Work commitment and engagement in south Italian volunteers

Objectives. Recent research on volunteering has increased its interest in integrating different theoretical models such as motivational and socio-psychological ones. The current research replicates and extends a Swiss survey (Guntert, 2008) among a sample of Italian volunteers. The aim was to examine the antecedents (mainly in terms of motivational factors and identification) of outcomes such as commitment and engagement towards volunteering. Methods. To examine these antecedents and the outcomes, a questionnaire was administered to a sample of 165 young Italian adults who were engaged in various voluntary associations in south Italy (Campania and Sicilia). Results. Our analyses, underlining the peculiarity of voluntary work, shows significant relations between motivation factors, commitment and engagement; there was also some important difference between Swiss and Italian results, concerning motivational factors. Conclusion. The implications for organizational contexts in social work will be presented.