteering. Using survey data from 12 countries (n=9,482) we examine our hypotheses related to motivations to volunteer, volunteer participation, and country differences. Findings suggest that students