The role of altruistic behavior, empathetic concern, and social responsibility motivation in blood donation behavior

Abstract

for the Retrovirus Epidemiology Donor StudyBACKGROUND: Blood donation can be described as a prosocial behavior, and donors often cite prosocial reasons such as altruism, empathy, or social responsibility for their willingness to donate. Previous studies have not quantitatively evaluated these characteristics in donors or examined how they relate to donation frequency. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: As part of a donor motivation study, 12,064 current and lapsed donors answered questions used to create an altruistic behavior, empathetic concern, and social responsibility motivation score for each donor. Analysis of variance was used to compare mean scores by demographics and donor status and to determine the influence of each variable on the mean number of donations in the past 5 years. RESULTS:The mean score for each prosocial characteristic appeared high, with lower scores in male and younger donors. Higher altruistic behavior and social responsibility motivation scores were associated with increased past donation frequency, but the effects were minor. Empathetic concern was not associated with prior donation. The largest differences in prior donations were by age and donor status, with older and current donors having given more frequently. CONCLUSION: Most blood donors appear to have high levels of the primary prosocial characteristics (altruism, empathy, and social responsibility) commonly thought to be the main motivators for donation, but these factors do not appear to be the ones most strongly related to donation frequency. Traditional donor appeals based on these characteristics may need to be supplemented by approaches that address practical concerns like convenience, community safety, or personal benefit.T o meet the demand for blood in the United States, there is an ongoing need to recruit new and retain current blood donors. [1][2][3][4] Because only a small proportion of eligible donors donate 5,6 and an even smaller percentage return to give blood a second time, 4,7,8 a better understanding of what motivates donors to give blood is needed. 9-14Maintaining an adequate blood supply depends on people giving blood, a behavior that can truly be described as prosocial. 15 Prosocial behaviors are acts that most people in society or in a social group generally consider to be beneficial to others. 16,17 Explanations as to why people sometimes act primarily to benefit others rather than themselves are numerous and often conflicting. 16,[18][19][20][21] One theory is that people who are more likely to perform prosocial behaviors may be more likely to have what can be characterized as a "prosocial personality." 17,22 ABBREVIATIONS: PSB = Prosocial Personality Battery; REDS = Retrovirus Epidemiology Donor Study; SRA = SelfReport Altruism. A key characteristic of the prosocial personality is the desire to perform and the performance of altruistically motivated behaviors. 16 Conventional wisdom holds that giving blood is motivated by altruism. Numerous studies on donor motivations have found that donors report altruisti...

Knowledge, Attitudes and Motivations Among Blood Donors in São Paulo, Brazil

“…As concluded by other authors most blood donors appear to have high levels of primary social responsibility, commonly thought to be a strong motivator for donation, although it may not be related to donation frequency (Steele et al 2007). We found that altruistic motivation could be reported in combination with other motivations, including self-interest (Misje et al 2005).…”

Marketing social para doação de sangue: análise da predisposição de novos doadores

“…Relativo aos fatores intrínsecos que conduzem os sujeitos à doação de sangue, partindo do entendimento de que o desenvolvimento de um comportamento de doador exige do indivíduo uma postura de envolvimento social que pode ser representada por uma conduta altruísta e empática 22,24,25,26,27 , e voltada para atender as necessidades dos outros, foi possível definir as três hipóteses a seguir: H2 -O altruísmo influencia positivamente a predisposição para doar sangue. H3 -A empatia influencia positivamente a predisposição para doar sangue.…”

“…Os construtos informação, medo e grupo de referência foram obtidas do estudo de Beerli-Palacio & Martín-Santana 1 . Já as escalas que trataram do altruísmo e responsabilidade social foram extraídas do trabalho de Steele et al 26 , e o construto da empatia foi mensurado com a escala de Falcone et al 29 . O construto da atitude foi obtido em Lemmens et al 25 .…”

Challenging the Moral Status of Blood Donation

“…The data, when controlled for socio-demographic factors, provided scant evidence for their hypothesis. Steele et al (2008) noted that studies use different definitions of altruism and measure it in different ways. In their study, instead of asking donors why they donate, a large sample (12 064) of donors recruited at blood donor sessions completed previously validated scales for altruism, empathetic concern, and social responsibility motivation.…”