Socio-demographic correlates of volunteerism among undergraduate students at North-West University, South Africa

Abstract

This article reports on a study that used a sample of undergraduate students at the North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, South Africa, to examine the effect of selected sociodemographic factors on the participation of voluntary activities amongst youth who have been exposed to the country's higher education system. Specifically, the binary logit regression model was employed to analyse the effects of sociodemographic factors, such as age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, family structure, maternal education, family socioeconomic status, academic performance and respondents' perception of the importance of volunteering on five voluntary activities. The study found that male, older, black African, and Afrikaans-speaking youth are more likely to be involved in voluntary activities. Moreover, higher parental education, regular church attendance and being a Protestant as opposed to being a Catholic are all positively associated with youth volunteering. The single most important factor with regard to youth volunteerism is their perception of the importance of volunteering, a finding which underscores the role of socialisation in youth volunteerism.