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Volunteerism: Social Issues Perspectives and Social Policy Implications
Author(s) -
Snyder Mark,
Omoto Allen M.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
social issues and policy review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.798
H-Index - 35
eISSN - 1751-2409
pISSN - 1751-2395
DOI - 10.1111/j.1751-2409.2008.00009.x
Subject(s) - process (computing) , social policy , public relations , psychology , sociology , empirical research , social psychology , work (physics) , social work , political science , computer science , epistemology , mechanical engineering , philosophy , law , engineering , operating system
This analytic review focuses on theory and research on volunteerism. First, we define volunteerism as freely chosen helping activities that extend over time and that are often performed through organizations and on behalf of receptive causes or individuals. Next, we link these definitional features to the Volunteer Process Model, which depicts volunteerism as a process with three sequential and interactive stages (antecedents, experiences, and consequences) and at multiple levels of analysis. Then, we use this model to organize the empirical literature on volunteerism and selected work on social movements. Finally, we discuss implications for social policy issues relevant to individuals, organizations, communities, and societies.