Who is motivated to volunteer? A latent profile analysis linking volunteer motivation to frequency of volunteering

There has been considerable interest in identifying the motives that spur people to volunteer. We used a person-centered approach - latent profile analysis - to examine the relationship between intrinsic and extrinsic volunteer motivation and frequency of volunteering in American (N = 589) and Italian (N= 993) college students. Six latent motivation classes were distinguished. Low Intrinsic- Low Extrinsic, Medium Intrinsic-Low Extrinsic, High Intrinsic-Low Extrinsic, High Intrinsic- High Extrinsic, High Amotivation, and a Response Set class. Students in the High Intrinsic-High Extrinsic class volunteered less frequently than students in the High Intrinsic-Low Extrinsic class, suggesting that external incentives may undermine an individual's intrinsic motivation to volunteer. Although males were more prevalent in the High Amotivation class, gender differences in self-reported volunteering frequency were not found. Italian students reported volunteering less frequently overall and were more prevalent in the High Amotivation class