Does volunteering give a feeling of well-being and satisfaction?

As a cultural and economic phenomenon, volunteering in many countries is growing in importance. Volunteering is fundamental to the way societies are organized, how they allocate social responsibilities, and how much commitment they expect from citizens.The consequences of volunteering remain underresearched as a topic in comparison to studies on antecedents and experiences in the Volunteer Process (Omoto & Snyder, 2002). Few studies (for a review: Wilson, 2012) have attempted to analyse whether volunteering is related to some positive effects and to well-being in particular. Moreover, these results are neither clear nor conclusive in terms of whether volunteers gain benefits (feel better) as a result of their behaviour or whether those who feel good are more likely to engage in volunteering. In addition, most studies have been conducted among older adults and clarification is needed regarding the link between volunteering and well-being that seems to be weak or non-existent in young adults and middle aged people.The aim of the present study is to explain 1) whether and to what extent volunteers perceive that their satisfaction with life (assessed by means of the Satisfaction With Life Scale) and well-being (assessed by means of the Questionnaire for Eudaimonic Well-Being) have changed as a result of their involvement in voluntary service; 2) whether satisfaction with the voluntary service is associated with a high level of well-being and satisfaction with life. Autonomous and controlled motivation (measured by means of the Volunteer Motivation Scale) and the individual volunteer’s degree of engagement to voluntary service (measured by means of an adapted version of the UWES-9) were also assessed.Preliminary analyses (data are still being collected and the final number of responses is expected to be approximately 200) of the responses of 139 active volunteers (so far) showed that the volunteers perceive that their well-being and satisfaction with life have improved since they have been involved in voluntary service. However, the correlational patterns which emerged between various facets of satisfaction with voluntary service, satisfaction with life in general and well-being indicated that the first variable only correlates with high levels of eudaimonic well-being in the youngest group (age<36). This suggests that satisfaction with voluntary service affects the perception of well-being only in younger people.