"Education, Faculty of"@en . "Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of"@en . "DSpace"@en . "UBCV"@en . "Driol, Myrna Ellen"@en . "2010-02-26T04:54:49Z"@en . "1978"@en . "Master of Arts - MA"@en . "University of British Columbia"@en . "The purpose of the study was to explore the experience of crisis centre volunteers. The research sample consisted of 134 active and 105 inactive volunteers from five crisis centres in the Lower Mainland. To solicit descriptive and non-descriptive data, an instrument was constructed and pilot tested. The questionnaire contained 49 attitude items which were collected from the literature and interviews with crisis centre staff and volunteers. They were grouped into six subscales suggested by a modified latent partition analysis. These subscales were A: Doing Shifts, B: The Community, C: Personal Change, D: General Impression, F: Other Volunteers. The subscales were found to be internally consistent (Hoyt, 1941). Volunteers responded to a five-point Likert Scale for each item. The research questions were: are there differences among five crisis centres, and are there differences between active and inactive volunteers, on each of the six subscales? The volunteers' self-perceived success in dealing with specific problems presented by callers was also examined.\r\nDescriptive data from the sample were analyzed using simple frequency counts on variables from each of the five crisis centres. Data from the attitude scales were analyzed to further examine internal consistency of the attitude questionnaire. Finally a 5 x 2 (centre by level of activity) multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) using Wilks1 likelihood ratio criterion was used to analyze the attitude subscales and Sheffe's multiple comparison procedure was applied where appropriate. Results of the statistical testing indicated differences, significant at .05 level between Crisis Centres #1 and #5 and between #4 and #5 on Subscale E: Staff. Significant differences were also found between Crisis Centres #2 and #5 on Subscale F: Other Volunteers. Active volunteers responded more positively than inactive volunteers at .05 level of significance on all subscales except E: Staff.\r\nResults indicated fairly narrow ranges in demographic variables however, tests of significance were not undertaken.\r\nThe significant differences noted in the attitude subscales may be the result of differences in staff-volunteer contact with each other. In those centres where there was more opportunity for staff to relate to volunteers, the volunteers responded more positively to staff-related items. The crisis centre whose volunteers responded more positively to items pertaining to volunteers, has within its structure more opportunity for contact with other volunteers in the diversified activities in which all volunteers and staff participate. This factor together with the comparative isolation of this centre may account for the significantly more positive responses on this subscale.\r\nThe attitude of volunteers appeared to be very positive toward their experience. They reported positive changes in self-perception and perception of others as a result of their crisis centre experience. It would appear that more focus on the experience of volunteers at crisis centres would be profitable.\r\nSeveral suggests for further research were discussed, particularly\r\nrelated to \"burnout\" and motives for becoming inactive."@en . "https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/21089?expand=metadata"@en . "A SURVEY OF ACTIVE AND INACTIVE CRISIS CENTRE VOLUNTEERS by MYRNA ELLEN DRIOL B . A . , U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Co lumbia , 1975 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS i n THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES C o u n s e l l i n g Psychology We accept t h i s t h e s i s as conforming to the r e q u i r e d standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA September, 19J8 \u00C2\u00A9 Myrna E l l e n D r i o l , 1978 In p r e s e n t i n g t h i s t h e s i s i n p a r t i a l f u l f i l m e n t of the requi rements f o r an advanced degree a t the U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia , I agree t h a t the L i b r a r y s h a l l make i t f r e e l y a v a i l a b l e f o r r e f e r e n c e and s tudy . I f u r t h e r agree t h a t p e r m i s s i o n f o r e x t e n s i v e copying of t h i s t h e s i s f o r s c h o l a r l y purposes may be granted by the Head of my Department or by h i s r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s . I t i s understood t h a t copy ing or p u b l i c a t i o n of t h i s t h e s i s f o r f i n a n c i a l g a i n s h a l l not be a l lowed w i t h o u t my w r i t t e n p e r m i s s i o n . Department of Counse l ing Psychology The U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia 2075 Wesbrook P l a c e Vancouver, Canada V6T 1W5 Septamber, 1978 i i ABSTRACT The purpose o f the study was to exp lo re the exper ience o f c r i s i s cent re v o l u n t e e r s . The research sample c o n s i s t e d o f 134 a c t i v e and 105 i n a c t i v e v o l u n t e e r s from f i v e c r i s i s cent res i n the Lower M a i n l a n d . To s o l i c i t d e s c r i p t i v e and n o n - d e s c r i p t i v e d a t a , an inst rument was c o n s t r u c t e d and p i l o t t e s t e d . The q u e s t i o n n a i r e conta ined 49 a t t i t u d e i tems which were c o l l e c t e d from the l i t e r a t u r e and i n t e r v i e w s w i t h c r i s i s cent re s t a f f and v o l u n t e e r s . They were grouped i n t o s i x subsca les suggested by a m o d i f i e d l a t e n t p a r t i t i o n a n a l y s i s . These subsca les were A: Doing S h i f t s , B: The Community, C: Pe rsona l Change, D: General Impress ion , F: Other V o l u n t e e r s . The subsca les were found to be i n t e r n a l l y c o n s i s t e n t (Hoyt, 1941) . Vo lunteers responded to a f i v e - p o i n t L i k e r t S c a l e f o r each i t e m . The r e s e a r c h quest ions were: are there d i f f e r e n c e s among f i v e c r i s i s c e n t r e s , and are there d i f f e r e n c e s between a c t i v e and i n a c t i v e v o l u n t e e r s , on each o f the s i x subsca les? The v o l u n t e e r s ' s e l f -p e r c e i v e d success i n d e a l i n g w i t h s p e c i f i c problems presented by c a l l e r s was a l s o examined. D e s c r i p t i v e data from the sample were analyzed u s i n g s imple f requency counts on v a r i a b l e s from each o f the f i v e c r i s i s c e n t r e s . Data from the a t t i t u d e s c a l e s were analyzed to f u r t h e r examine i n -t e r n a l c o n s i s t e n c y o f the a t t i t u d e q u e s t i o n n a i r e . F i n a l l y a 5 x 2 (cent re by l e v e l o f a c t i v i t y ) m u l t i v a r i a t e a n a l y s i s o f v a r i a n c e (MANOVA) u s i n g W i l k s 1 l i k e l i h o o d r a t i o c r i t e r i o n was used to analyze the a t t i t u d e subsca les and Sheffe. 's m u l t i p l e comparison procedure was a p p l i e d where a p p r o p r i a t e . i i i R e s u l t s o f the s t a t i s t i c a l t e s t i n g i n d i c a t e d d i f f e r e n c e s , s i g n i f i c a n t at .05 l e v e l between C r i s i s Centres #1 and #5 and between #4 and #5 on Subscale E: S t a f f . S i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e s were a l s o found between C r i s i s Centres #2 and #5 on Subscale F: Other V o l u n t e e r s . A c t i v e v o l u n t e e r s responded more p o s i t i v e l y than i n a c t i v e v o l u n t e e r s at .05 l e v e l o f s i g n i f i c a n c e on a l l subsca les except E: S t a f f . R e s u l t s i n d i c a t e d f a i r l y narrow ranges i n demographic v a r i a b l e s however, t e s t s o f s i g n i f i c a n c e were not under taken . The s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e s noted i n the a t t i t u d e subsca les may be the r e s u l t o f d i f f e r e n c e s i n s t a f f - v o l u n t e e r con tac t w i t h each o t h e r . In those cent res where there was more o p p o r t u n i t y f o r s t a f f to r e l a t e to v o l u n t e e r s , the v o l u n t e e r s responded more p o s i t i v e l y to s t a f f - r e l a t e d i tems . The c r i s i s cent re whose v o l u n t e e r s responded more p o s i t i v e l y to i tems p e r t a i n i n g to v o l u n t e e r s , has w i t h i n i t s s t r u c t u r e more o p p o r t u n i t y f o r contact w i t h o ther v o l u n t e e r s i n the d i v e r s i f i e d a c t i v i t i e s i n which a l l v o l u n t e e r s and s t a f f p a r t i c i p a t e . Th is f a c t o r together w i t h the comparat ive i s o l a t i o n o f t h i s cen t re may account f o r the s i g n i f i c a n t l y more p o s i t i v e responses on t h i s s u b s c a l e . The a t t i t u d e o f v o l u n t e e r s appeared to be very p o s i t i v e toward t h e i r e x p e r i e n c e . They r e p o r t e d p o s i t i v e changes i n s e l f - p e r c e p t i o n and p e r c e p t i o n o f o thers as a r e s u l t o f t h e i r c r i s i s cent re e x p e r i e n c e . I t would appear t h a t more focus on the exper ience o f v o l u n t e e r s a t c r i s i s cent res would be p r o f i t a b l e . S e v e r a l suggests f o r f u r t h e r research were d i s c u s s e d , p a r t i c u l a r -l y r e l a t e d to \"burnout\" and motives f o r becoming i n a c t i v e . i v TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter page I I n t r o d u c t i o n . 1 R a t i o n a l e f o r study 7 D e f i n i t i o n of t e r m s . . . ; . 11 D e l i m i t a t i o n s of the s t u d y . . . . . \u00E2\u0080\u00A2\u00E2\u0080\u00A2\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 12 J u s t i f i c a t i o n of the study 13 I I R e l a t e d L i t e r a t u r e 14 M o t i v a t i o n .. .14 Becoming A c t i v e 14 Becoming I n a c t i v e 16 S e l e c t i o n 20 T r a i n i n g 21 E v a l u a t i o n of the v o l u n t e e r e x p e r i e n c e . 22 D e s c r i p t i o n of v o l u n t e e r s . . -25 E f f e c t s of the v o l u n t e e r exper ience 26 C o n c l u s i o n of l i t e r a t u r e rev iew 29 I I I Methodology. 30 R a t i o n a l e f o r use of s t r u c t u r e d q u e s t i o n n a i r e 30 Development of q u e s t i o n n a i r e 32 V a l i d i t y procedures 35 P a r t one 36 P a r t two \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 37 Phase t w o - p i l o t p r o j e c t ...39 D e s c r i p t i o n of q u e s t i o n n a i r e 44 Pr imary study 46 S t a t i s t i c a l a n a l y s i s 47 I tem a n a l y s i s 48 Demographic a n a l y s i s 49 M u l t i v a r i a t e a n a l y s i s . . . . . . 49 IV R e s u l t s 50 Response exper ience 50 Demographic r e s u l t s 51 Gender 55 Age 55 M a r i t a l s t a t u s 55 Number of c h i l d r e n 55 L e v e l of educat ion 56 Non-demographic d e s c r i p t i v e d a t a . 57 L e v e l s of a c t i v i t y 57 Prev ious t r a i n i n g and exper ience 57 Other v o l u n t e e r work 58 Mot ives f o r v o l u n t e e r i n g \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 60 Vo lunteer comments about the c r i s i s c e n t r e 61 V TABLE OF CONTENTS Summary of descriptive data......... 61 Results of s t a t i s t i c a l analysis of attitude section of questionnaire. 62 Differences among centres on each.of six subscales and between levels, of activity. 63 Results of examination of attitude toward caller problems 63 V Discussion, Future Research, Summary and Conclusions.67 Discussion of demographic variables............ ......67 Motivation 69 Differences among centres on each of six subscales and between levels of activity....... . 70 Attitude toward caller problems. 75 Recommendations for further research 76 Instrument development 76 Further analysis of data from present study 76 Further directions for research. 77 Summary and conclusions 77 Bibliography 79 Appendix A Instructions for sorting of cards 84 Appendix B Scale descriptions.. 86 Appendix C Questionnaire.. 90 Appendix D Covering letter. 101 Appendix E Reminder postcard. 103 v i LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1 Agreement of judges r e category of i tems 37 2 Agreement of judges r e category of i tems 38 3 P i l o t p r o j e c t reponse . 40 4 Demographic r e s u l t s : p i l o t s t u d y . . . . . . 41 5 Item a n a l y s i s : d i r e c t i o n of i t e m - s u b s c a l e c o r r e l a t i o n 42 6 Means, s tandard d e v i a t i o n s , r e l i a b i l i t y e s t i m a t e s : a t t i t u d e s u b s c a l e s - p i l o t p r o j e c t 7 Means, s tandard d e v i a t i o n s , r e l i a b i l i t y e s t i m a t e s : a t t i t u d e s u b s c a l e s . . 48 8 Response to q u e s t i o n n a i r e m a i l i n g by c r i s i s c e n t r e . 5 1 9 Demographic data 53-54 10 L e v e l of a c t i v i t y 57 11 Exper ience and t r a i n i n g p r i o r to v o l u n t e e r i n g 58 12 V o l u n t e e r s doing other v o l u n t e e r work 58 13 M u l t i v a r i a t e a n a l y s i s of v a r i a n c e . . 64 14 Subscale means and .s tandard d e v i a t i o n s : c e n t r e s . . . . 6 5 15 Subscale means and standard d e v i a t i o n s : l e v e l of a c t i v i t y 65 16 Responses to c a l l e r problems 66 v i i LIST OF FIGURES page F igure 1 Age D i s t r i b u t i o n s by C r i s i s Centre 52 F i g u r e 2. M o t i v e s (Pr imary and Secondary) f o r V o l u n t e e r i n g by C r i s i s Centre 59 v i i i LIST OF CHARTS page Chart I Comparison of C r i s i s Centres 8 i x I w i s h to acknowledge the v o l u n t e e r s . They a re the most impor tant p a r t of t h i s study and of the c r i s i s c e n t r e . I am a l s o g r a t e f u l to a g reat many people who p r o v i d i n g v a l u a b l e a s s i s t a n c e i n the accomplishment of the s tudy . They i n c l u d e c r i s i s c e n t r e s t a f f - e s p e c i a l l y B i l l Glackman, f o r m e r l y of L i f e l i n e ; and ERIC s t a f f , Stewart Ins tance and Dwight H a r l e y . M i c h a e l Shea prov ided v e r y p r a c t i c a l suppor t , I would a l s o l i k e to express my a p p r e i c a t i o n to my s u p e r v i s o r , D r . Sharon Kahn f o r her cont inued p a t i e n c e , support and u n d e r s t a n d i n g . These were g i v e n most generous l y . Dr . B i l l Borgen was a v a i l a b l e and s u p p o r t i v e , e s p e c i a l l y i n the i n i t i a l s tages of the s t u d y . For h i s cont inued gu idance , words of encouragement and f o r making t h i s an \" e d u c a t i o n a l \" exper ience i n every sense of the word, my thanks to Dr . Todd Rogers . F i n a l l y , I want to say thank you to I s m a i l f o r h i s u n d e r s t a n d i n g , p a t i e n c e and uncompla in ing w i l l i n g n e s s to take second p l a c e f r e q u e n t l y throughout the course of the s tudy . 1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION S u i c i d e or c r i s i s te lephone emergency s e r v i c e s have been o p e r a t i v e throughout Canada and the Un i ted S ta tes f o r the past 20 years or more ( L e s t e r & Brockhopp, 1973; McGee, 1974) . At t h i s t ime there are more than 80 such cen t res i n Canada w i t h more be ing e s t a b l i s h e d each year i n s m a l l towns as w e l l as l a r g e m e t r o p o l i t a n cen t res (Powicke, M a i r & Kremer, 1976) . There i s a q u a l i t y of c o n t i n u i n g change or e v o l u t i o n which c h a r a c t e r i z e s many aspects of these telephone c o u n s e l i n g s e r v i c e s . The i n i t i a l purpose was to p rov ide emergency s e r v i c e f o r s u i c i d a l i n d i v i d u a l s . The scope of the s e r v i c e broadened to i n c l u d e a l l k i n d s of c r i s e s such as a new baby, a death i n the f a m i l y , and a change i n j o b s . S p e c i a l p o p u l a t i o n s came i n t o focus such as the e l d e r l y , teenagers , homosexuals and a d d i c t s . The use of the c r i s i s cen t re by these s p e c i a l p o p u l a t i o n s has v a r i e d w i t h changes i n our s o c i e t y . For example, there was i n i t i a l l y a s p e c i a l teen l i n e to d e a l w i t h the many c a l l s from people who were e x p e r i e n c i n g developmental d i f f i c u l t i e s such as peer r e l a t i o n s , drug use and sexual i n f o r m a t i o n . P r e s e n t l y there i s a \" p a r e n t a l s t r e s s l i n e \" r e f l e c t i n g the c u r r e n t i n t e r e s t i n the f a m i l y and r e l a t e d problems such as f a m i l y v i o l e n c e . \" C r i s i s Cent re\" and \" S u i c i d e P r e v e n t i o n Cent re\" are now be ing used synonymously. McGee observed I t i s now i m p o s s i b l e to d i s t i n g u i s h , e i t h e r c o n c e p t u a l l y or f u n c t i o n a l l y between s u i c i d e p r e v e n t i o n c e n t e r s , s e r v i c e s or programs and c r i s i s i n t e r v e n t i o n c e n t e r s , s e r v i c e s or programs (McGee, 1974, p . x ) . 2 The main g o a l of the s e r v i c e i s sav ing l i v e s . Other goa ls a re to he lp people i n t imes of c r i s i s and to suggest r e f e r r a l s to o ther agenc ies who can p r o v i d e h e l p , thus reduc ing the i n d i v i d u a l ' s h e l p l e s s n e s s i n f u t u r e c r i s e s (Delworth , Rudow & Taub, 1972) . Persons from every l e v e l of the soc io -economic ladder exper ience emergencies of a l l k i n d s . Faberow i n h i s forward to McGee's book does not l i m i t the d e f i n i t i o n of a c r i s i s . He says i t i s s e l f - d e f i n e d ; i t occurs when a person f e e l s h i m s e l f to be i n a c r i s i s . . . t h i s person ( i n c r i s i s ) must have someone to t u r n t o ; f o r the most important element i n r e l i e v i n g c r i s i s i s not t h a t i n f o r m a t i o n i s a v a i l a b l e but r a t h e r tha t there i s some k i n d of immediate response a t a l l (Faberow, 1974, p . v i i ) . In the o v e r a l l d e l i v e r y of mental h e a l t h s e r v i c e s , c r i s i s cen t res r e p r e s e n t impor tant developments. The s e r v i c e s , t h e o r e t i c a l -l y , a re a v a i l a b l e to l a r g e numbers of i n d i v i d u a l s i n the community on a twenty - fou r hour b a s i s r a t h e r than b e i n g l i m i t e d to ap p i n t -ments made w i t h p r o f e s s i o n a l s d u r i n g bus iness h o u r s . A l s o , the c l i e n t need not l e a v e h i s or her home to r e c e i v e these s e r v i c e s . In order to p rov ide the e x t e n s i v e s e r v i c e s d e s c r i b e d , a l a r g e number of pe rsonne l are r e q u i r e d . The a c t u a l c o u n s e l i n g , which was done i n i t i a l l y by p r o f e s s i o n a l s , i s now done main l y by l a y or v o l u n t e e r s t a f f w h i l e the p a i d p r o f e s s i o n a l s t a f f are. u t i l i z e d f o r a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , r e c r u i t m e n t , resources and t r a i n i n g . Apar t f rom telephone c o u n s e l i n g , v o l u n t e e r s have been used i n many menta l h e a l t h programs i n the community. These i n c l u d e working w i t h p s y c h i a t r i c p a t i e n t s - both i n p a t i e n t s and o u t p a t i e n t s - , j u v e n i l e d e l i n q u e n t s , c h i l d r e n and a d o l e s c e n t s . 3 In s p i t e of the f a c t tha t Max Weber proposed a s o c i o l o g i c a l study of v o l u n t a r y o r g a n i z a t i o n s as long ago as 1910 (Hughes,1972) on ly r e c e n t l y have r e s e a r c h e r s begun to eva luate the n o n - p r o f e s s i o n a l . The r e s u l t s of s e v e r a l programs have been p u b l i s h e d i n d i c a t i n g suc -cess and e f f e c t i v e n e s s on the par t of the v o l u n t e e r s and those w i t h whom they worked- ( C a r k h u f f , 1968; Gruver , 1971; H o l z b e r g , Gerwi tz & Ebner , 1964; K a n t o r , 1962; Knapp & Holzberg' , 1 9 6 4 ; ^ L e v i n e , 1966) . The sys temat ic i n v e s t i g a t i o n of the t h e r a p e u t i c e f f e c t i v e n e s s of the v o l u n t e e r i n these programs has examined\u00C2\u00B1he l a y c o u n s e l o r ' s a b i l i t y to communicate warmth, empathy, r e g a r d , respect and genuiness . - I t has been found that l a y counse lo r t r a i n e e s f u n c t i o n at l e v e l s e s s e n t i a l l y as h igh or h i g h e r (never lower) and engage c l i e n t s i n c o u n s e l i n g process movement at l e v e l s as h i g h or h i g h e r than p r o f e s s i o n a l t r a i n e e s ( C a r k h u f f , 1968, p . 