Unveiling the mental health dynamics of disaster volunteering: exploring stress and depression among U.S. volunteers
Date
2024
Authors
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
Research suggests that community-based, non-disaster volunteering can yield positive mental health outcomes by fostering camaraderie, instilling a sense of purpose, promoting mastery, and facilitating the development of coping strategies. However, engaging in disaster volunteering may also entail negative mental health implications due to volunteer-job-related role strain, exposure to traumatic disaster environmental stressors, and a lack of organizational and peer support necessary for effectively employing coping resources. Thormar et al. (2010) found that regardless of the type of hazard, disaster volunteering may lead to mental and physical health issues, including post-traumatic stress disorder. While much of the literature on disaster volunteer mental health has focused on adverse outcomes, limited evidence suggests that the disaster environment may also foster positive mental health outcomes for volunteers, akin to the positive relationship observed between other forms of volunteering and health. Given the conflicting results in the literature regarding the mental health impacts of disaster volunteerism, this researcher undertook a quantitative investigation into the relationship between disaster volunteer stress and depression, considering demographic and volunteer-related variables. The researcher collected survey data between October and December 2023 through systematic social media recruitment and snowball sampling (n = 110). Correlation analyses revealed associations between both stress and depression and the predictive factors mastery, social support satisfaction, volunteer impact and efficacy, as well as volunteer fulfillment and recognition when correlated with volunteer stress. A multiple linear regression analysis was conducted for the dependent variable volunteer stress, incorporating nine predictor variables: number of disaster volunteer experiences within the past calendar year, mastery, social support satisfaction, coping, volunteer affiliation status, household income, volunteer training level, and volunteer satisfaction. This analysis did not yield statistically significant results. ☐ However, a multiple linear regression for the dependent variable, volunteer depression, using the same predictor variables, was significant and negative, explaining 21% of the variance in volunteer depression. Higher levels of social support satisfaction result in lower levels of self-reported volunteer depression. Furthermore, open-ended responses provided depth to the study by elucidating various volunteer motivations, coping mechanisms, and reintegration experiences associated with disaster volunteering in the United States. Despite the modest response rate and the statistical limitations with the incorporation of volunteer trauma into the analysis, the results corroborate prior research findings, underscoring the crucial role of social support in fostering positive mental health outcomes among disaster volunteers. The implications of these findings for nonprofit administrators are discussed, along with future research directions that help further the study of disaster volunteer trauma and the role of positionality and the reproduction of privilege in volunteerism.
Description
Keywords
Disaster management, Disaster volunteerism, Social support, Quantitative investigation, Volunteer management