Maura Pozzi

Social Action in Young Adults: Voluntary and Political Engagement.

The present study examines the antecedents of social action (Snyder & Omoto, 2007), understood as voluntary action and political action, by operationalizing Penners constructs (2004). We affirm the essential homogeneity between these two forms of social action and their antecedents. The study has a twofold aim: 1) testing the identified antecedents on the volunteer participants by means of discriminant analysis, and 2) testing the same variables on youth engaged in politics. Participants were 706 young people - engaged and not engaged - distributed throughout Italy - aged 19-29 (M=22.36, SD=1.10). The instrument used was a self-report questionnaire. The findings reveal that several variables discriminate between engaged and not engaged youth. They also show the presence of several areas of overlap between variables considered in the engaged groups (political and voluntary action).

Volunteers and Ex-Volunteers: Paths to Civic Engagement Through Volunteerism

El estudio descrito es parte de un proyecto de investigacion longitudinal y multi-metodologico mas amplio sobre el voluntariado juvenil, realizado con el proposito de entender las razones que tuvieron los jovenes para elegir el voluntariado y, especificamente, las razones para mantener o abandonar el compromiso, asi como los efectos de dicho voluntariado. Participaron en entrevistas en profundidad 18 voluntarios y 18 ex-voluntarios, 50% hombres y 50% mujeres, entre 22 y 29 anos de edad, de 2 regiones del norte de Italia (Lombardia y Emilia Romagna). El analisis de la entrevista de lapiz y papel permitio trazar varias categorias centrales: las motivaciones al voluntariado, las relaciones dentro de la organizacion, la influencia de la familia y los efectos del propio voluntariado, especialmente en relacion con el proceso de construccion de identidad y ciudadania. A partir de estas categorias fueron identificadas 4 tipologias: 2 respecto de los voluntarios (voluntarios productores de ciudadania activa y voluntarios por necesidad personal) y 2 respecto de los ex voluntarios (ex voluntarios testigos de solidaridad y ciudadania activa y ex voluntarios por azar).

Identity and the Theory of Planned Behavior: Predicting Maintenance of Volunteering After Three Years

ABSTRACT Is identity an important predictor of social behavior? The present longitudinal study is focused on identity in order to understand why people continue to volunteer over an extended period of time. The theory of planned behavior and the role identity model of volunteering are used as theoretical framework. Two hundred thirty Italian volunteers were sampled and followed for 3 years. We analyzed functions of role identity as a volunteer. Results showed a significant impact of role identity in predicting volunteer performance after 3 years, mediated through behavioral intentions. Role identity fully mediated the relationships between behavioral intention and attitude, social norms, past behavior and parental modelling.

Young Adults and Civic Behavior: The Psychosocial Variables Determining It

The present work has a two-fold aim: (a) to verify the difference in civic behavior enacted by socially engaged young people in a lasting and structured form, sealed by membership in an organization, on the one hand, and in non-engaged young people, on the other hand; (b) to identify a pattern of characteristics (personal, social, and familial) able to explain civic behavior. Participants, 577 young adults from ages 19 to 29, filled out a self-report questionnaire. The results of the t test for independent samples confirm the presence of the difference between means of scores on the civic behavior. Moreover, data confirm a model in which civic behavior is predicted by personal identity, engagement values, family discussion of current events, the quality of previous membership experiences in socially oriented groups (membership), and finally, in a mediator position, by sense of community. The present study has many implications for researchers and practitioners.

When Living and Working Well Together in Organizations Changes Into Good Social Coexistence: The Talent Club Case

In our contemporary age, where a combination of individualism and mutual distrust is unhappily common among people and society is “liquid” and disoriented, so-called intermediate units (groups, associations) are a precious resource that promotes positive coexistence within organizations and in local communities, too. The present contribution describes an example of such an intermediate unit, the Talent Club, located in a peripheral neighborhood of a metropolitan area in northern Italy. This case study shows the development of positive living and working together in organizations and their transformation in the tool for community development and good coexistence. Qualitative and quantitative data show that the relational aspect is crucial because it promotes authentic exchange among people, supporting participation and social cohesion against self-referential habits and isolation. Although at present the Talent Club is mostly functioning in a affiliating coexistence among members, seeds of a more generative coexistence are clearly detectable.

