Volunteering is commonly observed from the standpoint of the service recipient, and the effect it has on a volunteer’s growth and development is often overlooked. Though quantitative studies, mixed method research, and surveys have explored the impact of volunteerism, very few look into its connection with healthy youth development. Furthermore, it has not received the academic attention it deserves in Sri Lanka, given that the country is globally ranked 1st in volunteer engagement. This qualitative study sought a psychosocial approach to explore and gain insight into the effects of volunteerism on the personal and social development of volunteers. Data collection was done through semi-structured interviews conducted with 6 (young adult) participants (4 females, 2 males), with at least 2 years of experience volunteering at an educational or psychosocial setting. The data were analysed through interpretative phenomenological analysis, which took a hermeneutical stance to explore the lived experiences of volunteers. The analysis revealed 2 superordinate themes: The first, a “journey of growth,” emphasized the development through exposure to different realities and the discovering of career-related interests. The second, “acceptance, support, and validation,” illustrated the importance of sociocultural influences on volunteerism. The findings of the study provided insight into multiple implications including the role of supervisors and volunteer organizations in facilitating a healthy volunteering experience, the significance of sociocultural beliefs and philosophical drives in volunteerism, and the possibility of using volunteering as a standardized youth development program.

/pdf/an-exploration-of-volunteering-as-a-path-to-healthy-youth-2gc3phza.pdf

An Exploration of Volunteering as a Path to Healthy Youth Development

Young adulthood is a period of transition during which individuals could greatly benefit from health promotion tools. Civic engagement has been touted as one potential form of health promotion given its association with positive well-being. However, researchers have primarily examined civic engagement as a health promotion tool among older adults and adolescents, and less is known about its mental health implications for young adults. Additionally, findings are more mixed among women and those from lower-socioeconomic populations perhaps because civic engagement is conceived as an extra burden. Less-educated individuals are less likely to civically engage and more likely to demonstrate mental health needs. More information is needed to disentangle relationships between civic engagement and well-being, particularly among young adult women and those from lower educational backgrounds. Study 1 provides a systematic review of the literature examining relationships between civic engagement and mental health among young adults to clarify the current state of the literature, for application purposes, and to inform future directions in the field. This review identified 54 articles for inclusion. The current literature suggests that civic engagement has a heterogeneous relationship to well-being. This review provides direction for future research to focus on the explanatory pathways for positive, negative, and null correlations particularly among historically marginalized young adults. Study 2 uses a qualitative approach to examine relationships between civic engagement and well-being among non-college young adults (NCYAs). Investigators conducted semi-structured focus groups and interviews with young adults who had never attended a four-year college (N=14), and coders elicited six key themes: 1) types of civic activities, 2) promoters of civic engagement, 3) barriers to civic engagement, 4) the role of self-efficacy and empowerment, 5) the role of value systems and sense of purpose, and 6) relationships between mental health and civic engagement. Participants described complex, bidirectional relationships between civic engagement and well-being. Results from this study were used to inform measure selection and item adaptation in Study 3. Study 3 uses a quantitative approach to explore relationships between civic engagement and well-being among NCYAs. Investigators disseminated an online survey to a sample of NCYAs (N=621) to measure their civic engagement, meaning in life, civic efficacy, well-being, and sociodemographic factors. Based on an a priori model, direct, indirect, and full effects path analyses were conducted across men and women, and then the full sample. Results showed that the full effects model best fit the data with mediation by civic efficacy 

Do good to feel good? investigating civic engagement among non-college young adults

Researchers have examined civic engagement as a health promotion tool among older adults and adolescents, yet less is known about its mental health implications for young adults. This systematic review identified 53 articles on civic engagement and well-being in young adults. Five key themes emerged: (1) varying associations between type of civic engagement and well-being, (2) duration and frequency of civic behaviors, (3) directionality in the civic-to-well-being pathway, (4) mediation and moderation factors affecting the civic-to-well-being pathway, and (5) civic engagement as a tool for coping with adversity or systemic oppression. Civic engagement demonstrates a heterogeneous relationship to well-being; future research should focus on the explanatory pathways for positive, negative, and null correlations particularly among historically marginalized young adults. 

Examining the relationship between civic engagement and mental health in young adults: a systematic review of the literature

Background Amidst a rapid growth in youth participation initiatives globally, such as government‐initiated advisory councils and youth‐led activism groups, it is important to understand how being involved in youth participation roles can affect youth mental health and well‐being. This global systematic scoping review comprehensively synthesises existing literature on the mental health and well‐being outcomes associated with a broad range of youth participation activities; identifies key components of participation that lead to enhanced or diminished outcomes; and establishes knowledge gaps. Methods Eligibility criteria included peer‐reviewed and grey literature resources (published between 1995–2023) reporting qualitative and/or quantitative data on the mental health and/or well‐being (MHWB) outcomes associated with participation activities among youth 15–24 years. Articles were double screened by two independent reviewers. Participation type and components, study methodology, population characteristics and MHWB outcomes were extracted, and results were summarised narratively according to rigorous scoping review methodologies. Results Seventy‐two resources were included in the review, comprising a total of 69,297 young people. Participating in civic engagement, volunteering, leadership and governance and youth advisory councils generally led to positive MHWB for young people, such as increased empowerment and reduced anxiety and depressive symptoms, whilst activism, political engagement and involvement in research settings conferred mixed outcomes. Key components of participation that impacted MHWB included clear and effective communication; observing programme impact; supportive environments; the structure, type and content of participation; and opportunities for skill building. The review highlights key knowledge gaps with respect to underrepresented subpopulations, geographic regions and study methodologies. Conclusion This systematic scoping review, coproduced with young people with lived experience of varied engagement initiatives, synthesises evidence to inform the future design and implementation of safe, supportive, inclusive and mentally healthy youth participation. 