8 8 ) . There i s a comparat i ve l y s m a l l amount of p u b l i s h e d research a v a i l a b l e concern ing telephone c r i s i s counse lo rs i n the community. C o l l e g e students predominate as s u b j e c t s (Gruver ,1971) i n the s t u d i e s a v a i l a b l e concern ing the use of v o l u n t e e r s i n a v a r i e t y of mental h e a l t h s e t t i n g s such as mental h o s p i t a l s or p s y c h o l o g i c a l c l i n i c s . U n t i l t h e i r study Kn ickerbocker & McGee noted that no assessment has yet been made of the l a y and p r o -f e s s i o n a l t r a i n e e s i n c r i s i s and s u i c i d e p r e v e n t i o n c e n t e r s (Kn ickerbocker & McGee, 1974, p . 3 0 1 ) . They demonstrated w i t h \" o b j e c t i v e d a t a \" f o r the f i r s t t ime the c l i n i c a l s k i l l s of the l a y v o l u n t e e r on the telephone and concluded that n o n p r o f e s s i o n a l v o l u n t e e r s o f f e r e d s i g n i f i c a n t l y h i g h e r l e v e l s of warmth, empathy and t o t a l c o n d i t i o n s than p r o f e s s i o n a l s over the phone. 4 The present study addressed i t s e l f p r i m a r i l y to an examinat ion of the exper ience of be ing a c r i s i s cen t re v o l u n t e e r . L e s t e r asked i n concern f o r the adequacy of the c o u n s e l o r ' s performance Do telephone c o u n s e l i n g s e r v i c e s have any e f f e c t on the mental h e a l t h of the community, or f o r tha t m a t t e r , of t h e i r p a t i e n t s ? ( L e s t e r , 1971, p . 2 8 5 ) . The q u e s t i o n that concerns t h i s study i s \"Do telephone c o u n s e l i n g s e r v i c e s have any e f f e c t on the g e n e r a l w e l l - b e i n g of the v o l u n t e e r s who serve i n t h i s c a p a c i t y ? \" What i s the e f f e c t of b e i n g a t e l e -phone c r i s i s counse lo r on the person who i s p r o v i d i n g t h i s s e r v i c e ? As c r i s i s c e n t r e s p r o l i f e r a t e and more members of the community become i n v o l v e d as v o l u n t e e r s , what i s the e f f e c t of the exper ience on them i n t h e i r l i v e s ? Does i t make them more i n v o l v e d , b e t t e r members of the community than they were b e f o r e t h e i r v o l u n t e e r exper ience? Do they f e e l more or l e s s competent as human beings? Does the exper ience h e l p them to r e l a t e more e f f e c t i v e l y to people? In a d d i t i o n to the examinat ion of the v o l u n t e e r e x p e r i e n c e , i t was thought tha t p o s s i b l e reasons f o r d i s c o n t i n u i n g the a c t i v i t y of v o l u n t e e r i n g might b e g i n to emerge from the s t u d y . I t i s com-mon knowledge t h a t most of the p r e s e n t l y a c t i v e v o l u n t e e r s i n the area s t u d i e d w i l l be r e p l a c e d by new v o l u n t e e r s w i t h i n two y e a r s . With few e x c e p t i o n s , v o l u n t e e r s pass through the c r i s i s c e n t r e w i t h the u s u a l d u r a t i o n of involvement of s i x to e i g h t weeks i n s p i t e of requests f o r commitment of a t l e a s t one y e a r . Brockhopp wrote On the average , v o l u n t e e r s work on the te lephone a t the cen t re about s i x months be fo re l e a v i n g the v o l u n t e e r 5 s t a f f o r moving on to o ther types of work at the c e n t e r . A f t e r one year l e s s than 207\u00C2\u00AB of those i n a g iven t r a i n i n g group are s t i l l working as telephone counse lo rs at the cen te r (Brockhopp,1974, p . 2 7 2 ) . The l o s s of v o l u n t e e r s means a constant rec ru i tment and t r a i n i n g program to m a i n t a i n the s e r v i c e on a 24 hour b a s i s . Th is means a great expendi ture of time and money on the par t of the p a i d s t a f f and suggests a p o s s i b l e reason f o r the c o m p a r a t i v e l y h i g h a t t r i t i o n r a t e of p a i d s t a f f . In a d d i t i o n to the ques t ions r a i s e d about the p e r s o n a l e f f e c t s of the v o l u n t e e r e x p e r i e n c e , the study i n v e s t i g a t e d the f o l l o w i n g q u e s t i o n s : What are some of the more t y p i c a l reasons a v o l u n t e e r dec ides to stop doing s h i f t s on the phones? Is there any r e l a t i o n -sh ip between the v o l u n t e e r ' s p e r c e p t i o n of h i m s e l f o r h e r s e l f and a d e c i s i o n to stop be ing a vo lun teer? What are the more s a t i s f y i n g aspects of be ing a vo lu n tee r? Do v o l u n t e e r s do v o l u n t e e r work elsewhere a f t e r l e a v i n g the c r i s i s cent re? Herzberg and Mausner (1959) s t a t e d that the p a r t s of a work exper ience that l ead to ongoing commitment and s a t i s f y i n g exper ience do so because they s a t i s f y the i n d i v i d u a l ' s need f o r s e l f - a c t u a l i -z a t i o n . The present study wished to i n v e s t i g a t e i f perhaps one of the reasons that people v o l u n t e e r i s that the exper ience c o n -t r i b u t e s to the s a t i s f a c t i o n of the need f o r s e l f - a c t u a l i z a t i o n . The concept of s e l f - a c t u a l i z a t i o n as a p e r s o n ' s u l t i m a t e goa l has been f o c a l i n many p e r s o n a l i t y t h e o r i e s i n c l u d i n g those of men such as Maslow, A d l e r , J u n g , S u l l i v a n and Rogers . For these t h e o r i s t s , people have w i t h i n t h e i r nature tendenc ies toward growth, e x c e l l e n c e and a l t r u i s m . People who are a t tempt ing to 6 become more s e l f - a c t u a l i z e d are c h a r a c t e r i z e d by Maslow as be ing r e l a t i v e l y more mature and more f u l l human. Maslow -has suggested elsewhere i n h i s work tha t s e l f - a c t u a l i z i n g people are .devoted to . \u00E2\u0080\u00A2some c a l l - , v o c a t i o n , task or be loved work o u t s i d e themselves . Does v o l u n t e e r i n g at the c r i s i s cen t re h e l p to meet t h i s need? Does the v o l u n t e e r s t r i v e f o r s e l f - a c t u a l i z a t i o n which i s accomp-l i s h e d by e x p r e s s i n g a l t r u i s m through v o l u n t e e r i n g ? There i s a d i f f e r e n c e between a need and a m o t i v a t i o n i n Mas low's terms. Mot i ves are much more s p e c i f i c . In the context of t h i s s tudy , a mot ive was a l t r u i s m and the need was s e l f - a c t u a l i z a t i o n . A v o l u n -t e e r c o u l d have g i ven as the reason f o r v o l u n t e e r i n g \"I wish to h e l p o t h e r s \" . That person was e x p r e s s i n g a need to be s e l f - a c t u a l -i z e d . In the exper ience of v o l u n t e e r i n g , one would a n t i c i p a t e hav ing s o c i a l and esteem needs met: to love and be l o v e d , to belong and to eva luate o n e s e l f p o s i t i v e l y . By g e t t i n g feedback, respect and assurance from s t a f f and o ther volunteers?,-. o n e exper iences o n s e l f as a worthwhi le person . Maslow a l s o a f f i r m s the need to know and unders tand . An average person does not have a p a s s i v e a t t i t u d e toward the w o r l d . People want to know causes . T h i s i s a need that i s promised f u l f i l l -ment i n the c r i s i s c e n t r e . As Burton s t a t e d On the r e a l l e v e l i t g i ves the p s y c h o t h e r a p i s t an \" i n s i d e seat\" at the widest panoply of human p r o c l i v i t y and behav ior which i s a c t u a l l y a s t o n i s h i n g i n i t s nature . . . . h a d we not been p s y c h o t h e r a p i s t s very few of these s o c i a l arenas would have been a v a i l a b l e f o r us ( B u r t o n , 1975, p . 1 1 8 ) . Though Burton i s d e s c r i b i n g h i s exper ience as a p s y c h o t h e r a p i s t 7 h i s words may be e q u a l l y a p p l i c a b l e to the exper ience of a c r i s i s c e n t r e v o l u n t e e r . D i Capr io (1974) suggests tha t the key to s u c c e s s f u l l i v i n g i s to recogn i ze one' s most pe rsona l h i g h e r needs and to take steps to s a t i s f y them even i f o n l y i n a s m a l l way at f i r s t . Perhaps v o l u n t e e r i n g i s such a s t e p . RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY,.. -The purpose of the study was to examine the v o l u n t e e r exper ience u s i n g data from f i v e c r i s i s cen t res i n the Lower M a i n -l a n d . D i f f e r e n c e s among c r i s i s cen t res e x i s t i n terms of t h e i r s i z e , l o c a t i o n , t r a i n i n g , s t a f f a v a i l a b i l i t y f o r feedback and resource and communication among v o l u n t e e r s (Chart I ) . These d i f f e r e n c e s suggest that the exper ience of a v o l u n t e e r i n one c r i s i s cent re would perhaps be d i f f e r e n t from the exper ience that the v o l u n t e e r would have i n a d i f f e r e n t c r i s i s c e n t r e . Data was gathered from a p o p u l a t i o n composed of a c t i v e and i n a c t i v e v o l u n t e e r s . A q u e s t i o n n a i r e was c o n s t r u c t e d w i t h i tems r e l a t i n g to the exper ience of v o l u n t e e r i n g i n terms of v a r i o u s subsca les which d e s c r i b e d the v o l u n t e e r e x p e r i e n c e . The study was intended to answer the f o l l o w i n g q u e s t i o n s : 1. W i l l there be s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e s between a c t i v e and i n a c t i v e v o l u n t e e r s at s p e c i f i c c r i s i s c e n t r e s on the group of i tems r e l a t e d to do ing s h i f t s ? 2 . W i l l there be s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e s between a c t i v e and i n a c t i v e v o l u n t e e r s at s p e c i f i c c r i s i s c e n t r e s on the group of i tems r e l a t e d to the community? 3 . W i l l there be s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e s between a c t i v e CHART I Comparison of C r i s i s Centres Centre #1 Centre #2 Centre #3 Centre #4 Centre #5 L o c a t i o n B u i l d i n g P o p u l a t i o n Number of S t a f f i n d u s t r i a l c i t y urban suburban warehouse, i n d u s - s m a l l town, a g r i - adjacent suburb t r i a l area c u l t u r a l renovated ware - renovated house, shar ing s e r v i c e s t a t i o n w i t h m u l t i - s e r v i c e agency ' 1 5 0 , 0 0 0 '\u00E2\u0080\u00A22 f u l l - t i m e 31,000 \u00E2\u0080\u00A22 f u l l - t i m e of la rge metro -p o l i t a n c i t y f a m i l y d w e l l i n g 90,000 -\"3> f u l l - t i m e 4-9 p a r t - t i m e s u b u r b a n , r u r a l s m a l l c i t y ' i n d u s t r i a l , p o r t c i t y l a r g e m e t r o p o l i -tan c i t y o f f i c e b u i l d i n g renovated s m a l l apartment b u i l d i n g 250,000 5 f u l l - t i m e ' 1 . 5 m i l l i o n ,4 f u l l - t i m e Number\u00C2\u00ABof \"55 A c t i v e Vo lun teers 38 Source of Funding ' p r o v i n c i a l government under a s o c i e t y 45 30 s e l f - s u s t a i n i n g \u00E2\u0080\u00A250 50 p r o v i n c i a l government 60 30 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2prov inc ia l government -90 100 U n i t e d Way, Federa p r o v i n c i a l , munici -p a l government. Founded 1972 1972 1973 1970 1969 CHART: Comparison 1 (con't)-of C r i s i s Centres Centre #1 Centre #2 Centre #3 Centre #4 Centre #5 Training -by whom \u00E2\u0080\u00A2length s t a f f & exper- s t a f f & exper- s t a f f ienced volunteers ienced volunteers 6 weeks, twice per week, 2 hrs per session 3 weeks, twice per week, 2%-3 hours per session 5, 3-hour sessions s t a f f and experienced volunteers 6, 2-3 hour sessions and observations s t a f f resource volunteer t r a i n -ing committee 1 a l l - d a y session + 6-8 3-hour sessions -no. per year Inservice 2-3 monthly volun-teer meeting with resource people 1% month in t e r v a l s as required part of volunteer meetings 10 present con-cern, trying a-v resources 6-10 volunteer workshop annually, p u b l i c i t y c i r c u l a t e d about relevant community events Volunteer Committment 1 year \"] 6 hours/week none 4 hours/week at t h e i r convenience 6 months 4 hours/week 6 months 3 hours/week 1 year 4 hours/week CHART I - (con't) Comparison of Crisis Centres Centre #1 Centre #2 Centre #3 Centre #4 Centre #5 Volunteer Contact -monthly volun-teer meeting -socials for special events -baseball & vol-ley b a l l team -socials for special events -newsletter -baseball occas-ionally -rarely informal social events -monthly volun-teer meetings with attendance of 2 0 f -some socializing not formally or-ganized. -volunteer meetings monthly, except for summer. -newsletter -socials -feedback book -regular meet-ings. Flying Squad yes Drop-in yes Counseling yes yes yes yes yes yes yes no Information in this chart from National Directory of Crisis Intervention Centres, 1976 and interviews with staff of c r i s i s centres. 11 and i n a c t i v e v o l u n t e e r s a t s p e c i f i c c r i s i s cent res on the group of i tems r e l a t i n g to p e r s o n a l change? 4. W i l l there be s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e s between a c t i v e and i n a c t i v e v o l u n t e e r s a t s p e c i f i c c r i s i s cent res on the group of i tems r e l a t e d to g e n e r a l impress ion? 5 . W i l l there be s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e s between a c t i v e and i n a c t i v e v o l u n t e e r s a t s p e c i f i c c r i s i s cen t res on the group of i tems r e l a t i n g to s t a f f ? 6. W i l l there be s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e s between a c t i v e and i n a c t i v e v o l u n t e e r s a t s p e c i f i c c r i s i s cen t res on the group of i tems r e l a t i n g to other v o l u n t e e r s ? DEFINITION OF TERMS 1 . V o l u n t e e r : The d i c t i o n a r y consensus of v o l u n t e e r i s a person who w i l l i n g l y o f f e r s h i m s e l f or h e r s e l f f o r s e r v i c e w i thout pay. In a d d i t i o n , f o r the purposes of t h i s s tudy , a v o l u n t e e r i s a person who has been r e c r u i t e d to serve as a te lephone counse lo r i n a c r i s i s c e n t r e . Th is person has been i n t e r v i e w e d , s e l e c t e d and t r a i n e d f o r t h i s purpose and has worked a t a c r i s i s cen t re f o r a t l e a s t two months. 2. A c t i v e V o l u n t e e r : A v o l u n t e e r who does a minimum of two hours s e r v i c e per week on the average. 3. I n a c t i v e V o l u n t e e r : A v o l u n t e e r who des ignates h i m s e l f or h e r s e l f t e m p o r a r i l y or permanently i n a c t i v e , tha t i s , w i t h no p resent commitment to doing s h i f t s a t a c r i s i s c e n t r e . 4. Vo lunteer Commitment: The genera l a t t i t u d e of the v o l u n t e e r as expressed by appear ing r e g u l a r l y and p u n c t u a l l y f o r s h i f t s to which they have committed themselves . 12 5. S h i f t : A s p e c i f i e d number of hours dur ing which a v o l u n -teer answers the phone a t a c r i s i s c e n t r e . A v o l u n t e e r u s u a l l y does one s h i f t per week. DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY Th is d e s c r i p t i v e study was \" a c t i o n r e s e a r c h \" and as such was not g e n e r a l i z a b l e beyond the p o p u l a t i o n b e i n g examined. Th is p o p u l a t i o n c o n s i s t e d of a l l v o l u n t e e r s p r e s e n t l y a c t i v e and a l l v o l u n t e e r s who had become i n a c t i v e from f i v e c r i s i s cent res w i t h i n the past two y e a r s . These people l i v e d i n the g e o g r a p h i c a l a rea des ignated the Lower Main land of B r i t i s h Co lumbia . Th is a rea i n c l u d e d Vancouver and sur rounding areas as f a r n o r t h as North Vancouver, south as White Rock, and east as Maple R i d g e . One d e l i m i t a t i o n of the study was the i n a b i l i t y to con tac t some of the i n a c t i v e v o l u n t e e r s who had l e f t the area and p rov ided no fo rward ing address . JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY E v a l u a t i o n of c r i s i s cent res has b a r e l y begun. L e a s t e r observed we a re s t i l l p reoccupied w i t h f i n d i n g ways of documenting the ways i n which they ( c r i s i s cent res ) a f f e c t the community, i f any ( L e s t e r , 1973, p.275). Though L e s t e r focussed on the importance of e v a l u a t i n g the s e r v i c e from the p e r s p e c t i v e of the consumer, H i n k l e (1974) p o i n t e d out t h a t e v a l u a t i o n should a l s o i n v o l v e the impact of program a c t i v i t i e s on the i n d i v i d u a l s r e n d e r i n g the s e r v i c e . H i n k l e suggested t h a t q u e s t i o n n a i r e s which have r a t i n g s c a l e s and open-ended ques t ions f o r suggested changes or m o d i f i c a t i o n i n the program be g i ven to agency people a t r e g u l a r i n t e r v a l s . The r e s u l t s of such p rocedures , 13 i f they have been implemented, have not been p u b l i s h e d to d a t e . I t i s suspected t h a t the most p r e v a l e n t reasons f o r becoming i n a c t i v e as a v o l u n t e e r i n a Lower Main land c r i s i s c e n t r e are moving and/or changing one 's s t a t u s from student to employed. S ince no records have been kept which determine reasons f o r becoming i n a c t i v e , i t would be most u s e f u l to determine whether these are the most common r e a s o n s . Th is i n f o r m a t i o n perhaps would he lp to determine p r i o r i t i e s i n a c c e p t i n g a p p l i c a t i o n s from new v o l u n t e e r s . 1 4 CHAPTER I I RELATED LITERATURE The purpose of t h i s chapter i s to present a b r i e f overv iew of the research r e l a t e d to the exper ience of the c r i s i s cent re v o l u n t e e r . A > d i s c u s s i o n . o f the v o l u n t e e r i n terms of m o t i v a t i o n , s e l e c t i o n , d e s c r i p t i o n , t r a i n i n g and e v a l u a t i o n w i l l be i n c l u d e d . A rev iew of the l i t e r a t u r e which d i s c u s s e s e f f e c t s of the exper ience of v o l u n t e e r s working i n o ther mental h e a l t h s e t t i n g s i s a l s o r e l e v a n t and w i l l conclude t h i s c h a p t e r . MOTIVATION:' The present study i s concerned w i t h m o t i v a t i o n as i t r e l a t e s to becoming a v o l u n t e e r , to the v o l u n t e e r ' s p e r c e p t i o n of the exper ience of v o l u n t e e r i n g and to the d e c i s i o n to become i n a c t i v e . Becoming . A c t i v e Severa l s t u d i e s have suggested that some i n d i v i d u a l s are i n a p p r o p r i a t e l y mot ivated to v o l u n t e e r . Resn ik ( 1 9 6 8 ) hypothes i zed that mental h e a l t h workers perhaps are drawn to community v o l u n t e e r programs i n an e f f o r t to c o n s c i o u s l y or u n c o n s c i o u s l y f i n d s o l u t i o n s to pe rsona l problems. H i s study of c r i s i s cen t re v o l u n t e e r s which c o l l e c t e d data based on p s y c h i a t r i c i n t e r v i e w s and t e s t i n g , d e t e r -mined that 687o ( n-22) of v o l u n t e e r s were n e u r o t i c or p s y c h o t i c . Resn ik noted that the d i s t u r b e d i n d i v i d u a l s tended to have a lower l e v e l of commitment and to become i n a c t i v e sooner than those v o l u n t e e r s w i t h more emot ional s t a b i l i t y . Tucker and Cantor ( 1 9 7 5 ) and Weis and Seiden ( 1 9 7 4 ) . . i a l s o suggested^that \u00E2\u0080\u00A2volunteers become i n v o l v e d to meet t h e i r own needs, some acceptab le and some q u e s t i o n a b l e . 