Engagement in community service among college students: is it affected by significant attachment relationships?

Abstract

This study served as an exploratory analysis of how engagement in community service activities among college students is affected by significant attachment relationships. More specifically, this study investigated the difference between community service and non-service students in terms of their motivation to engage in community service activities as a function of the quality of their attachment to parents and close personal friends. A quantitative approach was used to analyse these issues. The findings revealed that students who had some community service experience evidenced more secure attachments to close personal friends while their attachments to parents were varied. Closer examination of the attachment data revealed that the community service students were more likely to have either very high or very low attachment relationships with their parents. These findings suggest that when incorporating service-learning into the college curriculum, one should examine the influence of other important contexts, (i.e. parents and peers) on community service outcomes. Copyright 2002 The Association for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.