From a population of 302 volunteers in a volunteers in probation program, 85 females and 25 males returned questionnaires which measured a variety of personal and situational variables. Based upon their duration of service, volunteers were classified as Committed (having served the desired six months or more), Partially Committed (having served less than six months), and Uncommitted (having failed to complete the orientation session). A multivariate F-test did not differentiate among the groups for the personal variables, but the multivariate F for the situational variables was significant. Specifically, Committed volunteers were significantly more satisfied with the orientation process and with the volunteer agency staff support, felt they received more help from probation officers, and reported spending significantly less time with administrative tasks as compared with Partially Committed volunteers. These results indicate the relative importance of situational variables over personal variables, and the importance of support from the volunteer and probation agencies.
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Pierucci et al. (1980) studied this question.