15 These s t u d i e s compared the v o l u n t e e r i n the c r i s i s cen t re w i t h s u i c i d e a t t e m p t e r s . They concluded that w h i l e there may be s i m i l a r i t i e s i n needs such as a f f i l i a t i o n , emot ional support and nuturance , the v o l u n t e e r s d e a l w i t h t h e i r needs i n a more a d a p t i v e , l e s s pa tho -l o g i c a l way. Weis and Se iden -suggested t h a t ; s i m i l a r i t i e s are a s t r e n g t h i n that the counse lo rs may prov ide an e f f e c t i v e r o l e model and may be more s u c c e s s f u l i n empath iz ing w i t h s u i c i d e at tempters than non-v o l u n t e e r s . Riessman (1965) wrote a r e l a t e d a r t i c l e about the \" h e l p e r therapy p r i n c i p l e \" (p ; 27) i n which he r a i s e d the i s s u e of changing the focus from the i n d i v i d u a l r e c e i v i n g the h e l p to the \" i n d i v i d u a l who needs the h e l p l e s s \" Riessman does not condemn t h i s mot ive but c a u t i o n s the p r o j e c t i o n of the h e l p e r ' s problems on the he lpee and suggests tha t a p p r o p r i a t e s u p e r v i s i o n might h e l p overcome the negat i ve aspects of the s i t u a t i o n . When t h e i r f i n d i n g s supported the c o n c l u s i o n of Knapp and Holzberg .(1964), tha t v o l u n t e e r s \"p robab ly , do n o t , d i f f e r c l i n i c a l l y from nonvo lunteers\" ( p . 2 7 8 ) , Sakowitz & Hirschman (1975) suggested that v o l u n t e e r s may be mot i va ted by p r o f e s s i o n a l a s p i r a t i o n s thus making the a c q u i s i t i o n of h e l p i n g s k i l l s a t t r a c t i v e . They went on to suggest that perhaps p o l i t i c a l i n c l i n a t i o n s c o u l d be r e a l i z e d by be ing i n v o l v e d w i t h an o r g a n i z a t i o n i d e n t i f i e d w i t h the drug or c o u n t e r - c u l t u r e movements. K i l l e e n and Schmitz seemed to agree w i t h Sakowitz and Hirschman when they s ta ted the two most obvious reasons that young people v o l u n t e e r t h e i r t ime to work f o r the Switchboard are t h e i r s t a t e d purpose of h e l p i n g o thers over the phone and the s o c i a l aspect of involvement i n a h i p , hang - loose a c t i v i t y . ( K i l l e e n & Schmitz , 1973, p .251) . 16 A B r i t i s h study of v o l u n t e e r s c h a i r e d by Aves (1969) repor ted that most v o l u n t e e r s f e l t tha t \" v o l u n t a r y work would meet some n e e d . . . of which they were consc ious i n t h e i r l i v e s \" ( p . 5 1 ) . Th is study concluded that the f a c t a v o l u n t e e r has needs met does not d e t r a c t from the s e r v i c e he or she p r o v i d e s . Vo lunteers appear to be mot i va ted by the hope of making a s i g n i f i c a n t c o n t r i b u t i o n by f e e l i n g h e l p f u l , be ing u s e f u l and both g i v i n g and r e c e i v i n g . They hope that some form of se l f -deve lopment w i l l occur through the exper ience such as the l e a r n i n g of new s k i l l s , be ing exposed to i n t e l l e c t u a l s t i m u l a t i o n and the f u l f i l l m e n t of p a t e r n a l , materna l or p h i l a n t h r o p i c needs ( C a r t e r , 1 9 7 5 ; Good,1976; H e i l i g , Farberow, L i tman & Schneidman, 1968; R e i n h e r z , 1967). Becoming I n a c t i v e K i l l e e n and Schmitz (1975) suggested that the h o t l i n e i s \" a l t e r n a t i v e \" to the e x i s t i n g mental h e a l t h d e l i v e r y system ( p . 2 5 0 ) . They suggested: \u00E2\u0080\u00A2_ the \" v a s t personnel tu rnover \" i n the o r g a n i z a t i o n i n d i c a t e s c o n s i d e r a b l e d i s i l l u s i o n m e n t among many of the v o l u n t e e r s . They hypothes i zed tha t t h i s i s caused by \" l o s s of i n t i m a c y \" and a \" l o s s of i n n o v a t i o n and hipness.\"'! Centres are f raught w i t h problems i n v o l v i n g s h i f t s c h e d u l i n g and i n t e r n a l p o l i t i c s . K i l l e e n and Schmitz proposed '.that v o l u n t e e r s \" b u r n out\" because of f e e l i n g s of a loneness and power lessness . \"They have c o n t r i b u t e d m i g h t i l y to the o r g a n i z a t i o n but the o r g a n i z a t i o n has g i ven them l i t t l e i n r e t u r n \" ( p . 2 5 1 ) . The phenomenon of \" b u r n - o u t \" i s be ing researched by Mas lach (1976) . Though her sub jec ts have been p r o f e s s i o n a l s ( s o c i a l workers and p s y c h i a t r i s t s l a r g e l y ) there i s a s i m i l a r i t y i n that the 17 focus of t h e i r a c t i v i t y i s on involvement w i t h t r o u b l e d human b e i n g s . B u r n - o u t , Mas lach s a y s , p l a y s a major r o l e i n poor d e l i v e r y of h e a l t h and w e l f a r e s e r v i c e s to people i n need of t h e m . . . ( a n d i t a l s o ) . . . i s a key f a c t o r i n low^worker m o r a l e , absenteeism and h i g h job turnover (Mas lach , 1976, p . 1 6 ) . Maslach d e f i n e s b u r n - o u t as the i n a b i l i t y of the worker to cope w i t h \" c o n t i n u a l emot iona l s t r e s s . \" The symptoms of t h i s a re a l o s s of concern and emot iona l f e e l i n g f o r the persons b e i n g he lped and a coming to t r e a t them i n \"detached or even dehumanized ways\" ( p . 1 6 ) . C r i s i s cen t re s t a f f s and v o l u n t e e r s do r e f e r to \" b u r n - o u t \" c o l l o q u i a l l y , (as i n K i l l e e n and Schmitz (1975) , p.251) but whether t h i s i s the same p s y c h o l o g i c a l exper ience as researched by Maslach has yet to be i n v e s t i g a t e d . Some apparent s i m i l a r i t i e s e x i s t . For example, l a b e l i n g c a l l e r s by t h e i r problems i s a way of reduc ing the v o l u n t e e r ' s emot iona l involvement and making the c a l l e r seem \" l e s s human, more l i k e an o b j e c t or a number\"(Maslach, 1976, p . 1 6 ) . \" There are a number of program f a c t o r s which may i n f l u e n c e a v o l u n t e e r ' s m o t i v a t i o n to become i n a c t i v e . V i t s o t s k y (1967) caut ioned tha t u n l e s s v o l u n t e e r s were p r o p e r l y t r a i n e d , they would become depressed . I f they expected success i n s t e a d of b e i n g mot ivated by the d e s i r e to s e r v e , then they \"can expect on ly h o p e l e s s n e s s \" ( p . 9 ) . ' V i t s o t s k y advocated the i n s t i t u t i o n of \" s t r o n g feedback mechanisms so t h a t b e i n g a b l e to g i v e candid r e a c t i o n s , v o l u n t e e r s and perhaps s t a f f , have the chance to grow\" ( p . 9 ) . Ge l ineau empahsized the importance of s t a f f support and feedback when he s a i d tha t For a l l v o l u n t e e r s , there i s an i n i t i a l p e r i o d of a n x i e t y which r e q u i r e s p r o f e s s i o n a l support to overcome. There i s 18 then a p e r i o d of enthusiasm and exuberance w h i l e e a r l y p rogress can be seen. L a t e r , when the s e v e r i t y of c h r o n i c p s y c h o s i s i s f u l l y r e a l i z e d , the v o l u n t e e r goes through a p e r i o d of f r u s t r a t i o n and d isappointment ( G e l i n e a u , 1967, p.41). Teh c r i s i s cen t re s i t u a t i o n i s somewhat d i f f e r e n c e i n tha t the v o l u n t e e r does not exper ience a growing r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h a c l i e n t . Th is means tha t there i s l e s s o p p o r t u n i t y f o r progress to be observed . In advocat ing c o l l e a g u e and team support i n the c r i s i s c e n t r e , Hoff (1973) wrote t h a t the emot ional energy r e q u i r e d by a t h e r a p i s t i n work ing w i t h a c l i e n t w i t h h i g h s u i c i d e p o t e n t i a l can be \"both t ime-consuming and e x h a u s t i n g . \" She suggested t h a t t h i s i s even more so f o r the v o l u n t e e r te lephone c o u n s e l o r , who i s f r e q u e n t l y l e s s t r a i n e d and exper ienced and a l s o works i n p h y s i c a l i s o l a t i o n d u r i n g the most c r i t i c a l hours of the n i g h t . A f t e r a c a l l from a s e l f - d e s t r u c t i v e person the counse lo r can be l e f t w i t h f e e l i n g s of i s o l a t i o n , c o n f u s i o n , f a i l u r e , i n s e c u r i t y , resentment , g u i l t or he may exper ience a sense of s a t i s f a c t i o n i n responding e f f e c t i v e l y to persons i n c r i t i c a l n e e d . . . ( h o w e v e r ) . . . the counse lo r beg ins to exper ience a sense of f u t i l i t y of e f f o r t as the c l i e n t c o n -t i n u e s to c a l l the te lephone s e r v i c e w i t h l i t t l e or no change i n the s o c i a l and i n t e r p e r s o n a l f i e l d . . . . T h i s i s p a r t i c u l a r l y t r u e i f the telephone s e r v i c e focuses on emergency and c r i s i s i n t e r v e n t i o n and t h e r e - i s no b u i l t - i n p r o v i s i o n f o r or e x p e c t a t i o n of c o n t i n u i t y of t reatment by telephone. (Hoff , 1973, p.141). The most r e l e v a n t study d e a l i n g w i t h v o l u n t e e r commitment appears to be one d e a l i n g w i t h v o l u n t e e r p a r t i c i p a t i o n as a f u n c t i o n of p e r s o n a l and s i t u a t i o n a l v a r i a b l e s (Turner , 1972). The study was s t r u c t u r e d on L e w i n ' s f i e l d theory which s t a t e s tha t a l l behav ior i s a f u n c t i o n of i n t e r a c t i o n between a person and the environment. Th is means tha t the v o l u n t e e r ' s p a r t i c i p a t o r y behav io r i s based on i n t e r a c t i o n between p e r s o n a l components ( a t t i t u d e s , m o t i v a t i o n , l i f e exper ience) and program components of the c r i s i s cent re exper ience . Turner found that s u b j e c t s who r e c e i v e d p o s i t i v e 19 feedback on personal c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s were involved as volunteers for a longer per iod than those who received neut ra l or no feedback. Because the study was done p r i o r to the completion of volunteer t r a i n i n g , i t i s not known what the inf luence of feedback would be on the ef fect iveness of volunteers while taking c a l l s . The part of Turner ' s study about durat ion of volunteer commitment ind ica ted that the number of c a l l s per week accounted for the largest pro-por t ion of p a r t i c i p a t i o n var iance . The fact that only one-hal f of the former volunteers returned for a second quarter of p a r t i c i p a t i o n suggested that other factors may have inf luenced the durat ion of p a r t i c i p a t i o n of co l l ege students vo lunteer ing for the c r i s i s l i n e . Because Turner ' s study i s about the volunteer experience and s p e c i f i c factors i n f l u e n c i n g i t , h i s study i s very re levant to the present study. Unfortunate ly , Turner ' s research was l i m i t e d to us ing co l l ege students as subjects and was therefore l i m i t e d by co l l ege semesters and a s p e c i f i c popula t ion . The factors e f f e c t i n g length of volunteer commitment are an important concern i n t h i s study and of the personnel of the c r i s i s centres p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n i t . H e i l i g , Farberow, Litman and Shneidman (1968) suggested that i t i s demoral iz ing for the volunteer to go to the mental hea l th centre and have l i t t l e to do. They .proposed that ro le c o n f l i c t may grow as the volunteer becomes more competent. This ro le c o n f l i c t , p ro fe s s iona l versus nonprofess ional , may re su l t i n the volunteer becoming i n a c t i v e i n order to pursue pro fe s s iona l t r a i n i n g . With the exception of the Turner (1972) study, there has been l i t t l e research on reasons volunteers become i n a c t i v e . Most of the 20 m a t e r i a l reviewed was not based on exper imenta l des ign but r a t h e r l i m i t e d i t s focus to s p e c u l a t i o n s about p o s s i b l e c a u s e s . T r a i n i n g , s t a f f support and beedback as w e l l as the degree to which the v o l u n -tee rs exper ience t h e i r r o l e as necessary and important appear to be f a c t o r s a f f e c t i n g the v o l u n t e e r e x p e r i e n c e . SELECTION Vo lun teers are s e l e c t e d by a p p l i c a t i o n and i n t e r v i e w e d by s t a f f and/or o ther v o l u n t e e r s . M i r h a d i (1975) noted tha t the s e l e c t i o n of v o l u n t e e r s , t h e i r t r a i n i n g and assessment of t r a i n i n g are c o n t i n u -i n g problems i n tha t \" few c r i s i s cen t res have more than one of s i x a p p l i c a n t s as ' s u c c e s s f u l v o l u n t e e r s ' \" ( p . 2 ) . What do those who s e l e c t l o o k f o r i n a d d i t i o n to \" p a t i e n c e , calmness and f a c i l i t y w i t h the language\" ( M i r h a d i , 1975, p . l ) ? H e i l i g e t a l . s e l e c t e d i n d i v i d u a l s who demonstrated m a t u r i t y , r e s p o n s i b i l i t y , m o t i v a t i o n , s e n s i t i v i t y , w i l l i n g n e s s to accept t r a i n i n g and s u p e r v i s i o n and the a b i l i t y to get a long w e l l i n a g r o u p . . . . (They d i d not s e l e c t v o l u n t e e r s w h o ) . . . a p p e a r e d to be l o o k i n g f o r a way to g r a t i f y t h e i r own needs and to push, t h e i r own i n d i v i d u a l concept ions of human problems and t h e i r s o l u t i o n s . . . o f t e n such persons were e m o t i o n a l l y d i s t u r b e d themselves , r i g i d , i n f l e x i b l e and tenuously o r g a n i z e d . I t was f e l t t h a t such persons would not serve the agency, they would use i t ( H e i l i g e t a l . , 1968, p . 2 8 9 ) . The use of p e r s o n a l i t y t e s t s may be h e l p f u l i n p r o v i d i n g i n f o r m a t i o n about persons w i t h l e s s than h e a l t h f u l emot iona l and s o c i a l f u n c t i o n i n g and such t e s t s are used by some c e n t r e s . As Delworth (1972) observes \"no p e r s o n a l i t y t r a i t s per se as measured by these dev ices have been found to be g e n e r a l l y more i n d i c a t i v e of ' h e l p e r s ' v s . ' n o n - h e l p e r s ' \" ( p . 2 0 ) . Th is f i n d i n g was v e r i f i e d by M i r h a d i (1975) i n h i s search f o r a good measure of empathic a b i l i t y to be used to s e l e c t good v o l u n t e e r s f o r c r i s i s c e n t r e s . 21 The process that appears to be used i s an i n t e r v i e w and a combinat ion of s e l f - s e l e c t i o n and a weeding-out process tha t takes p lace d u r i n g the t r a i n i n g of the v o l u n t e e r . The l i t e r a t u r e seems to i n d i c a t e a l a c k of s tandard procedures i n s e l e c t i n g v o l u n t e e r s . TRAINING The t r a i n i n g r e c e i v e d by v o l u n t e e r s i s an important par t o f t h e i r exper ience . Berman noted that the\" requirement f o r immense numbers of p a r a p r o f e s s i o n a l s has r e s u l t e d i n the p r o f e s s i o n a l community, much l i k e the c l i e n t i n c r i s i s . . . f a l l i n g back on o l d , w e l l - t r i e d , but p r e s e n t l y i n a p p l i c a b l e modes of cop ing and a d a p t a t i o n (Berman,1973,r .p.95) . Most t r a i n i n g programs appear to be developed by the i n d i v i d u a l c r i s i s c e n t r e s . L o c a l c r i s i s c e n t r e s have developed t h e i r own programs. These t r a i n i n g programs appear to have a number of s i m i l a r i t i e s . They t r a i n the v o l u n t e e r i n b a s i c l i s t e n i n g s k i l l s w i t h emphasis on a c h i e v i n g empathy. In a d d i t i o n , the v o l u n t e e r r e c e i v e s i n f o r m a t i o n about the s t r u c t u r e and f u n c t i o n i n g of the c r i s i s c e n t r e , a n d community r e s o u r c e s . V o l u n t e e r s may a l s o be informed about s p e c i f i c t o p i c s such as c r i s i s t h e o r y , s u i c i d e , drug u s e , a l c h o h o l i s m and so on. Some t r a i n i n g programs are complete ly d i d a c t i c , o thers combine e x p e r i e n t i a l r o l e - p l a y i n g and d i d a c t i c components. Many c e n t r e s p u b l i s h a t r a i n i n g manual which i n c l u d e s p o l i c i e s , procedures and r e s o u r c e s . D o y l e , Foreman and Wales (1977) noted t h a t \" f e w d e s c r i p t i v e a r t i c l e s on the t r a i n i n g of c r i s i s i n t e r v e n t i o n i s t s have been p u b l i s h e d ( e . g . De lwor th , 1973; R ioch et a l , 1963; M i l l s , Note 1 ) , and e v a l u a t i v e research on t r a i n i n g and s u p e r v i s i o n has not as yet been r e p o r t e d \" ( p . 7 2 ) . An important aspect of t r a i n i n g i s the o p p o r t u n i t y f o r s t a f f and 22 v o l u n t e e r s to cont inue the s e l e c t i o n p r o c e s s . Many v o l u n t e e r s do not complete the t r a i n i n g program. Research about d r o p - o u t r a t e was not a v a i l a b l e but pe rsona l^exper ience would es t imate t h a t 25% i s not u n r e a l i s t i c . Beers and Foreman (1976) compared i n t e r v e n t i o n p a t t e r n s i n c r i s i s i n t e r v i e w s w i t h v o l u n t e e r s t r a i n e d i n two d i f f e r e n t models f o r c o u n s e l i n g ; b r i e f f o c a l therapy and the Rusk model . Four t h e r a p i s t i n t e r v e n t i o n s which i n c l u d e d i n f o r m a t i o n g a t h e r i n g , consensual fo rmu -l a t i o n , problem s o l v i n g and e x p l i c i t empathy were examined. S i g -n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e s were found on ly i n the e x p l i c i t empathy i n t e r v e n t i o n s i n the Rusk model . The authors admit ted the s m a l l number of s u b j e c t s (n=10) made g e n e r a l i z a t i o n q u e s t i o n a b l e . As i n most e v a l u a t i o n s t u d i e s , the focus was on the b e n e f i t d e r i v e d by the c l i e n t r a t h e r than the exper ience of the v o l u n t e e r , a l though Beers and Forement i n d i c a t e d tha t there were advantages f o r the counse lor i n b e i n g \" m o d e l - t r a i n e d \" ( p . 9 1 ) . These i n c l u d e d p r o v i d i n g the counse lo rs ; w i t h a \" c o g n i t i v e map of process goa ls as they proceed through the i n t e r v i e w \" ( p . 9 1 ) . The one study which focussed on v o l u n t e e r exper ience r e l a t e d to t r a i n i n g i s tha t by Doyle e t a l p u b l i s h e d i n 1977. They found t h a t \"most l e a r n i n g by n o n - p r o f e s s i o n a l s occurs d u r i n g on -go ing s u p e r v i s i o n \" ( p . 7 2 ) . They suggest t h a t the \" p r a c t i c e of r e l y i n g on p r e t r a i n i n g may promote harmfu l outcomes f o r v o l u n t e e r s and may account f o r common problems of h i g h s t a f f a t t r i t i o n \" ( p . 7 2 ) . EVALUATION OF VOLUNTEER PERFORMANCE For some t i m e , the r e s e a r c h focus i n the f i e l d of te lephone c r i s i s c o u n s e l i n g has been empathy, tha t i s , the a b i l i t y to t r u l y 23 understand another person beyond the l e v e l of t h e i r words . Truax and Carkhuf f (1967) suggested tha t i f counse lo r t r a i n e e s were s e l e c t e d and/or t r a i n e d to demonstrate \" a c c u r a t e empathy\" they would be l e s s l i k e l y to f e e l f r u s t r a t e d and the c l i e n t would have a b e t t e r chance of improv ing . McGee and Kn ickerbocker (1974) demonstrated \" w i t h o b j e c t i v e d a t a f o r the f i r s t t ime i n the l i t e r a t u r e . . . t h e c l i n i c a l s k i l l s of the l a y v o l u n t e e r on the te lephone\" ( p . 3 0 7 ) . Us ing r a t i n g methods developed by Truax (1967) and L i s t e r (1970) , the c l i n i c a l s k i l l s assessed were empathy, warmth and genuineness . The r e s u l t s of the study by McGee and Kn ickerbocker i n d i c a t e d t h a t between the two groups , one composed of p r o f e s s i o n a l t r a i n e e s and p r o f e s s i o n a l s , the o ther of l a y v o l u n t e e r s , the v o l u n t e e r s tended to be as h i g h or h i g h e r on a l l the s c a l e s u s i n g e i t h e r r a t i n g method. The authors do i n d i c a t e a m e t h o d o l o g i c a l problem i n the r e l a t i v e l a c k of s u b j e c t s a v a i l a b l e f o r the p r o f e s s i o n a l group which c rea ted problems i n matching the two groups f o r l e v e l s of exper ience on the te lephone (Mcgee & K n i c k e r b o c k e r , 1974, p . 