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Why mentor? A validation study of the volunteer functions inventory for use in youth mentoring
Author(s) -
Teye Amanda C.,
Peaslee Liliokanaio
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.585
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1520-6629
pISSN - 0090-4392
DOI - 10.1002/jcop.22326
Subject(s) - psychology , reputation , confirmatory factor analysis , volunteer , exploratory factor analysis , test (biology) , scale (ratio) , theme (computing) , population , social psychology , applied psychology , medical education , developmental psychology , structural equation modeling , psychometrics , medicine , sociology , computer science , social science , paleontology , physics , environmental health , quantum mechanics , machine learning , agronomy , biology , operating system
This study explores the functional motivations of volunteers in youth mentoring programs and tests the validity of the Volunteer Functions Inventory (VFI) for this population. Participants included 473 volunteer mentors matched within a one‐to‐one mentoring program. The study utilizes a mixed‐methods approach to validate the VFI, which was administered before the match. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were employed to test for content validity and determine fit. These were complemented by an emergent theme analysis from a semi‐structured interview, which included questions assessing mentor motivations. Findings suggest a five‐factor structure model best captures functional motivations. In addition, results from the qualitative analysis suggest there may be previously unexplored domains to consider for contemporary volunteer populations. These include community/civic responsibility, organizational structure and reputation, and self‐concept. Future research should seek to refine scales that are uniquely predictive of mentor motivations to expand practical applications for use.