Emerging Adult Volunteers in Indonesia: Relationship between Personality Traits and Volunteer Motivation

Daeng Azizah Rahmatia^a* and Sugiarti Musabiq^b

^aFaculty of Psychology, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia; ^bFaculty of Psychology, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia

*e-mail: drahmatia@gmail.com

Emerging Adult Volunteers in Indonesia: Relationship between Personality Traits and Volunteer Motivation

Background. Volunteering is an activity that somebody does without them gaining financial rewards and it gives benefits to other people who are being helped, not to the volunteer. Volunteer organizations in Indonesia have been rising to public eyes the past few years. Most of the people who volunteer are in emerging adulthood. Emerging adults age between 18-29 years old. There are characteristics of emerging adults that separate them from adolescents and early adults. Emerging adults are in the states of identity explorations, instability, self-focus, feeling-in-between, and possibilities and optimism.

Research found significance relevance of motivation as a key factor to initiation and duration of someone becoming a volunteer. Volunteer motivation has six different dimensions: protective, values, career, social, understanding, and enhancement motives. There’s also been a question of whether someone’s decision to volunteer can be a result of how someone’s personality traits fit with each volunteering motivation. This study aims to see the correlation between personality traits and volunteer motivation among emerging adult volunteer.

Methods. This is a correlational, non-experimental nationwide study. Respondents are emerging adult (18-29 years of age) Indonesians who are currently volunteering or have been a volunteer before. The 1933 respondents filled in a questionnaire for this study either offline or through an online form. Volunteer motivation was measured using Volunteer Functions Inventory (VFI) and personality traits were measured by Big Five Inventory 2 Extra Short Form (BFI-2-XS).

Results. The results of this study show that extraversion have significant positive correlation with values motive (r=0,119, p<0,05), social motive (r=0,049, p<0,05), understanding motive (r=0,092, p<0,05), and enhancement motive (r=0,057, p<0,05); but does not correlate with protective motive (r=-0,020, p<0,05) dan career motive (r=0,030, p=0,05). Also, agreeableness and conscientiousness correlate significantly positive with values motive (r=0,099, r=0,057, p<0,05), social motive (r=0,094, r=0,089, p<0,05), and understanding motive (r=0,122, r=0,062, p<0,05); but do not have correlation with protective motive (r=-0,005, r=-0,044, p<0,05), career motive (r=-0,029, r=0,041, p<0,05), and enhancement motive (r=0,043, r=0,020, p<0,05). On the other hand, negative emotionality correlates significantly positive with protective motive (r=0,153, p<0,05); negatively significant with social motive (r=-0,121, p<0,05) and understanding motive (r=-0,090, p<0,05); but do not correlate with values motive (r=-0,040, p<0,05), career motive (r=-0,006, p<0,05), and enhancement motive (r=-0,002, p<0,05). Lastly, open-mindedness has significantly positive correlation with values motive (r=0,069, p<0,05) and understanding motive (r=0,160, p<0,05); negative correlation with enhancement motive (r=-0,065, p<0,05); and no correlation with protective motive (r=0,010, p<0,05), career motive (r=0,036, p<0,05), and social motive (r=0,023, p<0,05).

Other than that, speaking of gender, male respondents have significantly higher mean of social motive (F=8,796, p<0,05) than female respondents. Female respondents have significantly higher mean of understanding motive (F=0,351, p<0,05) and enhancement motive (F=1,117, p<0,05) than male respondents. In terms of respondents’ personality traits, male respondents significantly more extravert than female respondents (F=0,706, p<0,05); and female respondents have significantly higher negative emotionality trait than male respondents (F=0,002, p<0,05).

Conclusions. (1) The more extravert the person is, the higher their values, social, understanding, and enhancement motives in volunteering are. However, their extraversion does not have connection to their protective and career motives. (2) The more agreeable the person is, the higher their values, social, and understanding motives are. However, their agreeableness does not have connection to their protective, career, and enhancement motives. (3) The more conscientious the person is, the higher their values, social, and understanding motives are. However, their conscientiousness does not have connection to their protective, career, and enhancement motives. (4) The more emotionally negative the person is, the higher their protective motive is; but the less their social and understanding motives are. However, their negative emotionality does not have connection to their values, career, and enhancement motives. (5) The more open-minded the person is, the higher their values and understanding motives are; but the less their enhancement motive is. However, their open-mindedness does not have connection to their protective, career, and social motives.

Addes-values. The information this study provides can be used by volunteering organizations to screen their potential volunteer. The organization can predict the commitment and retention of the prospective volunteers through knowledge of their personality traits whether they have profile that positively correlates with more volunteer motivations. Therefore, they can ensure the running of the volunteering project better.

Keywords: volunteer, volunteer motivations, personality traits, emerging adult

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