3 0 6 ) . In a study undertaken by Carothers and I n s l e e (1 -74) which measured l e v e l s of empathic unders tanding by v o l u n t e e r s chosen from f o u r American c i t i e s , the average l e v e l ach ieved was 1.95 on the Carkhuf f s c a l e . The average l e v e l ach ieved by v o l u n t e e r s on the same s c a l e i n the study by McGee and Kn ickerbocker was 2 . 6 1 . The v a r i a t i o n may be the r e s u l t of r a t e r v a r i a b l e s and the f a c t t h a t the h igher l e v e l s were ach ieved on audio tapes r a t h e r than w r i t t e n e x c e r p t s . These l e v e l s are d e s c r i b e d as \" n e a r l y as good as the b e s t t h a t can be obta ined by a person w i t h i n the framework of i n t e r p e r s o n a l i n t e r a c t i o n s g e n e r a l l y a v a i l a b l e to him (Carothers 24 & I n s l e e , 1974, p . 2 7 4 ) . Accurate empathy as a c o n s t r u c t has been the subject of recent research concern . L ibow and Doty - (1976) c i t e a number of s tud ies -that i n d i c a t e d i s c r e p a n c i e s i n the c o r r e l a t i o n of r a t e r and c l i e n t r a t i n g s of counse lo r empathy. The main focus of the Libow and Doty s tudy , however, was to a s c e r t a i n whether c l i e n t s found empathy or a d v i c e - g i v i n g more h e l p f u l . R e s u l t s i n d i c a t e c o n s i s t e n t p r e -ference f o r the a c t i v e a d v i c e - g i v i n g s t y l e . I t i s d i f f i c u l t to e x p l a i n these r e s u l t s w i thout knowing what i s i m p l i e d by o f f e r i n g adv ice and suggest ing a l t e r n a t i v e s o l u t i o n s i n what might seem to an exper ienced counse lo r a r a t h e r c a v a l i e r f a s h i o n (Libow & Doty , 1976, p . 5 3 3 ) . The r e s u l t s do suggest i m p l i c a t i o n s f o r changing t r a i n i n g focus f o r v o l u n t e e r s s ince c a l l e r s may be seek ing more d i r e c t i v e a d v i c e -o r i e n t e d h e l p than v o l u n t e e r s are now be ing t r a i n e d to p r o v i d e . What are other s k i l l s or q u a l i t i e s tha t c o n t r i b u t e to f u n c t i o n i n g as a s u c c e s s f u l counse lor? The Fowler T e c h n i c a l E f f e c t i v e n e s s Scale (1974) focuses on the a b i l i t y and s k i l l to develop a r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h c a l l e r s , assess the s i t u a t i o n and formulate a p l a n of a c t i o n . Though r e s u l t s i n d i c a t e tha t the s c a l e has good i n t e r - r a t e r r e l i a b i l i t y , and the. p o t e n t i a l to measure base l e v e l performance of counse lo rs and t h e i r subsequent improve-ment or l a c k of i t , f u r t h e r s t u d i e s u s i n g the s c a l e have not been p u b l i s h e d to d a t e . A p o s s i b l e f a c t o r p r e v e n t i n g such research i s cont inued r e l u c t a n c e on the par t of c r i s i s c e n t r e s to tape c o n v e r s a t i o n s from c a l l e r s i n order to m a i n t a i n c o n f i d e n t i a l i t y and anonymity. Such tapes would be necessary i n order to r a t e the c o u n s e l o r . 25 Research to date seems to ind ica te that empathy . i s one . of several factors i n successful telephone counsel ing and that volunteers are capable of achieving l e v e l s required to be h e l p f u l . Other techniques may include problem-solving and more d i r e c t i v e approaches. DESCRIPTION, OF VOLUNTEERS. A number of studies have been c a r r i e d out which involve attempts to describe volunteers by means of p s y c h i a t r i c interviews and t e s t i n g and measurement procedures. Results ind ica te that a t y p i c a l volunteer for service to mental pat ients i s \" s l i g h t l y more r e l i g i o u s l y o r i e n t e d . . . m o r a l l y concerned, compassionate and in t rover ted than were the cont ro l s \" (Gruver , 1971, p .116) . Volunteers i n general are less a u t h o r i t a r i a n and have a greater need for approval (Rosenthal &iRosnow,1969). Smart (1972) i n comparing co l lege telephone service volunteers from two u n i v e r s i t i e s with teacher education candidates , noted that a l l phone volunteers appeared to be more \" f l e x i b l e and adaptable i n t h e i r th inking and s o c i a l behavior and less r i g i d and d e f e r e n t i a l to au thor i ty and t r a d i t i o n than cont ro l s \"(Smart,1972, p .11) . Smart suggests that these mental hea l th volunteers perhaps would have a tendency to behave with \" l e s s matur i ty , i n t e g r i t y and r e c t i t u d e \" (p.12) than t h e i r fe l low students, the p o t e n t i a l teachers . The s t e r e o t y p i c a l member of the counter cu l ture would tend to be described i n a s i m i l a r fashion. Resnik (1968) i n a study which i s quoted frequent ly to i n d i c a t e that there i s empir i ca l evidence that suggests that volunteers may be i n d i v i d u a l s with less than heal thy motives , reported a high 26 percentage of n e u r o t i c and p s y c h o t i c l a y persons v o l u n t e e r i n g . Th is s tudy , however, was based on a sample of 22 v o l u n t e e r s . R e s n i k ' s study c o n t r a s t s w i t h one done by Weis and Seiden who found that v o l u n t e e r s i n a s u i c i d e p r e v e n t i o n cen t re were i n d i v i d u a l s who were r e l a t i v e l y content w i t h themselves and t h e i r l i f e s i t u a t i o n . They conclude that v o l u n t e e r s are r e l a t i v e l y w e l l - a d j u s t e d and outgo ing people who possess p s y c h o l o g i c a l wholeness and s t reng th tha t enables them to stand f i r m f o r o thers to lean upon i n t imes of reduced s t reng th (Weis & S e i d e n , 1974, p . 1 3 0 ) . Vo lun teers i n a c o l l e g e c o u n s e l i n g cen t re were found to possess \" a d a p t i v e cop ing techn iques\" i n meeting t h e i r own needs. One such technique i s , i f v o l u n t e e r s p e r c e i v e they need h e l p , they are l i k e l y to ask f o r i t (Tucker & C a n t o r , 1975, p . 4 2 8 ) . Vo lun teers appear to have a long g e n e r a l i z e d l i f e p a t t e r n that shows r e c o g -n i t i o n of needs and an a b i l i t y to s a t i s f y them ( p . 4 2 9 ) . Tucker and Cantor found too that v o l u n t e e r s seemed to \"come from more s t a b l e f a m i l y s i t u a t i o n s than d i d the c o n t r o l s u b j e c t s . T h i s f a c t o r may be one c o n t r i b u t i n g to g r e a t e r emot ional s t a b i l i t y . I t would appear from these s t u d i e s that v o l u n t e e r s are f a i r l y w e l l a d j u s t e d , mature i n d i v i d u a l s who are ab le to meet not on ly t h e i r own needs, but who are ab le to h e l p o thers cope as w e l l . EFFECTS OF THE VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE Because there i s l i t t l e data a v a i l a b l e on c r i s i s cen t re v o l u n t e e r exper ience and because a f a i r l y s t rong case can be made f o r s i m i l a r i t i e s i n the exper ience of v o l u n t e e r s working i n o ther mental h e a l t h s e t t i n g s , a b r i e f overv iew of e f f e c t s of the v o l u n t e e r exper ience i n o ther s e t t i n g s i s p resented . 27 In t h e i r e v a l u a t i o n of a youth v o l u n t e e r program i n a p s y c h i a t r i c h o s p i t a l , Glasmann and Turner (1972) i n d i c a t e d that v o l u n t e e r s showed that they had developed a t o l e r a n c e f o r and an acceptance of the m e n t a l l y i l l , and tha t they had become sympathet ic toward them. H o l z b e r g , Gewi r tz and Ebner (1964) found i n t h e i r study of changes i n c o l l e g e students as a f u n c t i o n of companionship w i t h p a t i e n t s that s tudents came .to have a more r e a l i s t i c unders tanding of mental i l l n e s s , more p o s i t i v e a t t i t u d e s toward the m e n t a l l y i l l , g r e a t e r s e l f - a c c e p t a n c e , and r e l a x a t i o n of p r o h i b i t i v e aspects of m o r a l i t y regard ing sexua l and aggress i ve behav io r (Ho l zbe rg , Gewi r tz & Ebner , 1964, p . 3 0 2 ) . Gruver (1971) p u b l i s h e d an overv iew of the research r e s u l t s i n v o l v i n g c o l l e g e students as t h e r a p e u t i c agents . He repor ted tha t v o l u n t e e r s showed a dramat ic i n c r e a s e of i n t e r e s t i n the behav io r of c h i l d r e n and i n working w i t h t r o u b l e d peop le . They repor ted that improvement occur red i n the way they i n t e r a c t e d w i t h f r i e n d s ( G r u v e r , 1 9 7 1 , p . 1 1 9 ) . Gruver concluded that \"such work appears to have a p o s i t i v e developmental i n f l u e n c e upon t h e i r own p e r s o n a l i t i e s \" ( p . 1 1 2 ) , ( r e f e r r i n g to c o l l e g e s tudents ) though he does i n d i c a t e that most p rev ious s t u d i e s are \"p lagued w i t h inadequac ies i n des ign which are c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of p s y c h o l o g i c a l s t u d i e s i n genera l and of c l i n i c a l s t u d i e s i n p a r t i c u l a r ( p . 1 2 3 ) . \" Examples of such i n a d e -quac ies i n c l u d e u s i n g no c o n t r o l s , no p r e - t e s t i n g or p o s t - t e s t i n g and l a c k of the use of o b j e c t i v e measures. In c o n t r a s t to the p o s i t i v e changes recorded by p r e v i o u s l y -mentioned r e s e a r c h e r s , Ch insky and Rappaport (1970) found no changes i n s e l f - c o n c e p t but \" s i g n i f i c a n t l y more f a v o r a b l e a t t i t u d e s 28 toward 'mental p a t i e n t s ' and l e s s f a v o r a b l e a t t i t u d e s toward the 'menta l h o s p i t a l ' (p .392) i n t h e i r study of mental p a t i e n t s and c o l l e g e s tudents . \u00E2\u0080\u00A2Scheibe (1965=). and, Ubarger , D a l s i m e r , M o r r i s o n and Bregg in (1962) found v o l u n t e e r s u b j e c t s i n c r e a s e d i n s e l f - c o n f i d e n c e , s e l f - u n d e r s t a n d i n g and that t h e i r i d e n t i t y fo rmat ion was enhanced by working i n a mental h e a l t h i n s t i t u t i o n . Umbarger et a l repor t as a r e s u l t of \"companion programs\" a l l c la imed tha t they had gained i n s i g h t i n t o t h e i r own p e r s o n a l i t i e s and problems through t h e i r r e l a t i o n s h i p s w i t h p a t i e n t s and t h e i r own groups (Umbarger 5 et a l , 1962, p . 5 4 ) . They found that sub jec ts e x h i b i t e d s i g n i f i c a n t ga ins i n a c h i e v e -ment, dominance, s e l f - c o n f i d e n c e and n u r t u r a n c e . H e i l i g , Farberow, L i tman and Shneidman (1968) i n a study of a n o n - c o l l e g e p o p u l a t i o n of v o l u n t e e r s i n a mental h e a l t h c e n t r e found no change i n a t t i t u d e s i n t h e i r p o s t - t e s t i n g of v o l u n t e e r s as measured by MMPI. But i n s e l f - r e p o r t s and s u p e r v i s i o n p e r c e p t i o n s v o l u n t e e r s appeared to be more open w i t h l e s need to appear good i n the p r e s e n t a t i o n of s e l f . The f o l l o w i n g changes were a l s o repor ted - i n c r e a s e d s e n s i t i v i t y and unders tand ing r e g a r d i n g the problems of o thers -more t o l e r a n c e and development of empathy toward behav io r and f e e l i n g s of o thers -changes i n va lues about what i s good and r i g h t -coming to terms w i t h death and l i v i n g - a growth i n l e a r n i n g about s e l f - a f e e l i n g of be ing a b e t t e r mother and f r i e n d w i t h some s t reng th i n v a l u e s , t h i n k i n g and a s p i r a t i o n s -more s e l f - c o n f i d e n c e i n d e a l i n g w i t h people - a r e a f f i r m a t i o n of i d e n t i t y based upon acceptance of s e l f and a s p i r a t i o n s as w e l l as a r i s e i n conf idence i n d e a l i n g w i t h and meeting o ther people ( H e i l i g et a l , 1968, p . 2 9 2 ) . 29 I t appears tha t the exper ience of v o l u n t e e r i n g does have a p o s i t i v e e f f e c t on the menta l h e a l t h workers i n programs s i m i l a r to those o f f e r e d i n c r i s i s c e n t r e s . However, i t i s a l s o impor tant to note t h a t these mental h e a l t h v o l u n t e e r s have an o p p o r t u n i t y f o r p e r s o n a l c o n t a c t w i t h t h e i r \" c l i e n t s \" t h a t i s not a v a i l a b l e to c r i s i s cent re v o l u n t e e r s . C r i s i s cen t re v o l u n t e e r s , f o r the most p a r t , have on ly te lephone c o n t a c t . Th is r e s t r i c t i o n c r e a t e s a unique e x p e r i e n c e . The f a c t tha t i t i s unique emphasizes the need f o r r e s e a r c h such as the p resent s t u d y . CONCLUSION OF THE LITERATURE REVIEW C r i s i s cen t res have r e c e i v e d comparat i ve l y l i t t l e a t t e n t i o n from r e s e a r c h e r s . Th is may be the r e s u l t of a number of f a c t o r s . C r i s i s cen t res are a comparat i ve l y new phenomenon, d a t i n g from 1964 (McGee, 1974) . A l s o , the v o l u n t e e r s who served i n the e a r l i e r days d i d not see r e c o r d - k e e p i n g as one of t h e i r p r i o r i t i e s . There i s a l a c k of s y s t e m a t i c records and extreme c o n f i d e n t i a l i t y and e x c l u s i v e n e s s about those t h a t do e x i s t . . I n s h o r t , there i s a r e l u c t a n c e to r e l e a s e them f o r r e s e a r c h purposes . Perhaps i n h e r e n t i n the s e l f - i m a g e of an a l t e r n a t i v e to the e x i s t i n g menta l h e a l t h d e l i v e r y system suggested by K i l l e e n and Schmitz (1975) i s a d i s -couragement of fo rmal r e s e a r c h methods, f a v o r i n g i n s t e a d r e p o r t s , s t o r i e s and the l i k e . Some of the a r t i c l e s c i t e d i n the present rey iew have been i m p r e s s i o n i s t i c and s u b j e c t i v e r a t h e r than s c i e n t i f i c f o r the reasons g i v e n . These a r t i c l e s i n d i c a t e areas where f u t u r e r e s e a r c h i s i m p o r t a n t . For example, s e l e c t i o n of v o l u n t e e r s and reasons f o r becoming i n a c t i v e a r e two such a r e a s . The a r t i c l e s rev iewed , 30 w h i l e not d i r e c t l y focussed. on the v o l u n t e e r exper ience per se have p r o v i d e d v a l u a b l e i n f o r m a t i o n about the c r i s i s c e n t r e v o l u n -teer i n terms of d e s c r i p t i o n , m o t i v a t i o n , s e l e c t i o n , t r a i n i n g and e v a l u a t i o n as w e l l as the e f f e c t s of the exper ience of the v o l u n t e e r i n menta l h e a l t h s e t t i n g s . 31 CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY The purpose of the study was to gether specific information in as consistent and complete a manner as possible about the effect that c r i s i s centre volunteering has had on c r i s i s centre volunteers in the Lower Mainland. The study was self-report research using a survey technique. A structured questionnaire was developed to collect the data which focussed on attitude and demographic information. The rationale for and the development of the instrument used in the study is described in the present chapter together with the pilot study conducted to determine the validity and r e l i a b i l i t y of the instrument. The results of the analyses of the p i l o t study are presented with this description. The population, design, sampling, data collection and scoring procedures for the f u l l study are next described. Finally, the s t a t i s t i c a l analyses for the f u l l study are presented. RATIONALE FOR USE OF STRUCTURED QUESTIONNAIRE Because there were potentially large numbers of people able to contribute information about the experience of being a c r i s i s centre volunteer, personal interviews and open-ended questions were imprac-t i c a l . Such methods could result in problems in standardizing and classifying a large number of responses. Walsh (1967) concluded in a study of the validity of self-reports that there were no differences among scores for the questionnaire method, the interview method or the personal data 32 blank. No one method e l i c i t e d more accurate self-reporting than another. Oppenheim (1966) summed the advantages and disadvantages of using questionnaires. He concluded that closed questions were easier and quicker to answer, required no writing and quantification was streight forward. He observed that this often meant that more questions could be asked within a given length of time and that more could be accomplished with a given sum of money. However, Oppenheim noted that there may have been a \"loss of spontaneity and expressiveness\" (p.43). He went on to point out that i t would never be possible to know what the respondents said or thought of their own accord and perhaps bias had been introduced by 'forcing' them to choose between given alternatives that might not have oc-curred to them. Finally, and this i s particularly relevant to the present study, Oppenheim suggested There may also be some loss of rapport, i f respondents become irrita t e d because they feel that the choice of answers f a i l s to do justice to their own ideas (Oppenheim, 1966, p.43). Cognizant of these factors, i t was decided to collect data by using a structured questionnaire, but providing an opportunity for open-ended comments. DEVELOPMENT OF QUESTIONNAIRE Items for the questionnaire were developed by interviewing a number of c r i s i s centre staff and volunteers and by consulting the literature. Informal discussion with three c r i s i s centre staff and three ' active and two inactive volunteers from one c r i s i s centre i n the Lower Mainland resulted in a pool of items about various aspects of the c r i s i s centre experience. Next, the purpose of the project was 33 d e s c r i b e d to the s t a f f of the f i v e cent res i n c l u d e d i n t h i s s t u d y . The s t a f f were asked to e v a l u a t e the i tem p o o l and to suggest r e l e v a n t i tems tha t had been o m i t t e d . The l a s t two c r i s i s c e n t r e s t a f f s v i s i t e d agreed t h a t there d i d not appear to be s i g n i f i c a n t o m i s s i o n s . S t a f f a t a l l f i v e cent res agreed to p a r t i c i p a t e i n the study a f f i r m i n g the p o t e n t i a l u s e f u l n e s s of the r e s u l t s . The l i t e r a t u r e was a l s o a source of i t e m s . For example, there i s a g e n e r a l i m p r e s s i o n c r e a s t e d tha t the c h a l l e n g e of coping w i t h the g r e a t e r b readth of types of people and problems which the exper ience of v o l u n t e e r i n g p rov ides causes an o v e r a l l growth i n one 's a b i l i t y to cope w i t h l i f e . As H i n k l e observes Exper ience suggests t h a t when i n d i v i d u a l s are t r a i n e d to d e a l w i t h c r i s e s , they become more e f f e c t i v e i n o ther aspec ts of t h e i r l i v e s , not on ly on the b a s i s of the knowledge but i n terms of the k i n d s of exper ience they have i n h e l p i n g o ther human be ings ( H i n k l e , 1974, p . 8 6 ) . Th is suggested an i t e m p e r t a i n i n g to the v o l u n t e e r s ' p e r c e p t i o n of t h e i r a b i l i t y to cope w i t h t h e i r l i v e s more e f f e c t i v e l y as a r e s u l t of t h e i r c r i s i s c e n t r e exper ience . C a r t e r quotes s e v e r a l responses i n a survey of v o l u n t e e r s i n Canada such as The v o l u n t e e r can o b t a i n a s t rong sense of s a t i s f a c t i o n from h e l p i n g o t h e r s , e s p e c i a l l y i n d i r e c t s e r v i c e where he may r e c e i v e immediate feedback and see d e f i n i t e p r o -gress as a r e s u l t of h i s e f f o r t s ( C a r t e r , 1975, p . 