Promoting Emotional and Social Well-Being and a Sense of Belonging in Adolescents through Participation in Volunteering

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze the differences within education-related degrees with respect to participation in volunteering. Volunteering motivation promotes and encourages emotional and social well-being and a sense of belonging in university students. This study was based on a total sample of 985 students undertaking Degrees in Early Childhood Education, Primary Education, and Social Education who attended higher education institutions in Northern Africa (Spain) and Eastern Spain. Once the quality parameters of the instrument were determined, the reliability was confirmed, and data collection was initiated. In order to analyze the results, a multilevel study (ANOVA) was conducted by interacting the variables for degrees with three levels (PE = Primary Education; EC = Early Childhood Education; SE = Social Education) and the variable “volunteering is my motivation to feel better”, with five levels (strongly disagree, disagree, unsure, agree, and strongly agree). From the data obtained, it was concluded that there were significant differences between the different degree paths, the assessment covering sociodemographic variables and areas of interest showing that volunteering benefits university students both socially and in their decision-making processes.

Trends of Active Learning in Higher Education and Students’ Well-Being: A Literature Review

“…The investigations were conducted in seven countries: three in Spain ( Díaz-Iso et al, 2020 ; Fernández et al, 2020 ; Luque-Suárez et al, 2021 ), two in the United Kingdom ( Mayew et al, 2020 ; Defeyter et al, 2021 ), and one in Germany ( Paulus et al, 2021 ), Taiwan ( Dutta et al, 2021 ), Israel ( Martin et al, 2020 ), the United States of America ( Vatovec and Ferrer, 2019 ), and Sweden ( Bälter et al, 2018 ). Most studies included students in higher education (as it was an inclusion criterion), however, Bälter et al’s (2018) investigation included also nine teachers.…”

“…Most studies included students in higher education (as it was an inclusion criterion), however, Bälter et al’s (2018) investigation included also nine teachers. Those students’ (and teachers’) scientific fields are distinct such as medicine ( Martin et al, 2020 ), engineering ( Bälter et al, 2018 ; Paulus et al, 2021 ), education ( Luque-Suárez et al, 2021 ), human health and the environment ( Vatovec and Ferrer, 2019 ). The remainder studies did not specify the scientific areas of the participants but stated that they belong to various areas, colleges, or universities.…”

“…Six of the authors’ approaches were fundamentally quantitative, with questionnaire searching as data collecting instrument ( Fernández et al, 2020 ; Mayew et al, 2020 ; Defeyter et al, 2021 ; Dutta et al, 2021 ; Luque-Suárez et al, 2021 ; Paulus et al, 2021 ), and four employed a mixed methods approach, where other instruments were used alongside the questionnaires, such as interviews ( Bälter et al, 2018 ; Díaz-Iso et al, 2020 ), life experiences ( Martin et al, 2020 ), and intervention reports ( Vatovec and Ferrer, 2019 ). Table 1 displays the results and provides an overview of the research found.…”

“…With an identical intention, Luque-Suárez et al (2021) focused on ways to overcome the mental and emotional distress caused by the first confinement of Spanish students, defending the voluntary work performed by those students as a very positive way to find them again. Promoting emotional well-being improves self-esteem and people’s lives by restoring emotional balance and coping with feelings of depression or isolation.…”

Level of participation in public health volunteering and its determinants among ministry of health primary health care workers in Jeddah 2019

“…Volunteering is equally important for the mental and social development of a person, especially in adolescents and elderly, since it positively impacts cognitive function, altruism, and sense of belonging. [ 7 8 ] A person involved in volunteerism feels better mentally and physically since it releases mental as well as physical stress. [ 9 ] Observational studies proposed that volunteering may be beneficial to both mental health and survival despite the causal relationships remain uncertain.…”