Analysis of Volunteering Among Spanish Children and Young People: Approximation to Their Determinants and Parental Influence

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to analyze the factors determining volunteerism among Spanish young people and children, with a particular emphasis on the influence of voluntary and social activities performed by parents. The database used is the 2002-2003 Time User Survey from the Spanish Statistical Office. We estimated the determinants influencing young people and children to become volunteers as a two-part decision: first, whether to volunteer or not, and second, to decide the amount of time they will spend volunteering. The results show that the most influential variables for all age groups are parents volunteering as examples, and parents' educational level. We consider this a relevant topic for identifying the role of public policies in promoting volunteerism, or organizations' activities for encouraging youth participation.

A Rapid Review of Barriers to Volunteering for Potentially Disadvantaged Groups and Implications for Health Inequalities

“…This review contributes to a growing body of evidence identifying broader exclusionary mechanisms relating to social, economic, and human capital as a crosscutting concern to participation in volunteering (Lee and Brudney 2012;Mainar et al 2015;Marta and Pozzi 2008;Smith 2012;Wilson and Musick 1998;Youssim et al 2015). This is not to diminish the unique experience of individuals or groups.…”

“…Norms and values gained from friends and family help to explain why some people volunteer and others do not (Davis Smith 1999; Ishizawa 2015). Parents and friends who do not volunteer (Mainar et al 2015;…”

“…Lack of time, for various reasons, has been found to be a barrier to volunteering for young people (Davis Smith 1999;Mainar et al 2015;Nicol 2012) and both men and women; women may devote a greater proportion of their 'free time' to volunteering (Taniguchi 2006;Windebank 2008). Lack of financial resources to cover the costs associated with volunteering has been found to be a barrier for older people (Cattan et al 2011;Fengyan et al 2009), young people (Davis Smith 1999;Mainar et al 2015;Nicol 2012), and people from minority ethnic groups (Mesch et al 2006;Musick et al 2000). Some people may not be able to take part in volunteering due to ill health.…”

“…The final theme is how the unequal distribution of social, human, and economic capital resources profoundly affects volunteering. Studies conducting regression analyses of data from the USA (Lee and Brudney 2012; Wilson and Musick 1998), Canada (Smith 2012), Israel (Youssim et al 2015), Italy (Marta and Pozzi 2008), and Spain (Mainar et al 2015) all point to factors associated with broader exclusionary mechanisms-social, economic, and human capital-being significant influences on volunteering.…”

Apoyo comunitario percibido en jóvenes y voluntariado

“…En los jóvenes españoles, las principales causas de participación en actividades relacionadas con el voluntariado tienen que ver con la disposición de modelos familiares, especialmente en los padres, además del nivel de formación educativas de los últimos (García, Marcuello, & Saz, 2015). Gil, Marcuello y Saz (2015) analizaron la participación en el voluntariado en 20 países de Europa.…”