8 5 ) . Th is suggested i tems such as \" v o l u n t e e r i n g a t the c r i s i s c e n t r e i s a good way to exper ience something beyond m y s e l f \" and \"I f e l t I got b e t t e r a t h e l p i n g o thers as I d i d more s h i f t s . \" 34 M o t i v a t i o n may be an important f a c t o r i n an i n d i v i d u a l ' s d e c i s i o n to become a v o l u n t e e r and may be r e l a t e d , perhaps , to a d e c i s i o n to become i n a c t i v e . I f a mot ive i s based on a need and the need i s not met, an i n d i v i d u a l may seek o ther ways of meeting the need. The l i t e r a t u r e suggests that a l t r u i s m , l e a r n i n g and s o c i a l needs are important mot ives f o r many v o l u n t e e r s ( C a r t e r , 1975) . Items such as \" V o l u n t e e r i n g at the c r i s i s cen t re i s a good way to work toward a b e t t e r s o c i e t y \" c o u l d be r e l a t e d to a l t r u i s t i c , motfyes.-:; \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 . S o c i a l . ? needs; s are suggested by i tems such as \"The contac t w i t h o ther v o l u n t e e r s was g e n e r a l l y p o s i t i v e \" and \"I found new f r i e n d s among the v o l u n t e e r s . \" L e a r n i n g i s i m p l i e d by items such as \"I have f e l t more c o n f i d e n t about d e a l i n g w i t h c a l l e r s who are e x p r e s s i n g s t rong f e e l i n g s than I d i d at f i r s t \" and \" V o l u n t e e r i n g i s a good way to l e a r n about o ther people and t h e i r l i v e s . \" These f i v e i tems exp lo re a t t i t u d e s r e l a t e d to h u m a n i t a r i a n , e d u c a t i o n a l and s o c i a l i n c e n t i v e s . Based on the l i t e r a t u r e about v o l u n t e e r commitment (Turner , 1972) i tems r e l a t i n g to feedback and working c o n d i t i o n s seemed a p p r o p r i a t e . R a t i n g i tems such as \"Record keeping and o ther paper work i n v o l v e d i n do ing s h i f t s i s a nu isance\" and \"The phone room has been a comfor tab le p lace i n which to work\" should e l i c i t a response d e s c r i b i n g a t t i t u d e toward working c o n d i t i o n s . R a t i n g \"The s t a f f d i d not p rov ide feedback on my work\" and \"I found s t a f f to be c r i t i c a l about my work\" should d e s c r i b e a t t i t u d e toward feedback. The purpose of the i tems i n t h i s survey was to measure the a t t i t u d e of v o l u n t e e r s toward t h e i r exper ience i n the c r i s i s 35 A t t i t u d e s have c o g n i t i v e and emot ional components as w e l l as an a c t i o n tendency component (Oppenheim, 1966). Items were formulated which r e f l e c t e d a l l three components. Th is survey attempted to measure a v o l u n t e e r ' s a t t i t u d e i n terms of a s t r a i g h t l i n e so the i n d i v i d u a l c o u l d be d e s c r i b e d as hav ing a p o s i t i v e to negat i ve a t t i t u d e i n terms of a numer ica l s c o r e . I t was dec ided to use a L i k e r t s c a l e because as Oppenheim e x p l a i n e d , L i k e r t ' s pr imary concern was w i t h making sure that a l l i tems measured the same t h i n g . Sub jects were i n s t r u c t e d to p lace themselves on an a t t i t u d e continuum f o r each statement rang ing from \" s t r o n g l y agree\" to \" s t r o n g l y d i s a g r e e . \" These are i n t e r p r e t e d i n terms of f i v e p o s i t i o n s w i t h s imple weights of 5 , 4 , 3 , 2 , 1 , f o r the purpose of s c o r i n g \" . . . a f t e r more complex s c o r i n g methods were shown to possess no advantage\"(Oppenheim, 1966, p . 1 3 3 ) . The i tems i n the present inst rument were des ignated \" 5 \" f o r the most p o s i t i v e response to the exper ience of v o l u n t e e r i n g and \" 1 \" f o r the most n e g a t i v e . Equa l numbers of p o s i t i v e l y and n e g a t i v e l y worded i tems were i n c l u d e d to prevent a p o s i t i v e or negat i ve \" s e t . \" P o l a r i t i e s were ad jus ted i n the a n a l y s i s . Because of the g r e a t e r range of answers pe rmi t ted to respondents , \" t h e r e l i a b i l i t y of L i k e r t s c a l e s tends to be good. \" and Oppenheim(1966) s t a t e s that a \" r e l i a b i l i t y c o e f f i c i e n t of .85 i s o f t e n a c h i e v e d . \" ( p . 1 4 0 ) . In order to determine i n t e r n a l c o n s i s t e n c y and v a l i d i t y of the i n s t r u m e n t , a two -par t p i l o t study was c a r r i e d ou t . V a l i d i t y Procedures Es tab l i shment of content v a l i d i t y of the a t t i t u d e s e c t i o n of the q u e s t i o n n a i r e took p l a c e i n two phases. The f i r s t was an 36 i t e m - s o r t i n g process by a pane l of e x p e r t s . Th is procedure was a m o d i f i e d l a t e n t p a r t i t i o n a n a l y s i s ( W i l e y , 1967) . The a n a l y s i s took p l a c e i n two p a r t s . For each of the two p a r t s , a d e s c r i p t i o n of judges , the procedure u s e d , and the r e s u l t s w i l l be p resented . The second phase was a d i s t r i b u t i o n of the q u e s t i o n n a i r e to 40 s u b j e c t s . R e s u l t s from the q u e s t i o n n a i r e were ana lyzed i n terms of the subsca les as d e f i n e d by the f i r s t phase. P a r t .One The i tem poo l appeared to have s e v e r a l n a t u r a l groupings or c a t e g o r i e s such as working c o n d i t i o n s , s e l f - a c t u a l i z a t i o n , s k i l l s i n human r e l a t i o n s and genera l a t t i t u d e toward the e x p e r i e n c e . The c a t e g o r i e s were i n i t i a l l y a r b i t r a r i l y des ignated as f o l l o w s : c r i s i s cent re s t a f f , c r i s i s cen t re f a c i l i t y , community, o ther v o l u n t e e r s , c a l l e r s , s e l f as v o l u n t e e r , s e l f i n genera l and \"ambiguous .\" The judges s e l e c t e d as exper ts i n c r i s i s cen t re mat te rs were three women and two men from one c r i s i s cen t re i n the Lower M a i n -l a n d . A l l had s e v e r a l years exper ience i n the c r i s i s c e n t r e . Three were f u l l - t i m e s t a f f and one was p a r t - t i m e s t a f f i n the c r i s i s c e n t r e . One judge was a member of the c r i s i s cen t re board of d i r e c t o r s . Four judges had r e c e i v e d educat ion at a p o s t - g r a d u a t e l e v e l . One was a t t e n d i n g u n i v e r s i t y . P a r t One was a d m i n i s t e r e d i n f o r m a l l y as f o l l o w s . Numbered i tems were produced on cards and randomly s h u f f l e d . C a t e g o r i e s were w r i t t e n on cards of a d i f f e r e n t c o l o r from i tem c a r d s . V e r b a l i n s t r u c t i o n s were g iven to the judges to f a m i l i a r i z e themselves w i t h c a t e g o r i e s and i tems by l o o k i n g them over b r i e f l y . Judges were then asked to so r t the i tems i n t o the c a t e g o r i e s on the b a s i s of t h e i r f i r s t i m p r e s s i o n . The s o r t i n g process was a d m i n i s t e r e d by the author independent ly at v a r i o u s t imes and p l a c e s over a p e r i o d of two or three days at the convenience of the judges . The agreement among .the c a t e g o r i z e d i tems by the judges i s summarized \"in Table 1 . Table 1 Agreement of Judges re Category of Items Items (n=46) Judges (n=5) 6 5 12 4 13 3 15 2 T o t a l 46 The : data show- that a l l of the judges agreed on the same c a t e -gory f o r s i x i t e m s , four agreed on c a t e g o r i e s f o r 12 i tems and so o n . There appeared to be much ambigui ty and l i t t l e agreement about the r e l a t i o n s h i p of i tems to c a t e g o r i e s at t h i s p o i n t . Part -Two -I t was dec ided to do a second c a r d - s o r t i n g procedure h a v i n g improved the wording of the i tems and c l a r i f i e d the d e f i n i t i o n of the c a t e g o r i e s E i g h t judges were s e l e c t e d to p a r t i c i p a t e i n t h i s par t of the s tudy . None had p a r t i c i p a t e d i n the f i r s t p a r t . A l l were r e s i d e n t s i n the Lower M a i n l a n d . Four d i f f e r e n t c r i s i s c e n t r e s were represented i n t h i s c a r d - s o r t i n g p r o c e s s . F i v e judges were from one c r i s i s cen t re and one from each of the o ther three cent res , one b e i n g a c r i s i s cen t re i n V i c t o r i a , B .C. Three people were f u l l - t i m e s t a f f and a l l had done many phone s h i f t s as s t a f f or 38 v o l u n t e e r s . A l l had a t t a i n e d u n i v e r s i t y l e v e l e d u c a t i o n . Over a p e r i o d of approx imate ly one week, judges were asked independent ly to so r t the i t e m s . W r i t t e n i n s t r u c t i o n s were p resented . (See Appendix A ) . The s c a l e s were named and d e s c r i b e d s p e c i f i c a l l y i n b r i e f paragraphs. (See Appendix B ) . The r e s u l t s of t h i s card s o r t i n d i c a t e d c c o n s i d e r a b l y more c o n s i s t e n c y than Par t One. Table 2 Agreement of Judges re Category of Items Items (n=48) Judges (n=8) 14 8 11 7 -8 -6 6 5 9 4 or fewer T o t a l 48 There was agreement among s i x of the e i g h t judges about 33 of 48 i tems (697o) . However, there were s e v e r a l i tems which remained ambiguous. A l t e r n a t i v e methods of d e a l i n g w i t h these i tems i n c l u d e d rewording them, d e l e t i n g them or s imply l e a v i n g them as they were, sub ject to f u r t h e r i n v e s t i g a t i o n i n the second phase of the p i l o t s tudy . A M i t e m s - i n . o r i g i n a l or improved form were .kept . \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 At t h i s p o i n t the i tem p o o l c o n s i s t e d of subsca les as f o l l o w s : Sca le A Doing S h i f t s ',. 10 i tems Sca le B The Community - 3 i tems Sca le C P e r s o n a l Change 12 i tems Sca le D General Impress ion 9 i tems Sca le E The S t a f f 10 i tems Sca le F Other Vo lun teers 4 i tems T o t a l 48 i tems I t was dec ided to i n c r e a s e the i tems i n Sca le F by c o n s t r u c t i n g them as necessary and v a l i d a t i n g them i n the p i l o t p r o j e c t . Sca le B was 39 not s t rong c o n c e p t u a l l y but i t was thought that i n f o r m a t i o n from these i tems would prove i n t e r e s t i n g and i t was dec ided to leave i t as i t was. Th is was the response form used i n the p i l o t p r o j e c t . PHASE TWO-PILOT PROJECT. The p o p u l a t i o n f o r the p i l o t p r o j e c t c o n s i s t e d of a l l o f the v o l u n t e e r s p r e s e n t l y a c t i v e as w e l l as those who had become i n a c t i v e w i t h i n the two years immediately p r i o r to s e l e c t i o n o f the sample. A l l o f these v o l u n t e e r s were from one c r i s i s cen t re i n the Lower M a i n l a n d . The i n a c t i v e and a c t i v e v o l u n t e e r s were separated and twenty were s e l e c t e d at random from each . To i n c r e a s e the response r a t e , the f o l l o w i n g steps were taken : a . A stamped, s e l f - a d d r e s s e d envelope was i n c l u d e d w i t h the q u e s t i o n n a i r e . b. M u l t i - c o l o r e d , low-denominat ion stamps were used on the enc losed and o u t s i d e enve lopes . Warwick and L i n i n g e r (1975) suggested that t h i s method i n c r e a s e d r a t e of response. c . A l l addresses were h a n d w r i t t e n . I t was hoped to i n c r e a s e the i m p r e s s i o n t h a t a p e r s o n a l appeal was be ing made. d . A date f o r suggested r e t u r n of the q u e s t i o n n a i r e was i n c l u d e d (Warwick &\u00C2\u00BB i i n i n g e r , 1 9 7 5 ) . e. White paper was chosenfor the q u e s t i o n n a i r e on the b a s i s of p r a c t i c a l i t y (Oppenheim,1966; Warwick & L i n i n g e r , 1975) . f . No names were requested thereby p r e s e r v i n g anonymity and c o n f i d e n t i a l i t y . g . The p r o j e c t was sponsored by an o r g a n i z a t i o n w i t h which the v o l u n t e e r s were assumed -to have b.een f a m i l i a r . To assure t h i s 40 the purpose of the o r g a n i z a t i o n was e x p l a i n e d . In a c o v e r i n g l e t t e r from the J o i n t Committee of C r i s i s S e r v i c e s ( J . C . C . S , ) , the purpose of the p r o j e c t was e x p l a i n e d , anonymity of response assured and the importance of each i n d i v i d u a l ' s p a r t i c i p a t i o n was emphasized. L e t t e r h e a d from the J . C . C . S . was used and the c o v e r i n g l e t t e r was s igned \"The Research Commit tee - \" (See Appendix D) . h . Reminder postcards , were sent t o - a l l respondents r e q u e s t i n g tha t r they :complete and m a i l - t h e q u e s t i o n n a i r e . These pos tcards were sent \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 a t * t h e ' f i r s t t ime - t h e - d a i l y response r a t e d e c l i n e d . (See Appendix E ) . i . Ques t ionna i res were re turned to the c r i s i s cent re at which the v o l u n t e e r s were p r e s e n t l y or had been a c t i v e . (The same address was used i n the f i n a l s tudy^as had been u s e d l i n - t h e p i l o t , s t u d y ) . A t a b l e which summarizes the response f o r the p i l o t p r o j e c t f o l l o w s . Table 3 P i l o t P r o j e c t Response Ques t ionna i res Number T o t a l M a i l e d 40 Returned: Moved 6 Completed and Received 22 Analyzed 20* *Two q u e s t i o n n a i r e s were re tu rned a f t e r data had been a n a l y z e d . These f i g u r e s r e f l e c t a response r a t e of 657c. by v o l u n t e e r s who r e c e i v e d the q u e s t i o n n a i r e . Th is i s the same reponse r a t e achieved i n the f i n a l s tudy . A summary of the demographic c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of the p i l o t sample i s p rov ided i n Table 4 . 41 Table 4 Demographic R e s u l t s : P i l o t Study Category Number Age 26-35 S i n g l e Some U n i v e r s i t y Employed A c t i v e Vo lun teers I n a c t i v e V o l u n t e e r s Women Men 11 9 12 10 11 15 12 8 The responses to the a t t i t u d e i tems were i tem analyzed to examine the ex tent of i n t e r n a l c o n s i s t e n c y w i t h i n the s i x subsca les as suggested by the i t e m - s o r t i n g procedure . The computer program used was the Laborato ry of Educat ion Research Test A n a l y s i s Package (LERTAP). A t the i tem l e v e l the p r o p o t i o n of respondents f o r each o p t i o n i s computed. The mean, s tandard d e v i a t i o n and c o r r e l a t i o n between s c a l e and the t o t a l t e s t score are a l s o computed. F i n a l l y a measure of i n t e r n a l c o n s i s t e n c y i s computed f o r each s c a l e u s i n g H o y t ' s A n a l y s i s of V a r i a n c e procedure . R e s u l t s of A n a l y s i s : The r e s u l t s a re presented f i r s t a t the i tem l e v e l of the s i x s u b s c a l e s . Th is i s f o l l o w e d by a summary of the t o t a l t e s t r e s u l t s . A summary of r e s u l t s of i tem/subsca le c o r r e l a t i o n s i s presented i n Table 5 . 42 Table 5 Item A n a l y s i s : D i r e c t i o n of I tem-Subsca le C o r r e l a t i o n Subscale P o s i t i v e Negat i ve A. B. C. D. E. F. Doing S h i f t s The Community P e r s o n a l Change Genera l Impress ion The S t a f f Other V o l u n t e e r s 8 2 9 6 9 7 2 1 2 2 1 0 I n s p e c t i o n of the i tem/subsca le c o r r e l a t i o n s r e v e a l e d that there were one or two i tems i n each s c a l e which i n d i c a t e d a l a c k of c o n s i s t e n c y i n the way v o l u n t e e r s responded to those i tems compared to the way i n which they responded to other i t e m s . Th is c o u l d be caused by a number of f a c t o r s i n c l u d i n g w o r d i n g , c o n t e n t , number of respondents , unknown b i a s w i t h i n the sample, t o t a l number of i tems w i t h i n the subsca les as w e l l as i n t r u s i v e i n c o n s i s t e n c y w i t h i n the conceptua l m a t e r i a l . In c o n s t r u c t i n g an i n s t r u m e n t , these i tems would , under o ther c i rcumstances be d i s g a r d e d . In the p resent s t u d y , i t was dec ided t h a t the i tems i n q u e s t i o n were too p e r t i n e n t to the study as a whole , p o t e n t i a l l y p r o v i d i n g v a l u a b l e i n f o r m a t i o n to drop them. 43 Table 6 Means, Standard D e v i a t i o n s , R e l i a b i l i t y Es t imates A t t i t u d e Subscales c \u00E2\u0080\u009E i , o ^ i o No. of - Standard Hoyt Es t imate Subscales T J_ Mean. ^ . . , / \u00E2\u0080\u009E , . . , Items D e v i a t i o n of R e l i a b i l i f r A Doing S h i f t s 10 34.30 5 .83 .33 B The Community 3 11.55 2.76 .33 D P e r s o n a l Change 12 46.40 5.95 .52 D Genera l Impress ion 8 33.90 3 .73 .27 E The -S t a f f 10 29.85 7.56 .57 F Other V o l u n t e e r s 7 22.10 5.98 .69 T o t a l Test 50 178.10 17.96 .70 Table 6 c o n t a i n s a summary of means, s tandard d e v i a t i o n s and r e l i a b i l i t y es t imates of the a t t i t u d e s u b s c a l e s . In i n t e r p r e t i n g the r e l i a b i l i t y c o e f f i c i e n t , . i t i s impor tant to cons ide r s e v e r a l f a c t o r s i n c l u d i n g the purpose of the t e s t , r e p r e s e n a t i v e s i z e and t e s t l e n g t h . Th is q u e s t i o n n a i r e r e p r e s e n t s i n i t i a l s teps toward c o n s t r u c t i n g an ins t rument to examine the exper ience of b e i n g a c r i s i s c e n t r e v o l u n t e e r . As such i t r e q u i r e s c o n s i d e r a b l y more t e s t i n g , r e v i s i o n and a g rea te r number of s u b j e c t s to develop and e s t a b l i s h h i g h l e v e l s of r e l i a b i l i t y and v a l i d i t y . I t was dec ided to proceed w i t h the study on the b a s i s of the r e s u l t s of the p i l o t p r o j e c t and to con t inue the development of the ins t rument by f u r t h e r t e s t i n g f o r r e l i a b i l i t y and v a l i d i t y . 44 DESCRIPTION OF THE FINAL QUESTIONNAIRE The q u e s t i o n n a i r e was composed of f o u r s e c t i o n s (See Appendix c ) : S e c t i o n A : T h i s s e c t i o n conta ined p r e l i m i n a r y i n s t r u c t i o n s and requested demographic data such as gender, age, m a r i t a l s t a t u s , c h i l d r e n as dependents, l e v e l of e d u c a t i o n , occupat ion and w o r k i n g . Th is i n f o r m a t i o n was f o r use i n d e s c r i p t i o n of the sample and i n the a n a l y s i s of the d a t a . S e c t i o n B: Th is s e c t i o n c o n s i s t e d of i tems about the exper ience of be ing a c r i s i s cen t re v o l u n t e e r i n terms of p e r s o n a l and program v a r i a b l e s . The f i n a l number of i tems per s c a l e i n the q u e s t i o n n a i r e used i n the pr imary study were as f o l l o w s : S c a l e A Doing S h i f t s 10 i tems S c a l e B The Community 2 i tems Sca le C P e r s o n a l Change 13 i tems Sca le D Genera l Impress ion 7 i tems S c a l e E The S t a f f 10 i tems S c a l e F Other V o l u n t e e r s 7 i tems T o t a l 49 i tems I n i t i a l l y the p o l e s of the s c a l e were des ignated \" p o s i t i v e \" and \" n e g a t i v e \" s i n c e i t was f e l t these terms were s p e c i f i c ye t g e n e r a l enough to a l l o w p r o j e c t i o n i n terms of p e r s o n a l unders tanding of each respondent . There was a l s o a \"not a p p l i c a b l e \" category on the p i l o t p r o j e c t form of the q u e s t i o n n a i r e . The \" p o s i t i v e - n e g a t i v e \" te rmino logy was found to be ambiguous by respondents i n the p i l o t q u e s t i o n n a i r e . Consequently the i n s t r u -ment used i n the f i n a l study was m o d i f i e d so t h a t v o l u n t e e r s were asked to r a t e the exper ience i n terms of the ex tent to which they agreed or d i sagreed u s i n g a f i v e - p o i n t s c a l e : 45 5 = agree s t r o n g l y 4 = agree moderate ly 3 = n e i t h e r agree nor d i s a g r e e 2 = d i s a g r e e moderate ly 1 = d i s a g r e e s t r o n g l y An example of an i tem as i t appears i n the q u e s t i o n n a i r e i s 1 8 . I f i n d I am b e t t e r ab le to cope w i t h 5 4 3 2 1 c r i s e s i n my own l i f e as a r e s u l t of b e i n g a c r i s i s cen t re v o l u n t e e r A respondent would be asked to r a t e the exper ience by i n d i c a t i n g t h e i r a t t i t u d e on the s c a l e . Sca le C: Th is s e c t i o n i n i t i a l l y d e a l t w i t h types of problems c i t e d by c a l l e r s . V o l u n t e e r s were asked to rank those about which they f e l t most p o s i t i v e and n e g a t i v e . The f i n a l ins t rument d i v i d e d t h i s s e c t i o n i n t o two p a r t s . The f i r s t asked v o l u n t e e r s to r a t e how they f e l t about the types of c a l l e r s and the second p a r t asked the v o l u n t e e r to r a t e how e f f e c t i v e they f e l t they were i n d e a l i n g w i t h a c a l l e r who had presented a s p e c i f i c problem. S e c t i o n D: Th is s e c t i o n of the q u e s t i o n n a i r e requested i n f o r m a t i o n about mot ives f o r v o l u n t e e r i n g and f o r becoming i n a c t i v e . Both p a r t s i n c l u d e d space f o r n o t i n g o p t i o n s not l i s t e d . Vo lun teers were asked f o r the date they r e c e i v e d t r a i n i n g , the date they became i n a c t i v e and whether they were i n v o l v e d i n any o ther v o l u n t e e r work. On the f i n a l i n s t r u m e n t , v o l u n t e e r s were asked about p r e v i o u s t r a i n i n g or exper ience b e f o r e becoming a v o l u n t e e r . The v o l u n t e e r s were asked to r a t e themselves about t h e i r l e v e l of commitment as r e f l e c t e d by the average number of s h i f t s they d i d each month. The q u e s t i o n n a i r e used i n the p i l o t study was p r i n t e d on two s i d e s ,. 