Volunteers: A Social Profile

Marc A. Musick · John Wilson

Nov 2007 · Indiana University Press

About this ebook

Who tends to volunteer and why? What causes attract certain types of volunteers? What motivates people to volunteer? How can volunteers be persuaded to continue their service? Making use of a broad range of survey information to offer a detailed portrait of the volunteer in America, Volunteers provides an important resource for everyone who works with volunteers or is interested in their role in contemporary society.

Mark A. Musick and John Wilson address issues of volunteer motivation by focusing on individuals' subjective states, their available resources, and the influence of gender and race. In a section on social context, they reveal how volunteer work is influenced by family relationships and obligations through the impact of schools, churches, and communities. They consider cross-national differences in volunteering and historical trends, and close with consideration of the research on the organization of volunteer work and the consequences of volunteering for the volunteer.

About the author

Marc A. Musick is Associate Professor of Sociology at The University of Texas at Austin. He specializes in the sociology of health and social psychology.

John Wilson is Professor of Sociology at Duke University. He has published more than 50 articles on volunteerism and the impact of race, gender, religion, and leisure on volunteering in publications such as Contemporary Sociology, Social Forces, Social Science Quarterly, and American Sociological Review.