Особенности мотивации волонтеров разного возраста

Abstract

The aim of presented empirical research is the revealing specifics of volunteers' motivation of different age (on the example of young and old age). We consider the main national and foreign works devoted to the study of volunteers' motivation of the elderly in detail. For older people volunteering is a significant activity, contributing to their inclusion in the changed society and development of communication. This topic is relevant, as there are few works devoted to elderly volunteers in national psychology and most of them are made within the framework of sociological research. In research was attended by 40 respondents, including 20 volunteers of young age and 20 older volunteers. Methods of the study: motivational personality profile by S. Ritchie and P. Martin; O.F. Potemkina's test (altruism/egoism, process orientation/result); diagnostics of level of polycommunicative empathy (I.M. Yusupov); also the author's questionnaire for understanding activity and volunteering experience was developed. As research suggests motivation of volunteers of young age has an egoistic orientation and the following motives: material encouragement, variety and change, creativity. Motivation of elderly volunteers has altruistic orientation with following motives: empathy, useful and interesting work. This conclusion was confirmed by means of statistical processing of data by Mann–Whitney U-criterion. The results of the study can be used in psychological support of elderly volunteer activities, as well as for the involvement of young people in volunteer activities.