46 PRIMARY STUDY Th is p a r t of the methodology w i l l d e s c r i b e the p o p u l a t i o n s t u d i e d , procedure f o r c o l l e c t i n g d a t a , s t a t i s t i c a l a n a l y s i s and a r a t i o n a l e f o r tha t a n a l y s i s . The p o p u l a t i o n c o n s i s t e d of v o l u n t e e r s i n the Lower M a i n -land as d e f i n e d by v o l u n t e e r r o s t e r s of a c t i v e and i n a c t i v e phone v o l u n t e e r s from f i v e c r i s i s c e n t r e s . A complete d e s c r i p t i o n of the f i v e p a r t i c i p a t i n g cen t res was presented i n Chapter I. V o l u n -teers who had p a r t i c i p a t e d i n the p i l o t p r o j e c t were not i n c l u d e d i n the pr imary s tudy . A v o l u n t e e r was d e f i n e d as an i n d i v i d u a l who had been t r a i n e d and who had worked a t a c r i s i s cen t re f o r a t l e a s t two months doing not l e s s than e i g h t hours of v o l u n t e e r work per month. A t e m p o r a r i l y or permanently i n a c t i v e v o l u n t e e r was d e f i n e d as a member of tha t category by s e l f - d e f i n i t i o n . The anonymity of the q u e s t i o n n a i r e made i t i m p o s s i b l e to determine t h i s s t a t u s any other way. I t i s c o n c e i v a b l e tha t s t a f f and a v o l u n t e e r cou ld d i s a g r e e on tha t v o l u n t e e r ' s s t a t u s . V o l u n t e e r s cou ld d e f i n e themselves as a c t i v e and not have done a s h i f t w i t h i n s i x weeks. In one c r i s i s cent re a t l e a s t , t h i s would a u t o m a t i c a l l y d e f i n e them as i n a c t i v e . Us ing the same procedure d e s c r i b e d i n the p i l o t p r o j e c t f o r the d i s t r i b u t i o n of the q u e s t i o n n a i r e , i t was m a i l e d to a l l v o l u n t e e r s p r e s e n t l y a c t i v e i n the f i v e c r i s i s c e n t r e s . I t was sent to a l l v o l u n t e e r s who had become i n a c t i v e w i t h i n the two years immediate ly p r i o r to the m a i l i n g as w e l l . An inconsp icuous coding technique was used to d i f f e r e n t i a t e r e s -sponses from each c r i s i s c e n t r e . Th is c o n s i s t e d of changing the requested date f o r r e t u r n of the q u e s t i o n n a i r e f o r each of the f i v e c r i s i s c e n t r e s . 47 STATISTICAL ANALYSIS The s t a t i s t i c a l ana lyses took p l a c e i n three p a r t s . The f i r s t was an i tem a n a l y s i s , the second p a r t d e a l t w i t h demographic data and the t h i r d p a r t was an^'-analysis of the d i f f e r e n c e s among c r i s i s cent res ;.and l e v e l s of a c t i v i t y . When the r e t u r n of the q u e s t i o n n a i r e s appeared to be complete , the demographic i n f o r m a t i o n on them was coded and key punched w i t h one hundred percent v e r i f i c a t i o n . For the B and C S e c t i o n of the q u e s t i o n n a i r e , m i s s i n g data were changed to \" 3 \" f o r the purposes of a n a l y s i s . I t was assumed that an i tem r e c e i v e d no response because the respondent f e l t i t was \"not a p p l i c a b l e \" ; and t h e r e f o r e , the i t e m cou ld be cons idered \" n e i t h e r agree nor d i s a g r e e . \" Other reasons a v o l u n t e e r might omit an i tem were \" v i o l a t i o n of p r i v a c y \" a n d \" i t never happened to m e . \" For the purposes of a n a l y s i s , the temporary and permanently i n a c t i v e v o l u n t e e r s were cons idered a s i n g l e . g r o u p . C r i s i s ' c e n t r e s t a f f e x p l a i n e d t h a t t e m p o r a r i l y i n a c t i v e v o l u n t e e r s r a r e l y became a c t i v e f o r longer than a month or so i f they ever d i d r e t u r n . There were , of course , except ions to t h i s g e n e r a l i z a t i o n . I n d i v i d u a l s who d e c l a r e d themselves t e m p o r a r i l y i n a c t i v e may have done so because they found i t d i f f i c u l t to separate from the community a t the c r i s i s c e n t r e . These v o l u n t e e r s may have become t e m p o r a r i l y i n a c t i v e f o r reasons such as b u r n - o u t r a t h e r than the s t a t e d mot ives to the s t a f f . Such a r a t i o n a l i z a t i o n as the f o l l o w i n g may have been o f f e r e d : \" I ' v e changed jobs and I want to get s e t t l e d i n , I ' l l r e t u r n i n s i x w e e k s . \" Th is v o l u n t e e r may have f e l t tha t a s h o r t p e r i o d away from the c r i s i s l i n e s would permit them to r e c o n s t i t u t e t h e i r 48 emotional energy only to find that they had not done so when they returned to the active l i s t . It was therefore decided to include data from the temporarily inactive with the permanently inactive volunteers in this study. Item Analysis The description of the. experience of volunteering was elic i t e d in terms of a five-point Likert Scale. There were approximately equal numbers of positive and negative items. An item was negative i f agreeing with i t was considered to reflect an unfavorable attitude. Weightings in negative items were reversed for the purposes of scoring. The same alternatives for response were used in a l l items. As in the pi l o t study, an item analysis, was performed for each subscale. Subscale membership was defined by the modified latent partition analysis reported earlier. The Hoyt Estimate of Reliability increased for a l l six subscales and the Standard Error of Measurement decreased. See Table 7. Table 7 Means, Standard Deviations and Relia b i l i t y Estimates Attitude Subscales C , T No. of Standard Hoyt Estimate Subscale _ Mean v : ; v*.. , Items Deviation of Reliability A. Doing Shifts 10 35.03 4.73 .48 B. The Community 2 8.08 1.45 .39 C. Personal Change 13 52.70 6.90 .79 D. General Impression 7 29.13 3.50 .59 E. The Staff 10 37.59 5.24 .65 F. Other Volunteers 7 25.69 3.92 .59 Total Test 49 188.22 18.25 .86 49 Demographic A n a l y s i s To g a i n a d e s c r i p t i o n of the demographic c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , s imple f requency counts were made and percentages were computed. These data were ana lyze by c e n t r e . No t e s t s of s i g n i f i c a n c e ( c h i squares) were performed s i n c e many of the c e l l s were empty. The i n t e n t was to p rov ide n o t h i n g more than a d e s c r i p t i o n of the sample. M u l t i v a r i a t e A n a l y s i s A 5 x 2 ( cent re by l e v e l of a c t i v i t y ) m u l t i v a r i a t e a n a l y s i s of v a r i a n c e (MANOVA) employing W i l k s ' l i k e l i h o o d r a t i o c r i t e r i o n was used to ana lyze the a t t i t u d i n a l subscales , . I f , as a r e s u l t of the m u l t i v a r i a t e g l o b a l t e s t , the n u l l hypothes is of no d i f f e r e n c e s among groups was r e j e c t e d , the u n i v a r i a t e F - s t a t i s t i c s cor respond ing to each a t t i t u d e subsca le were t e s t e d i n d i v i d u a l l y and S c h e f f e ' s m u l t i p l e comparison procedure a p p l i e d where a p p r o p r i a t e ( F i n n , 1 9 7 4 ; Hummel & S l i g o , 1971) . The data used i n the a n a l y s i s were the r e s u l t s of the LERTAP a n a l y s i s f o r subsca les A - F . S i n c e the c e l l s i z e s were not e q u a l , b o t h the m u l t i v a r i a t e and u n i v a r i a t e t e s t s of s i g n i f i c a n c e were s u b j e c t to the o r d e r i n g of the independent v a r i a b l e s . An exper imenta l d e s i g n approach (Woodward & O v e r a l l , 1975) was adopted i n which cent re entered f i r s t f o l l o w e d by l e v e l of a c t i v i t y and t h e i r i n t e r a c t i o n . Thus the e f f e c t s a t t r i b u t a b l e to d i f f e r e n t cen t res and l e v e l of a c t i v i t y were ad jus ted f o r the presence of each o ther w h i l e the i n t e r a c t i o n e f f e c t w a s . a d j u s t e d f o r both main e f f e c t s . 50 CHAPTER IV RESULTS The f i r s t purpose of the study was to d e s c r i b e v o l u n t e e r s a t c r i s i s cen t res i n the Lower Main land i n terms of demographic c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , p rev ious t r a i n i n g and exper ience i n h e l p i n g and mot ives f o r v o l u n t e e r i n g and f o r becoming i n a c t i v e . Th is chapter w i l l p resent data obta ined from a q u e s t i o n n a i r e about these aspec ts of the v o l u n t e e r e x p e r i e n c e . The second purpose was to examine d i f f e r e n c e s i n the way v o l u n t e e r s from the v a r i o u s c r i s i s cent res responded to statements d e s c r i b i n g t h e i r exper ience as v o l u n t e e r s . These statements were grouped i n t o subsca les concerned w i t h the v a r i o u s aspects of the exper ience . These i n c l u d e d A. Doing S h i f t s , B. The Community, C. P e r s o n a l Change, D. Genera l Impress ion , E. The S t a f f and F. Other V o l u n t e e r s . The a t t i t u d e of the v o l u n t e e r toward hand -l i n g v a r i o u s problems presented by the c a l l e r s was a l s o examined. To t e s t hypotheses of d i f f e r e n c e s among v o l u n t e e r s from f i v e c r i s i s cen t res i n the Lower M a i n l a n d , a 5 x 2 m u l t i v a r i a t e a n a l y s i s was performed on a l l the above subsca les of the q u e s t i o n n a i r e . The r e s u l t s of t h i s ana lyses employed f o r the above purposes a re presented i n t h i s c h a p t e r . RESPONSE EXPERIENCE The f i n a l percentage of q u e s t i o n n a i r e s r e t u r n e d was w e l l i n excess of the minimum 50% suggested by Longworth (1953, p.310). The range of the f i v e p a r t i c i p a t i n g c r i s i s cen t res was 49% - 75% w i t h a X = 65%. Roeher (1963) suggested t h a t respondents ' i n t e r e s t i n the s u b j e c t c o r r e l a t e s p o s i t i v e l y w i t h degree of response as 51 does a r u r a l r e s i d e n c e background and i n c r e a s e d e d u c a t i o n . Table Table 8 conf i rms the r u r a l r e s i d e n c e c o r r e l a t i o n i n t h a t Centre #2 w i t h the h i g h e s t response r a t e i s the most r u r a l of the c e n t r e s p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n the s tudy . Table 8 Response to Ques t ionna i re M a i l i n g by C r i s i s Centre C r i s i s Number I n c o r r e c t Incomplete . ., .. AH3.J.'VZ6Q , Centre M a i l e d Address Q u e s t i o n n a i r e 1 70 3 4 44 2 52 1 5 32 3 82 12 1 37 4 41 4 12 20 5 178 12 2 106 T o t a l 423 32 17 239 Q u e s t i o n n a i r e s were omit ted from data a n a l y s i s i f they were incomplete i n the f o l l o w i n g r e s p e c t s : no demographic d a t a , respondent not aware t h a t q u e s t i o n n a i r e s were p r i n t e d on both s i d e s of the page, i n f o r m a t i o n necessary to the a n a l y s i s such as l e v e l of a c t i v i t y was o m i t t e d . There were 17 such q u e s t i o n n a i r e s . DEMOGRAPHIC RESULTS The demographic r e s u l t s i n c l u d e i n f o r m a t i o n about the p r o p o r t i o n a l r e l a t i o n s h i p among c r i s i s cen t res of men and women, ages , m a r i t a l s t a t u s , c h i l d r e n , educat ion and o c c u p a t i o n . R e s u l t s a re presented i n Table 9 and F i g u r e I. 52 F i g u r e 1 Percentages of Ages of V o l u n t e e r s by C r i s i s Centre 2 , 3 4 5 20 H 15 -I 10' 5 18-21 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 4 5 20 15' 10' 5 22-24 25-27 28-30 31-33 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2Jtl '2 3 4 5 4 5 10 5 H 48-48 4 9 - 5 1 52-54 55-66 53 Table 9 Demographic Data Gender M a r i t a l S ta tus Centre 7o Female 7, Male 7\u00C2\u00B0 Alone or 7, M a r r i e d Independent ly \"Other\" 1 7 7 . 3 22.7 52. .3 47.7 2 68.8 31 .3 40. .6 62 .5 3 73 .0 2 7 . 0 35. .1 64 .4 4 70 .0 30 .0 40. ,0 6 0 . 0 5, 61 .3 38.7 34. ,0 66 .0 j Having no C h i l d r e n U n s a l a r i e d Centre % % 1 54 .5 34. 1 2 50 .0 50. 0 3 64.9 35. 1 4 45 .0 35. 0 5 73.6 23 . 3 E d u c a t i o n Major -Centre 7o S o c i a l Sc iences 7o A r t s 1 36 .4 6 .8 2 15 .6 12.5 3 27 . 0 10 .8 4 30 .0 5 31 . 1 15 .1 n=239 Table 9 - c o n ' t Level - ' of E d u c a t i o n Demographic Data^ Centre Some High School T e c h n i c a l Community Some F i r s t Advanced Other High School Graduate School C o l l e g e U n i v e r s i t y Degree Degree Degree 1 4.57. 2 2 . 5 7 , 4.57o 13.67o 20.57> 22.TL 9.17o 4.57\u00C2\u00BB 2 1 5 . 6 3 7 . 5 1 2 . 5 6.3 2 5 . 0 3 . 1 3 5.4 1 3 . 5 8 . 1 1 3 . 5 3 7 . 8 1 8 . 9 2.7 4 5 . 0 2 5 . 0 1 0 . 0 3 0 . 0 2 0 . 0 1 0 . 0 5 2 . 8 1 2 . 3 3 . 8 1 2 . 3 2 7 . 4 2 5 . 5 1 0 . 4 3 . 8 Occupat ion Centre H e l p i n g House Students M e d i c a l Bus iness O f f i c e Teaching T e c h n i c a l Laborer w i f e Sa les 1 2 0 . 57o 15.97o 6.87o 1 3 . 6 % 9 . 1 % 13.67o 9. . 1 % 2. . 3 % 4 . 5 % 2 9.4 2 1 . 9 3 . 1 9.4 1 5 . 1 6.3 3. ,1 1 2 , .5 9.4 3 5.4 8 . 1 2 4 . 3 5.4 1 3 . 5 1 8 . 9 2. .7 5, .4 8 . 1 4 1 5 . 0 5 . 0 1 5 . 0 5 . 0 1 0 . 0 2 5 . 0 \u00E2\u0080\u0094 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2- 1 0 , .0 5 . 0 5 1 7 . 0 3.8 1 9 . 8 6.6 1 0 . 4 1 6 . 0 6, .6 9, .4 1.9 55 Gender A l l cent res have predominant ly women v o l u n t e e r s . Among the f i v e c e n t r e s , the range was 6 1 . 3 % - 7 7 . 3 % , the average b e i n g 70% women. Among the respondents , Centre #1 had the g r e a t e s t number of women compared to men (77.3%) , a f a c t t h a t d i d not go u n n o t i c e d by one of t h e i r v o l u n t e e r s who noted i n the q u e s t i o n n a i r e , \"we need more men!\" Age The range of age among v o l u n t e e r s was 18-66 y e a r s . The mean age of a l l v o l u n t e e r s i n the Lower Main land was 31.78 y e a r s . The p r o p o r i t i o n of v o l u n t e e r s between 20-35 years was 63%. In comparing cen t res i t w i l l be noted tha t Centre #2 had more younger v o l u n t e e r s . N ine ty percent of them were l e s s than 35 y e a r s . Centre #3 had more o l d e r v o l u n t e e r s , 37.9% are o l d e r than 37 years compared to 19.9% of the v o l u n t e e r s i n Centre #5 and 10% i n Centre #4. M a r i t a l S ta tus Centres ranged from 47.7% to 66% of t h e i r v o l u n t e e r s s t a t i n g they a re s i n g l e , widowed, separated or d i v o r c e d . Most of these c a t e g o r i e s imply tha t v o l u n t e e r s may be l i v i n g a lone or perhaps w i t h dependents. One c r i s i s c e n t r e , #1, had respondents r e p o r t a m a j o r i t y of mar r ied or \"o ther a r rangements . \" Number of C h i l d r e n \"No C h i l d r e n \" was r e p o r t e d by 63.2% of the v o l u n t e e r s respond ing . For those w i t h c h i l d r e n , the number of c h i l d r e n ranged from one to s i x w i t h 34 v o l u n t e e r s from a l l cen t res r e p o r t i n g one c h i l d and 32 r e p o r t i n g two. There was l i t t l e d i f f e r e n c e among c r i s i s c e n t r e s . 5 6 L e v e l of Educat ion and Educat ion Major Nine c a t e g o r i e s were a v a i l a b l e to v o l u n t e e r s rang ing from \"no formal educat ion\" to\"advanced and o ther degree - \" No one recorded \"no formal e d u c a t i o n \" and one person recorded \"e lementary schoo l o n l y . \" Of the v o l u n t e e r s r e p o r t i n g , 7 5 . 4 7 , cont inued e d u c a t i o n beyond h i g h schoo l g r a d u a t i o n . In one c e n t r e , # 5 , 3 9 . 7 7 . o f the v o l u n t e e r s responding repor ted at l e a s t one u n i v e r s i t y degree completed. Centre #2 respondents r e p o r t e d 5 3 . 1 7 , o f t h e i r v o l u n -t e e r s had r e c e i v e d educat ion to the l e v e l of h i g h schoo l g raduat ion or l e s s . S l i g h t l y fewer than o n e - t h i r d of the v o l u n t e e r s from four c e n t r e s recorded s o c i a l s c i e n c e s as t h e i r educat ion major . Of the sample, 37.77o d i d not record a major sub ject a r e a . Occupat ion Approx imate ly t w o - t h i r d s of the v o l u n t e e r s i n the Lower M a i n -land are working at f u l l or p a r t - t i m e j o b s . V o l u n t e e r s who l i s t e d themselves as housewives or mothers i n d i c a t e d they were unemployed. A l l c e n t r e s show a s i m i l a r p r o f i l e . The \" h e l p i n g \" category i n c l u d e s a l l those who have des ignated themselves c o u n s e l o r s , f i n a n c i a l a i d workers , c h i l d care workers , s o c i a l workers , home-makers, and mental h e a l t h workers . Cent res d i f f e r i n which o c c u p a t i o n i s l i s t e d by most r e s p o n -dents as f o l l o w s : Centre # l : h e l p i n g ; Centre #2 : m o t h e r s or house -w i v e s ; Centre #3:and Centre # 5 : s t u d e n t s ; Centre # 4 : o f f i c e workers . Centres d i f f e r e d i n which occupat ion i s l i s t e d by most r e s p o n -dents as f o l l o w s : Centre .#1: H e l p i n g ; - C e n t r e #2:. mothers or house -wives ^ -Cent re #3 and Centre # 5 : s t u d e n t s ; Centre #4: o f f i c e w o r k e r s . Students and o f f i c e workers each made up 1 5 . 5 % of the o v e r a l l r e s u l t s . These c a t e g o r i e s were f o l l o w e d by \" h e l p i n g \" which was chosen by 1 4 . 6 % . 