Long-term consequences of youth volunteering: Voluntary versus involuntary service

Citation

Kim, Jinho & Morgül, Kerem (2017). Long-term consequences of youth volunteering: Voluntary versus involuntary service. Social Science Research. vol. 67 pp. 160-175

Abstract

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.

URL

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2017.05.002

Keyword(s)

Youth volunteering

Reference Type

Journal Article

Journal Title

Social Science Research

Author(s)

Kim, Jinho
Morgül, Kerem

Year Published

2017

Volume Number

67

Pages

160-175

Edition

May 13, 2017

DOI

10.1016/j.ssresearch.2017.05.002

Reference ID

6728