Social representation of therapeutic relationship among cognitive-behavioral psychotherapists.

The present study investigates the content and structure of the social representation (SR) that cognitive-behavioral (CBT) psychotherapists have of the therapeutic relationship (TR), through a discovery-oriented, mixed-methods approach. For this purpose, our reference point was social representation theory, in particular, the theory of the central nucleus (Abric, 2003; Moscovici, 1961). Data came from a sample of 63 CBT therapists. The results enabled us to identify a series of contents marking CBTs SR of the TR that overlap with the current pan-theoretical conceptualization of this construct. The results also allowed us to identify the complex, clear, and stratified organization of these contents, which are characteristics of a majority and of a minority of the sample studied. These results are discussed with regard of their theoretical, methodological, and practical implications. (PsycINFO Database Record

DETERMINANTS OF BLOOD DONATION: A STUDY ON ORGANIZATIONAL SATISFACTION

The present research aims at investigating if motivations and social norms can determine satisfaction with organization – understood as an indicator of organizational well-being – in blood donation. Moreover, this study analyses the relations of organizational satisfaction on integration in the organization and identification with it in order to pursue research on prosocial behaviour volunteer retention. 2464 blood donors were contacted. The present work has important applicative implications as it can give guidance to blood donation organizations regarding factors determining attraction and maintenance of donors.

I am going to make the most out of it! Italian university Credit Mobility Students’ social representations of alcohol use during study abroad experiences

The aim was to explore shared representations of alcohol use in students who were to travel abroad to study. Focus group data from Italian students (N = 69) were collected. Analyses used Grounded Theory Methodology and were informed by the four key components of Social Representation Theory (cognition, emotion, attitude and behavioural intentions). The study abroad experience was described as one that would involve an increase in alcohol consumption compared to pre-departure levels. Reasons given included greater social and leisure opportunities involving alcohol, reduced social control and features of the host country environment. Opportunities to intervene and address risky alcohol use in this group are discussed.

Authority Relationship From a Societal Perspective: Social Representations of Obedience and Disobedience in Austrian Young Adults

Obedience and disobedience have always been salient issues for both civil society and social psychologists. Since Milgram’s first studies on destructive obedience there has not been a bottom-up definition of what obedience and disobedience mean. The current study aimed at investigating the social representations young adults use to define and to co-construct knowledge about obedience and disobedience in Austria. One hundred fifty four (106 females, 68.8%) Austrian young adults (Mean age = 22.9; SD = 3.5) completed a mixed-method questionnaire comprising open-ended questions and free word associations. Overall obedience and disobedience are respectively defined as conformity and non-conformity to regulations, ranging from implicit social norms to explicit formal laws. Authority is multi-faceted and has a central role in orienting obedience and disobedience. Further fundamental determinants of the authority relationship and relevant application of the results are discussed in this paper.

Il dono del sangue tra processi individuali e dinamiche organizzative: una ricerca longitudinale con neo-donatori

Nelle ultime decadi numerosi ricercatori hanno cercato di comprendere il profilo dei donatori di sangue e le caratteristiche che li differenziano dai non donatori (Callero et al., 1983; Ferguson et al., 2004a, 2008; Godin et al., 2005; Lucchini, 2005), esaminandone dati socio-demografici, tratti di personalita e motivazioni: disporre di queste informazioni e di vitale importanza per le organizzazioni che si occupano di donazione del sangue, per organizzare migliori campagne di reclutamento e piu adeguati percorsi di fidelizzazione. Le conoscenze conseguite in questi anni, pero, non sono ancora sufficienti a garantire la copertura del fabbisogno nazionale: il reclutamento continua ad essere una sfida (Mostafa, 2009), e impegna le organizzazioni in una riflessione continua sulle condizioni che possono garantire la continuita del gesto (Mikkelsen, 2004).