57 NON-DEMOGRAPHIC DESCRIPTIVE DATA Th is s e c t i o n p o r t r a y s r e s u l t s of the q u e s t i o n n a i r e concern ing l e v e l of a c t i v i t y , p rev ious t r a i n i n g , exper ience and mot ives f o r becoming a v o l u n t e e r . Table 10 L e v e l of A c t i v i t y . ^ . Temporar i l y Permanently Centre A c t i v e T *\ . y T I n a c t i v e I n a c t i v e 1 25% 27% 14% 2 63 3 28 3 54 27 19 4 55 15 30 5 55 20 25 L e v e l s of A c t i v i t y Table 10 i n d i c a t e s t h a t more a c t i v e than i n a c t i v e v o l u n t e e r s responded to the q u e s t i o n n a i r e . These l e v e l s of a c t i v i t y have been e x p l a i n e d i n Chapter I I I . For the purposes of a n a l y s i s , t e m p o r a r i l y and permanently i n a c t i v e v o l u n t e e r s have been cons idered one group. P r e v i o u s T r a i n i n g and Exper ience See Table n f o r a summary of t h i s d a t a . More v o l u n t e e r s r e p o r t e d hav ing had p r e v i o u s exper ience than had p r e v i o u s t r a i n i n g . In responding to a query r e g a r d i n g e x p e r i e n c e , many v o l u n t e e r s recorded \" J u s t through p e r s o n a l exper ience w i t h f a m i l y and f r i e n d s . \" Th is was not coded as exper ience i n the d a t a . Examples of comments which were i n c l u d e d as exper ience i n c l u d e p s y c h i a t r i c n u r s i n g , c r i s i s c o u n s e l i n g i n a s i m i l a r s e t - u p i n (another c o u n t r y ) , \"belonged to a l c o h o l i c s anonymous and a l s o church work\" , \"work ing w i t h two d o c t o r s , one a n e u r o l o g i s t and the other a p s y c h i a t r i s t , \" \" c o u n s e l -58 i n g exper ience i n u n i v e r s i t y and j o b - w i s e , \" \"worked f o r C h i l d r e n ' s A i d . \" Vo lun teers who c i t e d psychology courses or o c c u p a t i o n a l t r a i n i n g , i f i t was r e l e v a n t ( e . g . p s y c h i a t r i c nurs ing ) were i n c l u d e d as hav ing p rev ious t r a i n i n g . Table 11 Exper ience and T r a i n i n g P r i o r to V o l u n t e e r i n g Centre P r e v i o u s P r e v i o u s Exper ience T r a i n i n g 1 61.4% 38.6% 2 46 .9 2 8 . 1 3 64.9 3 5 . 1 4 30 .0 20 .0 5 50 .0 3 2 . 1 Other Vo lunteer Work Table 12 c o n t a i n s a summary of data about v o l u n t e e r s doing o ther v o l u n t e e r work. Table 12 Vo lunteers Doing Other Vo lun teer Work Centre % 1 31 .8 2 1 8 . 8 3 29.7 4 30 .0 5 2 4 . 5 With the e x c e p t i o n of Centre #2, 25-30% of v o l u n t e e r s i n the sample r e p o r t e d they had o ther v o l u n t e e r commitments. Mot ives f o r V o l u n t e e r i n g See F i g u r e I I f o r a summary of mot ives f o r v o l u n t e e r i n g . 59 F i g u r e I I Mot ives f o r V o l u n t e e r i n g by C r i s i s Centre F i r s t Choice Second Choice In order to he lp o thers In order to l e a r n In order to get i n v o l v e d w i t h people Other Reasons 1 2 4 J 1 1\u00E2\u0080\u0094I I ' ' ' I I I J I I J-65 60 55 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 % 5 .10 15 20 25 30 60 The motive for volunteering reported most frequently in the present survey was \"in order to help others,\" that i s , altruism. Self interest as expressed by choosing \"in order to learn\" occurred next most frequently. Other reasons for volunteering included \"future references,\" \"to bring a caller to a more clear under-standing of him/herself,\" \"in order to love others,\" \" in order to break down to unlearn my narrow views,\" \"to help me decide whether I would be suitable for a community service career.\" There appeared to be some differences among centres in the primary motive for volunteering recorded though s t a t i s t i c a l analysis to determine whether differences were in fact significant were not undertaken. Motives for Becoming Inactive The information .about motives for becoming inactive was extremely d i f f i c u l t to - code since many volunteers chose-to write out other reasons rather than selecting one of the five reasons contained in the questionnaire which were thought to be most common. The rationale for the reasons suggested was based on literature and discussion with staff. It seems f a i r l y clear that the majority of reasons recorded for becoming temporarily or permanently inactive are personal rather than program oriented. Motives such as the following were recorded: -Time to do something else -Too much school load -My fiance forbade i t -I am active in another volunteer organization -Personal c r i s i s -I got sick and attending college and working -Needed at home -I object to have to find a replacement for my shift i t I cannot make i t because of an emergency situation.... 61 Volunteer Comments About the C r i s i s Centre When given the opportunity to do so, 61.7% of respondents added comments about changes they f e l t would improve the experience of c r i s i s centres for volunteers and/or c a l l e r s . Examples of suggestions from the questionnaire include the following: More i n s e r v i c e workshops and seminars should be provided i n order to constantly upgrade the services offered by the centre. I have found i n the past a general lack of cooperation with other f l y i n g squads. While a f l y i n g squad makes the f i n a l d ecision on a c a l l out more consideration should be given to phone volunteers from other centres. More open communication between s t a f f and volunteers.... longer and tougher t r a i n i n g programs. Concerning the survey, 51.3% added comments such as the following: An excellent survey. Hopefully t h i s w i l l help a l l c r i s i s centres work as a team rather than independently. We are a l l i n the business of helping. I f e e l t h i s survey i s very necessary. Thank you f o r asking my opinions and f e e l i n g s . Too long. Very general. SUMMARY OF DESCRIPTIVE DATA C r i s i s centres were generally s i m i l a r i n demographic character-i s t i c s . An examination of the differences to compare and contrast them indicated the following: Centre #1 reported the greatest proportion of married and \"other\" women (separated, divorced, widowed, other). I t also contained the lar g e s t proportion of \"helping\" professionals and tech n i c a l persons. I t s volunteers recorded the highest number of persons with s o c i a l sciences as major topic area. 62 Centre #2 conta ined the most housewives/mothers. I t a l s o had the youngest v o l u n t e e r s . Centre #2 had the g r e a t e s t number of v o l u n t e e r s d e s i g n a t i n g themselves unemployed and p o s s e s s i n g educat ion a t the l e v e l of h i g h s c h o o l graduate or l e s s . Centre #3 was g e n e r a l l y i n the midd le of most demographic ranges w i t h the f o l l o w i n g e x c e p t i o n s : i t recorded the l a r g e s t number of s t u d e n t s , the l a r g e s t number of v o l u n t e e r s w i t h \"some u n i v e r s i t y \" and more o l d e r v o l u n t e e r s than o ther c e n t r e s . Centre #4 l i s t e d the fewest number of v o l u n t e e r s w i t h c h i l d r e n , the h i g h e s t number of o f f i c e employees and the most v o l u n t e e r s w i t h community c o l l e g e l e v e l of e d u c a t i o n . Centre#5 recorded the h i g h e s t p r o p o r t i o n of men among respondents , the most s i n g l e ( l i v i n g a lone) v o l u n t e e r s , the g r e a t e s t number of employed people and the most v o l u n t e e r s w i t h educat ion a t u n i v e r s i t y l e v e l or beyond. I t i s important to note tha t t h i s i n f o r m a t i o n does not i n d i c a t e f o r the most p a r t , extreme d i f f e r e n c e s . An examinat ion of f i g u r e s and t a b l e s w i l l show f a i r l y narrow ranges i n most v a r i a b l e s . C r i s i s cen t res appear to have s i m i l a r p r o f i l e s w i t h the minor d i f f e r e n c e s n o t e d . RESULTS OF STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF ATTITUDE SECTION OF QUESTIONNAIRE The r e s u l t s of the s t a t i s t i c a l a n a l y s i s i n d i c a t i n g d i f f e r e n c e s among c r i s i s cen t res and between l e v e l s of a c t i v i t y as w e l l as the r e s u l t s of the examinat ion of a t t i t u d e toward c a l l e r problems f o l l o w s . 63 D i f f e r e n c e s Among Centres on Each of S i x Subscales and Between L e v e l s of A c t i v i t y The r e s u l t s of the m u l t i v a r i a t e a n a l y s i s are summarized i n Table 13 The m u l t i v a r i a t e F r a t i o s f o r l e v e l s o f a c t i v i t y (4 .95) and cen t res (2 .80) were both s i g n i f i c a n t at the .05 l e v e l . There was no s i g n i f i c a n t i n t e r a c t i o n between cent re and l e v e l of a c t i v i t y . The means and standard d e v i a t i o n s of s i x subsca les are presented i n Table 14 In each s u b s c a l e , a h i g h e r mean i n d i c a t e s a more p o s i t i v e a t t i t u d e . The r e s u l t s of the Sheffe\" t e s t of s i g n i f i c a n c e f o r cen t res revea led tha t i n a t t i t u d e toward s t a f f , v o l u n t e e r s at Centre #4 and #1 were s i g n i f i c a n t l y more p o s i t i v e i n t h e i r responses than were v o l u n t e e r s from Centre #5. The Sheffe t e s t a l s o revea led that v o l u n t e e r s from Centre #2 were more p o s i t i v e i n t h e i r a t t i t u d e toward o ther v o l u n t e e r s than were v o l u n t e e r s from Centre #5. Comparison of means and standard d e v i a t i o n s (see Table 1 5 ) revea led that a c t i v e v o l u n t e e r s were s i g n i f i c a n t l y more p o s i t i v e i n t h e i r responses to statements concern ing do ing s h i f t s ( A ) , pe rsona l change ( C ) , genera l impress ion (D) and a t t i t u d e toward o ther v o l u n t e e r s ( F ) . There was, however, no s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e between a c t i v e and i n a c t i v e v o l u n t e e r s on those subsca les d e a l i n g w i t h community (B) or s t a f f (E ) . A t t i t u d e Toward C a l l e r Problems (See Table 1 6 ) . V o l u n t e e r s were asked to r a t e how e f f e c t i v e they f e l t they were i n d e a l i n g w i t h the problems presented by c a l l e r s . For example, 207 v o l u n t e e r s ra ted themselves as f e e l i n g very or somewhat p o s i t i v e (4 or 5) about d e a l i n g w i t h c a l l e r s who s t a t e d they were l o n e l y . V o l u n t e e r s f e l t most i n e f f e c t i v e i n d e a l i n g w i t h Table 13 M u l t i v a r i a t e A n a l y s i s of Var iance M u l t i v a r i a t e U n i v a r i a t e U n i v a r i a t e F S t a t i s t i c s Source Test df F (d f ) A B C D Centres (C) A c t i v i t y (A) CXA R e s i d u a l 2 .80 (24 ,783)* 4.95 ( 6 ,224)* 1.19 (24,783) 4 4 4 .75 9 .52* 1.19 .18 1.09 2.46 10.00* 1.71 2.04 5 .13* .84 6 .46* 1.17 2 . 2 1 3 .90* 13.65* 3 .01 *p .05 65 Table 14 Subscale Means and Standard Deviations Centres Centre A B C D E F 1 X 35.2 8.1 52.24 29 .4 39.82* 26.38 S 4.06 1.43 6.37 2 .64 5.22 3.54 2 X 33.39 7.84 49.05 27, .86 38.56 26.66@ S 5.4 1.81 8.28 3, .98 5.13 2.73 3 X 35.39 7.96 53.88 29, .7 36.63 26.12 S 4.92 1.47 6.43 3, .59 5.63 4.21 4 X 35.24 8.03 54:88 29. .67 40.07+ 26.04 S 4.67 1.53 6.28 2. .99 3.94 3.66 5 X 35.02 8.15 52.63 28. .79 36.09*+ 24.61C? S 4.49 1.38 6.5 3. .6 4.77 3.75 Using Sheffe Tests of Sig ni f i c a n c e : * Volunteers from Centre #1 were more p o s i t i v e i n t h e i r responses than Volunteers from Centre #5 on Subscale E (S t a f f ) + Volunteers from Centre #4 were more p o s i t i v e i n t h e i r responses than Volunteers from Centre #5 on Subscale E (Sta f f ) @ Volunteers from Centre #2 were more p o s i t i v e i n t h e i r responses than Volunteers from Centre #5 on Subscale F (Volunteers) Table 15 Subscale Means and Standard Deviations ' Level of A c t i v i t y ' \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 '--o. Level B D E Active X S 35.82* 4.51 80.74 1.38 53.84* 5.89 29.56* 2.83 37.96 4.89 26.50* 3.82 Inactive X S 34.0 4.75 8.07 1.56 51.22 7.46 28.58 3.77 37.12 4.93 24.64 3.91 Using Sheffe Tests of Significance *Active Volunteers were s i g n i f i c a n t l y more p o s i t i v e i n t h e i r responses i n Subscales A,C,D, and F than were Inactive Volunteers. 66 drunk, a b u s i v e , masturbat ing or c h r o n i c c a l l e r s . Table 16 Responses to C a l l e r Problems Presented Problem P o s i t i v e Negat ive Lone ly 207 16 M a r i t a l 196 6 Fami ly 184 6 S u i c i d a l 176 14 Sexual 155 20 Bereaved 151 11 Drunk 30 139 Abus ive 42 122 M a s t u r b a t i n g 35 105 Chron ic or Repeat 65 98 SUMMARY This completes the p r e s e n t a t i o n of the r e s u l t s of the survey of v o l u n t e e r s , both demographica l l y and n o n - d e m o g r a p h i c a l l y . R e s u l t s of data a n a l y s i s concern ing v o l u n t e e r a t t i t u d e as r e f l e c t e d i n s i x subsca les were a l s o p r e s e n t e d . F i n a l l y , r e s u l t s of data a n a l y s i s concern ing a t t i t u d e toward p e r s o n a l e f f e c t i v e n e s s i n d e a l i n g w i t h c a l l e r s ' problems were d e l i n e a t e d . 67 CHAPTER V DISCUSSION, FUTURE RESEARCH, SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS A discussion\"of the results of the analysis summarized in the previous chapter, together with suggested explanations and implications are presented in this chapter. Several aspects of the experience of c r i s i s centre volunteers have been examined. These included demographic and non-demographic descriptive variables, and feelings and impressions volunteers had about their c r i s i s centre experience. DISCUSSION OF DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES Demographically, one is struck by similarities among the cr i s i s centres. A l l variables have f a i r l y narrow ranges and this suggests a basic similarity among c r i s i s centres. In the past, the stereotypical volunteer has been described as a \"bored, middle-aged housewife\" (Carter,1975, p.19). Carter refutes this label in her survey of Canadian volunteers as have the results of the present study. Though i t i s true that women predominate, almost one-third of the volunteers on the Lower Main-land are men. In addition, 87% of c r i s i s centre volunteers are younger than 45 years of age. Finally, a majority of volunteers appear to liv e alone. Over 60% reported that they were single, separated, divorced or widowed. Age may be an important factor in volunteer turnover. The majority of volunteers appear to be between 18-33 years. This i s a time in a person's l i f e when one is most li k e l y to attend school, begin careers and families - i t is a time of decisions and changes. Perhaps short-term commitment i s a product of these 68 f a c t o r s r a t h e r than program v a r i a b l e s . Winch (1977) i n d i c a t e d tha t there appeared to be a b i g d i f f e r e n c e i n the l e n g t h of s e r v i c e of a c t i v e v o l u n t e e r s over 30 and between 2 1 - 3 0 . He i n d i c a t e d tha t o l d e r v o l u n t e e r s seem to have a longer stay.. Winch a l s o s t a t e d t h a t other c o l l e a g u e s have found hav ing s tudents f o r v o l u n t e e r s and u s i n g the c e n t r e f o r f i e l d educat ion does not encourage long v o l u n t e e r terms. In a paper d e s c r i b i n g the Samari tan B e f r i e n d i n g Program of England, Good (1977) i n d i c a t e d l e n g t h of v o l u n t e e r s e r v i c e of one to s i x y e a r s . The study i n v o l v e d women (n=90) which ranged from 19-75 years and had an \"upward skew and a m a j o r i t y between 4 5 - 6 5 \" ( p . l ) . They were by o c c u p a t i o n , \"most ly housewives , a l though double c a t e g o r i z a t i o n was f requency as h o u s e w i f e - c l e r i c a l . \" Younger v o l u n t e e r s a re perhaps more e f f e c t i v e i n meeting the needs of Lower Main land c a l l e r s or age may have no e f f e c t , o n the exper ience of the c a l l e r . Th is i s c l e a r l y a q u e s t i o n which r e q u i r e s f u r t h e r study because i t has d e f i n i t e i m p l i c a t i o n s i n the s e l e c t i o n of v o l u n t e e r s . The l o g i c a l r e c r u i t m e n t focus would appear to be tha t segment of the p o p u l a t i o n who have more s e t t l e d l i f e s t y l e s i f age i s not an important f a c t o r f o r the c a l l e r . On the other hand, i f v o l u n t e e r s are p e r s o n a l l y b e n e f i t i n g from t h e i r exper ience i n tha t they are meeting needs to grow and change and become more r e p o n s i b l e p a r t i c i p a t i n g c i t i z e n s i n our community, perhaps t h i s should be a s t a t e d purpose of the c r i s i s c e n t r e and s teps taken w i t h awareness to accompl ish t h i s g o a l . I f t h i s were the c a s e , the v a s t turnover of v o l u n t e e r s t a f f cou ld be accepted as a n e u t r a l r a t h e r than a n e g a t i v e s i t u a t i o n . In such acceptance , there would be no need to j u s t i f y the c o n t i n u i n g 6 9 t r a i n i n g and rec ru i tment because the community as a whole would be b e n e f i t i n g from the growth achieved by v o l u n t e e r s as a r e s u l t of t h e i r exper ience . The s i m i l a r i t y of c r i s i s c e n t r e s r a i s e s ques t ions about the s t r u c t u r e of c r i s i s s e r v i c e s i n the Lower M a i n l a n d . Why have f i v e c r i s i s cen t res w i t h f i v e boards , s t a f f s , e t c . ? Could there not be a more e f f i c i e n t , perhaps more s a t i s f y i n g o p e r a t i o n by u s i n g a c e n t r a l o f f i c e w i t h branches such as i s used by the Samari tan S o c i e t y i n England? Such a s t r u c t u r e would e l i m i n a t e d u p l i c a t i o n of a d v e r t i s i n g and t r a i n i n g . I t would probably make l i t t l e d i f f e r e n c e to the c a l l e r s who use the s e r v i c e . An examinat ion o f c a l l sheets and c h r o n i c c a l l e r records would probably r e v e a l that the o r i g i n of the c a l l i s not n e c e s s a r i l y based on the p r o x i m i t y o f the c r i s i s cen t re but r a t h e r which telephone l i n e i s a v a i l a b l e . The same i s t rue of c r i s i s c e n t r e v o l u n t e e r s though to a l e s s e r e x t e n t . I t ^ w a s \" o b s e r v e d - t h a t - v o l u n t e e r s do not a l -waysi s e r v e - a t the cen t re c l o s e s t to them. The present study d i d not i n v e s t i g a t e the motives f o r s e l e c t i n g a r c r i s i s 1 c e n t r e . MOTIVATION Another concern o f the study was m o t i v a t i o n f o r v o l u n t e e r i n g and the e f f e c t that m o t i v a t i o n would have on the v o l u n t e e r ' s p e r c e p t i o n of the e x p e r i e n c e . Resn ik ( 1 9 6 8 ) suggested that v o l u n t e e r s may be mot i va ted by d e s i r e to f i n d s o l u t i o n s to pe rsona l problems. Only 1.37o o f c r i s i s c e n t r e v o l u n t e e r s s e l e c t e d t h i s as t h e i r pr imary reason f o r v o l u n t e e r i n g and 5.97, s e l e c t e d t h i s as a secondary m o t i v e . A number of v o l u n t e e r s recorded \" p e r s o n a l problems\" as a r e a s o n ; f o r becoming ! temporar i l y or permanently i n a c t i v e . As a group, v o l u n t e e r s appear to be people that t r o u b l e d 70 I n d i v i d u a l s seek o u t . Many v o l u n t e e r s noted tha t b e f o r e they v o l u n t e e r e d , people always seemed to be t e l l i n g them t h e i r problems. Perhaps some v o l u n t e e r s are mot i va ted by a need to be needed. In the p resent study, .as w e l l as the C a r t e r (1975) su rvey , the mot ives f o r occur red most f r e q u e n t l y i n combinat ion were \" i n order to he lp o t h e r s \" and \" i n order to l e a r n . \" C a r t e r observes The p o s s i b l e s p e c u l a t i o n s on why t h i s should be so a re e n d l e s s . The combinat ion of a l t r u i s m and s e l f i n t e r e s t may be taken as an i n d i c a t i o n of the h e a l t h y p s y c h o l o g i c a l s t a t e of those who v o l u n t e e r ( C a r t e r , 1975, p.27). DIFFERENCES AMONG CENTRES AND BETWEEN LEVELS OF ACTIVITY ON EACH OF SIX SUBSCALES Before examining the d i f f e r e n c e s , i t seems a p p r o p r i a t e to make a genera l statement about the o v e r a l l r e s u l t s of the a t t i t u d e s c a l e . Vo lunteers . responded very p o s i t i v e l y . They appear to be say ing y e s , t h i s i s a good e x p e r i e n c e , i t improves my s e l f - c o n c e p t , my communication s k i l l s , my t o l e r a n c e of o ther p e o p l e . I t i s b r o a d e n i n g - a unique o p p o r t u n i t y - i t means a l o t . ' A l l the subsca le means were w i t h i n 12-15 p o i n t s of the maximum p o s s i b l e 35-50 p o i n t s . The s c a l e concerned w i t h p e r s o n a l change was most p o s i t i v e . In the subsca le concerned w i t h doing s h i f t s , a lmost h a l f (48.9%) of the v o l u n t e e r s who responded s t a t e d tha t they found not