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Motivational Functions, Gender, Age and Religiosity Influences on Volunteerism: A Singapore Volunteer Organisation Perspective

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 February 2012

Chin Meng Wong*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, James Cook University Australia, Singapore Campus, Singapore. wongchinmeng2003@yahoo.com
Koong Hean Foo
Affiliation:
Positive Psychology Centre and ClaireMire (iCounsel.sg), Singapore.
*
*address for correspondence: Chin Meng Wong, Department of Psychology, James Cook University, Singapore, 600 Upper Thomson Road, Singapore, 574421.

Abstract

This survey evaluated the influences of motivational functions, gender, age, and religiosity on two facets of volunteerism in Singapore. The two facets evaluated were length of service and fulfillment of duty commitments. One hundred and twenty-eight volunteers (Mage = 44.9 years; SD = 11.7 years; age range: 24–71 years) from a Singapore volunteer welfare organisation filled out 3 questionnaires: the Volunteer Functions Inventory (VFI; Clary et al., 1998), a questionnaire on facets of volunteerism, and a questionnaire on demographic data. Volunteer functions of these Singaporean volunteers were found to be similar to those of other cultures in the world. Values were the most important volunteer function. Age, frequency of worship, and volunteer functions were positively related to length of service. Volunteer functions were positively associated with fulfillment of duty commitments. No gender differences were found in the levels of volunteerism. The results suggested that the lower levels of volunteerism in Singapore might be the result of factors other than motivation functions. The result also highlighted that beyond motivational functions and demographics, other factors could influence facets of volunteerism.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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