Review: Is a seat at the table enough to safeguard mental health? A global systematic scoping review of the mental health and well‐being impacts of youth participation and engagement

Background: Extra care housing for older adults offers enrichment activities alongside social and healthcare support. We explored experiences of moving in.
Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted in the first 18 months of living in extra care housing. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used. Themes generated were examined against an existential-phenomenological theory of well-being.
Findings: Learning to live in an extra care community showed negotiating new relationships was not straightforward; maintaining friendships outside the community became more difficult as capacity declined. In springboard for opportunity/confinement, living in extra care provided new opportunities for social engagement and a restored sense of self. Over time horizons began to shrink as incapacities grew. Seeking care illustrated reticence to seek care, due to embarrassment and a sense of duty to one’s partner. Becoming aged presented an ontological challenge. Nevertheless, some showed a readiness for death, a sense of homecoming.
Discussion: An authentic later life was possible but residents required emotional and social support to live through the transition and challenges of becoming aged. Enhancement activities boosted residents’ quality of life but the range of activities could be extended to cater better for quieter, smaller scale events within the community; volunteer activity facilitators could be used here. Peer mentoring may help build new relationships and opportunities for interactive stimulation. Acknowledging the importance of feeling – empathic imagination – in caregiving may help staff and residents relate better to each other, thus helping individuals to become ontologically secure and live well to the end.

Living well to the end: a phenomenological analysis of life in extra care housing

Volunteering is known to benefit not only recipients of services but also the volunteers themselves. Such
benefits are especially important in volunteering young adults, who are undergoing a period of rapid
transition and psychosocial development. Whilst the impact of volunteering is reasonably well studied in
student groups, there is relatively little research on young adult volunteers outside the ‘student as volunteer’
context, despite the fact that this group may present different motivations towards, and benefits from,
volunteering. We conducted semi-structured interviews to explore the lived experience of young volunteers.
Using the experiential qualitative approach of interpretive phenomenological analysis, prominent themes
relating to the social experience of volunteering were explored. These were selected as the topic of this article
and are explored under three subthemes: Social belonging; Social motivation to volunteer; Social effects of
volunteering on wellbeing and development. Interpretations of the participant’s verbatim are offered and
discussed in relation to identity fusion theory and positive youth development.

The social experience of volunteering for young adult volunteers: an interpretative phenomenological analysis

Handle everyday research tasks with reliable, citation-backed results

Your personal Research Agent to handle research tasks with citation-backed results

Popular Tasks used by Researchers

How can I help with your research?

Meet SciSpace

Get more enhanced response by uploading the PDFs you want me to reference.

No relevant PDFs in your library

SciSpace is the AI research assistant for academics. Run systematic literature reviews on 280M+ papers, and write papers with cited sources. Trusted by 1M+ students, PhDs & researchers.

SciSpace | AI for Research

Analyze PDFs

Code & Manuscripts

Funding & Grants

Literature & Patents

Medical & Clinical Data

Systematic Review

Visualize & Present

Web & Data

Build a Google Scholar-like website for your research.

Build a website

Create charts and images for your research

Create a Chart

Write a paper for submission to a journal

Draft a manuscript

Patent Search

Design eye-catching scientific posters in minutes.

Scientific Poster Generation

Systematic Literature Review

One task is running at the moment. Your messages will be shown right after.

Drag and drop or click here to browse

Loved by <highlight>1 million+</highlight> researchers

Extract a list of specific topics and their sources from unstructured text

Topics

Compare and analyze relevant papers that matches with your search

Papers

Get insights from PDFs and bookmarked papers from your library

My library

Recent searches

Try searching for:

Catch AI-generated content in scholarly and non-scholarly content

{ai} Detector

Ai Writer

Get PDF Summaries, highlighted text explanations 

Chat with PDF

Effortlessly create in-text citations and bibliographies in APA and 2,500 other formats

Citation generator

Get explanations, summaries, and answers on academic papers

Ease up your research workflow with {scispace}'s cohort of exciting AI tools

Elevate your academic writing skills and convey your ideas the way you want

Paraphraser

Explore our range of reading and writing tools

Your file is being prepared and should be ready in a few minutes. If it's a large file, it might take a bit longer. You can close this window, and we'll email you the file when it's done.

You have reached a maximum limit of <strong>{limit}</strong> columns in the table. Remove at least <strong>1</strong> column to add or create another one.

David Johnstone

Author Tools

Chat about Author

Papers

The social experience of volunteering for young adult volunteers: an interpretative phenomenological analysis