The adapted version of the volunteer function inventory to assess the community perspective of volunteer motivation

Psychological inquiry on volunteerism has widely implemented self-part studies on volunteers’ motivations via the Volunteer Function Inventory (VFI). The literature in psychology also has widely acknowledged the limitations of the self-report assessment and the need for clarification on volunteerism motivations. Collecting data other than respondents’ self-reports (e.g., non-volunteers) may potentially help. This study complements the existing self-part approach by providing a validation of the adapted version of the VFI for assessing volunteers’ motivation from the perspective of non-volunteers. The adapted version was included in a cross-sectional study involving N = 819 non-volunteers. Using two random subsamples, we conducted an exploratory structural equation model to select items and a confirmatory factor analysis to confirm the resulting 18-item structure. We then tested configural, metric, and scalar invariance across gender, two volunteering-experience groups, and two age groups, and discuss theoretical and research implications.