hav ing f o l l o w up on c a l l e r s f r u s t r a t i n g . Having people i n the phone room was found to be d i s t r a c t i n g by 58.1% of the v o l u n t e e r s . The phone room, however, was found to be a comfor tab le environment 71 by 78.3% of those, who responded. Well over half of the respondents found there were enough calls although 27% felt that there was not enough to do on a shift. A majority (67.8%) of volunteers did not object to being alone on a shift, but almost one-third stated they did not like i t . Volunteers at a rate of 27.2% object to being asked to do extra shifts. In the subscale concerned with personal change, approximately 25% stated that taking calls is less interesting than i t was at the beginning of the experience, that they are less confident about taking calls as they do more shifts. Although no comparisons have been made with the length of time a volunteer has been active and responses to items such as the last three, such an investigation would be useful. These attitudes are similar to symptoms of burn-out described by Maslach (1977). In the subscale concerned with general impression, 32.7% of volunteers indicated that they experience of volunteering was not what they'd anticipated. However, 72.4% felt volunteering was a good way to work toward a better society and 49.8% agreed that i t was a way of repaying help received by them or someone else. In the subscale concerned with staff, 82% of volunteers were positive in their feelings about the training program. However, 28.5% felt inservice training was not sufficient, and 31.4% of them did not feel they received adequate feedback. This lack of feedback may be responsible for 68.2% denying that evaluation left them feeling badly. A large majority of volunteers feel that they have good relations with staff (94.2%) and 44.4% socialize with staff outside the crisis centre. However, 20.9% of volunteers 72 f e l t that s t a f f r e l a t i o n s w i t h s t a f f c rea ted problems i n the c r i s i s c e n t r e . In the subsca le concerned w i t h other v o l u n t e e r s , a l a r g e m a j o r i t y of v o l u n t e e r s (87.5%) r e p o r t e d g e n e r a l l y p o s i t i v e c o n t a c t w i t h other v o l u n t e e r s , however 25% i n d i c a t e d . t h a t c l i q u e s and p e r s o n a l c o n f l i c t caused problems a t c r i s i s c e n t r e s . T w e n t y - f i v e percent i n d i c a t e d t h a t they d i d s h i f t s r e g u l a r l y w i t h a few s p e c i f i c v o l u n t e e r s . There were no s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e s among c r i s i s cent res on f o u r of the s i x s u b s c a l e s . On two of the f o u r , there was r e l a t i v e l y low r e l i a b i l i t y and t h i s may account f o r no d i f f e r e n c e s . On the o ther hand, perhaps there a re i n f a c t no d i f f e r e n c e s among c r i s i s cen t res i n a l l f o u r s u b s c a l e s . On Subscale E, S t a f f , where s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e s were noted between Centre #1 and Centre #5, as w e l l as between Centres #4 and #5, there a re perhaps s t r u c t u r a l c i rcumstances which might account f o r these d i f f e r e n c e s . For example, t h i s may be due i n p a r t to the r a t i o of s t a f f , per v o l u n t e e r w i th , a lower r a t i o p r o -v i d i n g more c o n t a c t w i t h s t a f f , thereby p r o v i d i n g more o p p o r t u n i t y f o r r e l a t i o n s h i p enhancement. A t the t ime of the. su rvey , Centre #5 had f o u r f u l l - t i m e s t a f f . Two of these s t a f f were i n v o l v e d w i t h a d m i n i s t r a t i o n to a l a r g e e x t e n t . One of these i s the d i r e c t o r who would n e c e s s a r i l y be r e s p o n s i b l e f o r community r e l a t i o n s h i p s , con tac t w i t h the b o a r d , fund ing and so on . Th is cen t re repor ted 90-100 a c t i v e v o l u n t e e r s . In t h i s c r i s i s c e n t r e (#5) v o l u n t e e r s f i l l an extremely h i g h percentage of the s h i f t s , i f not a l l of them. When v o l u n t e e r s are not a v a i l a b l e , s t a f f a re expected to f i l l the 73 s h i f t s . In the s m a l l e r c e n t r e s w i t h fewer v o l u n t e e r s , s t a f f do f i l l more s h i f t s . One r e s u l t of t h i s i s more c o n t a c t w i t h v o l u n -t e e r s . The r e s u l t of s m a l l e r numbers and s t a f f being, a t the c r i s i s c e n t r e more f r e q u e n t l y i s more c o n t a c t and perhaps more o p p o r t u n i t y f o r s o c i a l i z i n g and g e t t i n g to. know v o l u n t t e r s . The s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e s noted i n Subscale F, Other V o l u n t e e r s , between Centres #2 and #5 may be the r e s u l t of a number of f a c t o r s . An examinat ion of the demographic v a r i a b l e s i n d i c a t e d tha t Centres #2 and #5 a re the most s t r o n g l y c o n t r a s t e d . Centre #2 i s r e l a t i v e l y i s o l a t e d from the o ther c r i s i s cen t res i n the study and i s most d i s t a n t from them. I t i s not a member of the JCCS. Centre #2 has always had i t s v o l u n t e e r s p a r t i c i p a t e more b r o a d l y i n a l l cent re a c t i v i t i e s . Th is c e n t r e does a l l i t s own f u n d - r a i s i n g . Vo lunteers p a r t i c i p a t e i n t h i s and i n o ther aspects of programming such as f a c e - t o - f a c e c o u n s e l i n g , v i s i t a t i o n of people w i t h s p e c i a l needs such as s e n i o r c i t i z e n s and s p e c i a l p u b l i c , r e l a t i o n s p r o j e c t s . V o l u n t e e r s i n t h i s cen t re would seem to be somewhat more dependent on one another f o r s o c i a l , c o n t a c t s than would be t r u e perhaps of a cen t re such as #5 which i s l o c a t e d i n a l a r g e m e t r o p o l i t a n c i t y . Demograph ica l l y , Centre #2 l i s t e d the most housewives/mothers. These people would have l e s s o p p o r t u n i t y to have t h e i r s o c i a l needs met elsewhere and would t h e r e f o r e be more dependent on o p p o r t u n i t i e s presented by t h e i r c r i s i s cen t re a c t i v i t i e s . U n t i l r e c e n t l y , phone v o l u n t e e r s a t Centre #5 were l i m i t e d i n o p p o r t u n i t i e s to p a r t i c i p a t e i n a s p e c t s : o f the c r i s i s c e n t r e l i f e o ther than the c r i s i s l i n e s . Phone v o l u n t e e r s d i d t h e i r s h i f t and l e f t u n t i l t h e i r next s h i f t . I t was not uncommon f o r a 74 v o l u n t e e r to spend a f o u r - h o u r s h i f t a lone u n t i l the next v o l u n t e e r a r r i v e d . R e c e n t l y , e f f o r t s have been made to encourage v o l u n t e e r s to do s h i f t s w i t h other v o l u n t e e r s and to p a r t i c i p a t e i n o ther a c t i v i t i e s i n the c e n t r e . Groups a re be ing formed to h e l p v o l u n t e e r s d e a l more e f f e c t i v e l y w i t h s p e c i f i c groups of c a l l e r s ( e . g . c h r o n i c c a l l e r s . V o l u n t e e r s who are s t i l l a c t i v e responded s i g n i f i c a n t l y more p o s i t i v e l y than d i d i n a c t i v e v o l u n t e e r s on f o u r of the s u b s c a l e s . I t i s d i f f i c u l t to o f f e r c o n c l u s i v e e x p l a n a t i o n s f o r t h i s d i f f e r e n c e . The mot ives f o r becoming a c t i v e and i n a c t i v e may be r e l a t e d . R e s u l t s of t h i s survey i n d i c a t e t h a t a t a consc ious l e v e l and/or a t a l e v e l a t which the v o l u n t e e r i s w i l l i n g to s e l f - d i s c l o s e , mot ives f o r becoming i n a c t i v e are more p e r s o n a l than p r o g r a m - o r i e n t e d . Whi le v o l u n t e e r s are hav ing t h e i r needs met, whether they a re a l t r u -i s t i c , s o c i a l or l e a r n i n g , they remain a c t i v e . When those needs are no longer be ing met, v o l u n t e e r s become i n a c t i v e . I t i s p o s s i b l e tha t t h i s behav io r i s r e l a t e d to more p o s i t i v e responses on the p a r t of a c t i v e v o l u n t e e r s . I f s o , i t would seem that i f c r i s i s cen t res w ich to have v o l u n t e e r s remain a c t i v e l o n g e r , they need to become more aware of the needs of t h e i r v o l u n t e e r s , and take more s p e c i f i c s teps to meet those needs. The l i t e r a t u r e i n d i c a t e d t h a t feedback , t r a i n i n g program and s u p e r v i s i o n are important f a c t o r s i n the v o l u n t e e r exper ience ( V i s o t s k y , 1967) . The f i n d i n g s of the present survey do not i n d i -ca te tha t they a f f e c t the l e v e l of the a c t i v i t y . There were no s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e s on the subsca le E, S t a f f which conta ined i tems r e l a t i n g to these aspects of the exper ience . The i n c l i n a t i o n 75 of v o l u n t e e r s to drop by the c r i s i s c e n t r e , to m a i n t a i n c o n t a c t w i t h i t and t h e i r r e l u c t a n c e to d e c l a r e themselves permanently i n a c t i v e may be r e l a t e d to the l a c k of s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e s on t h i s s u b s c a l e . Th is i n c l i n a t i o n , however, . cou ld be another aspect of the same behav io r r a t h e r than an e x p l a n a t i o n f o r i t . Because c r i s i s cen t res are r e l u c t a n t to see v o l u n t e e r s te rminate and w ish them to cont inue as long as p o s s i b l e j s e p a r a t i o n appears to be sometimes accompanied by g u i l t and other n e g a t i v e f e e l i n g s . I f s e p a r a t i o n were acknowledged as. a n a t u r a l , a c c e p t a b l e p a r t of the exper ience and v o l u n t e e r s were helped through i t , c r i s i s cent res would b e n e f i t themselves and the v o l u n t e e r s . S t a f f would f i n d out more about s e p a r a t i o n , burnout and t e r m i n a t i o n and a l l would l e a r n . As i t e x i s t s a t p r e s e n t , there i s a d e n i a l of s e p a r a t i o n on the p a r t s of b o t h . The other s u b s c a l e , B: The Community, on which no s i g n i f i -cant d i f f e r e n c e s were found , had few i tems and low r e l i a b i l i t y . ATTITUDE TOWARD CALLER PROBLEMS The v o l u n t e e r s were asked to r a t e how s u c c e s s f u l l y they had handled a s p e c i f i c problem. Most v o l u n t e e r s f e l t , p o s i t i v e l y about t a l k i n g to a person who was e x p r e s s i n g l o n e l i n e s s . I t i s p o s s i b l e tha t f e e l i n g l o n e l y i s not so d i f f i c u l t to handle as one of the other problems which c o n c e i v a b l y are based on unexpressed or i n a p p r o p r i a t e l y expressed anger . These i n c l u d e t h r e a t e n i n g s u i c i d e or be ing a b u s i v e . Th is f i n d i n g might i n d i c a t e a need to t r a i n v o l u n t e e r s to d e a l more e f f e c t i v e l y s p e c i f i c a l l y w i t h anger . Chron ic c a l l e r s are a concern a t a l l c r i s i s c e n t r e s . One cen t re has formed a s p e c i a l group to d i s c u s s t h i s concern w i t h the g o a l of h e l p i n g these c a l l e r s . A v o l u n t e e r seems to exper ience p e r s o n a l 76 f r u s t r a t i o n and h e l p l e s s n e s s as a r e s u l t of the l a c k of p rogress e x h i b i t e d by the same c a l l e r s w i t h the same problems. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH The r e s u l t s of t h i s study i n d i c a t e . s e v e r a l d i r e c t i o n s f o r f u r t h e r r e s e a r c h . These i n c l u d e inst rument development, f u r t h e r a n a l y s i s of data c o l l e c t e d and f i n a l l y , g e n e r a l s u g g e s t i o n s . Instrument Development The inst rument used i n the p resent study, needs to have a c l e a r e r c o n c e p t u a l i z a t i o n of the subsca les and more, i tems developed p a r t i c u l a r l y f o r those subsca les w i t h a s m a l l number of i tems and/or low c o n s i s t e n c y . Wording i n s e v e r a l i t e m s , or s imply the way i n which they were reproduced on the q u e s t i o n n a i r e caused c o n f u s i o n f o r some v o l u n t e e r s . Th is needs to be remedied. The q u e s t i o n n a i r e should be p r i n t e d on.one s i d e of the page on ly or i n s t r u c t i o n s i n d i c a t i n g t h a t responses are requested on both s i d e s of a page i n c l u d e d . I t would have been h e l p f u l to have enqu i red about m o t i v a t i o n f o r choosing a s p e c i f i c c r i s i s c e n t r e i n which to v o l u n t e e r s i n c e g e o g r a p h i c a l p r o x i m i t y does not appear to be the reason i n many c a s e s . I t i s necessary to know more p r e c i s e l y when a v o l u n t e e r becomes t e m p o r a r i l y i n a c t i v e , t h e r e f o r e t h i s i n f o r m a t i o n should have been requested F u r t h e r A n a l y s i s of Data from the Present Study F u r t h e r a n a l y s i s a t the i tem l e v e l i n . c o m p a r i n g a c t i v e and i n a c t i v e v o l u n t e e r s would y i e l d p o t e n t i a l l y u s e f u l i n f o r m a t i o n about d i f f e r e n c e s among c r i s i s cent res i n these s i x s u b s c a l e s . Another a n a l y s i s which might be u s e f u l would be a comparison 77 of permanently a n d . t e m p o r a r i l y i n a c t i v e v o l u n t e e r s . F u r t h e r D i r e c t i o n s f o r Research From the d i s c u s s i o n of the demographic d a t a , i t would appear tha t more f o r m a l r e s e a r c h i s necessary to determine whether a r e l a t i o n s h i p does e x i s t between demographic c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s and l e n g t h of v o l u n t e e r s e r v i c e or l e v e l of commitment. The phenomenon of burnout among c r i s i s cen t re v o l u n t e e r s should be s t u d i e d i n order to determine whether i t i s r e l a t e d to becoming i n a c t i v e . I t may be that burnout i s a p r o g r e s s i v e process which can be i n f l u e n c e d by c o n t r o l l a b l e f a c t o r s . SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS C r i s i s cent res would b e n e f i t perhaps from a r e - e x a m i n a t i o n of t h e i r goa ls and o b j e c t i v e s . T h i s might r e s u l t i n an acknowledge-ment of the b e n e f i t of the s e r v i c e s they p r o v i d e to the community from a t w o - f o l d p e r s p e c t i v e : to the c a l l e r a n d . t o the v o l u n t e e r . I f the p o s i t i v e changes r e p o r t e d by the v o l u n t e e r s i n t h i s survey were planned c o n s c i o u s l y , they would no doubt be accompl ished w i t h g r e a t e r e f f i c i e n c y and those areas needing improvement would .be i s o l a t e d and examined. These are p o s s i b l y r e l a t e d to feedback and ongoing t r a i n i n g . I f the v o l u n t e e r s were more c o n s c i o u s l y aware of the b e n e f i t s r e c e i v e d , perhaps there would be a longer commitment. The c r i t e r i a f o r s e l e c t i o n of v o l u n t e e r s needs to be r e -examined. I f l o n g - t e r m commitment i s impor tan t , \u00E2\u0080\u009E perhaps v o l u n t e e r s w i t h more s t a b l e l i f e - s t y l e s should be s e l e c t e d . I f the c r i s i s cen t re i s to be used as an e x p e r i e n t i a l component f o r c o l l e g e s and u n i v e r s i t i e s , - perhaps, some r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h these i n s t i t u t i o n s cou ld be e s t a b l i s h e d whereby the goa ls and e x p e c t a t i o n s of both 78 c l a r i f i e d and met. The s t r u c t u r e of c r i s i s s e r v i c e s i n the Lower Main land cou ld be examined w i t h a v iew to improv ing i t . The same s e r v i c e s are b e i n g o f f e r e d by f i v e separate o r g a n i z a t i o n s w i t h p o s s i b l e d u p l i c a t i o n of money and energy. The extremely complex i s s u e of m o t i v a t i o n and i t s r e l a t i o n s h i p to a c t i v e and i n a c t i v e v o l u n t e e r s needs f u r t h e r r e s e a r c h . The f i n d i n g s of t h i s study suggest t h a t there: a r e d i f f e r e n c e s between a c t i v e and i n a c t i v e v o l u n t e e r s , but the. natu re of those d i f f e r e n c e s o r p o s s i b l e reasons f o r them are a l s o t o p i c s f o r f u t u r e r e s e a r c h . I t appears that ongoing feedback and o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r p e r s o n a l growth and development would be b e n e f i c i a l to v o l u n t e e r s i n improv ing t h e i r p e r c e p t i o n s of themselves and the way they handle c a l l s . Of p a r t i c u l a r importance might be h e l p i n cop ing w i t h anger , both from the p o i n t of v iew of the c a l l e r and from the v o l u n t e e r . F i n a l l y , the r e s u l t s of the study i n d i c a t e t h a t v o l u n t e e r s are extremely p o s i t i v e , f o r the most p a r t , about the p e r s o n a l changes, growth, r e l a t i o n s h i p enhancement and the o p p o r t u n i t y f o r l i f e exper ience not a v a i l a b l e to them other than a t the c r i s i s c e n t r e . 79 BIBLIOGRAPHY Aves , G.M. The V o l u n t a r y Worker i n the S o c i a l S e r v i c e s . London; George A l l a n and Unwin, 1968 B e e r s , T .M. & Foreman, M.E. I n t e r v e n t i o n p a t t e r n s i n c r i s i s i n t e r v i e w s . J o u r n a l of Counse l ing Psycho logy , 1976, 23., 8 7 - 9 1 . -Berman, A. E x p e r i e n t i a l c r i s i s t r a i n i n g . In G. Specter 6V W. G l a i b o r n ( E d s . ) , C r i s i s I n t e r v e n t i o n . New York: B e h a v i o r a l P u b l i c a t i o n s , 1973. Brockhopp, G...T.-.W.-.\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 T r a i n i n g the telephone c o u n s e l o r . In D. 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C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of c o l l e g e students v o l u n t e e r i n g f o r s e r v i c e to mental p a t i e n t s . J o u r n a l of C o n s u l t i n g Psycho logy , 1964, 2 8 , 8 2 - 8 5 . K n i c k e r b o c k e r , D. A. & McGee, R. K. C l i n i c a l e f f e c t i v e n e s s of n o n p r o f e s s i o n a l and p r o f e s s i o n a l te lephone workers i n a c r i s i s i n t e r v e n t i o n c e n t r e . In_ DJ - Les te r & G.W. Brockhopp (Eds.s).-, i C r . i s i s l l h t e r v e n t i o n sand Counse l ing by .Telephone, , ; S p r i n g f i e l d , I l l i n o i s : C h a r l e s C. 1'nomas, P u b l i s h e r , 1967. L e s t e r , D. I n t r o d u c t i o n . In D_._Lester '&'G.W. Brockhopp ( E d s , ) , C r i s i s I n t e r v e n t i o n and C o u n s e l l i n g ' b y ' T e l e p h o n e , S p r i n g -f i e l d , - I l l i n o i s . : Char les C. Thomas P u b l i s h e r , 1967 L e v i n e , C. 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Ewalt ( E d . ) , J 4 e n t a l H e a l t h V o l u n t e e r s . , S p r i n g f i e l d , I l l i n o i s : C h a r l e s C. Thomas, P u b l i s h e r , 1967. Walsh , W. B. V a l i d i t y of s e l f r e p o r t . J o u r n a l of Counse l ing Psycho logy , 1967, 1 4 , ( >18,-23. Warwick, D. P. & L i n i n g e r , C. A. The Sample Survey: Theory and P r a c t i s e , New York: M c G r a w - H i l l Book Co. 1975. Weis , S. &. .Seiden, R. H. Rescuers and the rescued . L i f e - T h r e a t e n -i n g B e h a v i o r , 1974, 4 , .Summer\u00E2\u0080\u00A2;-118-:1.'30-. W i l e y , D. E. L a t e n t p a r t i t i o n a n a l y s i s . Psychomet r ika , 1967, 3 2 , : - '183-193. Winch, G. D i r e c t o r , D i s t r e s s C e n t r e , -Toronto, O n t a r i o . P e r s o n a l communicat ion, June 6 , 1977. \ c- . > ' -. ^ . Woodward, Ty.A,\" '& Overa l l \" ; . J . E . JMultl vallate, . a n a l y s i s , of v a r i a n c e by mr i l t i p le - r e g r e s s i o n methods. P s y c h o l o g i c a l B u l l e t i n , 1975, 8 2 , 2 1 - 3 2 . 84 \ APPENDIX A INSTRUCTIONS FOR SORTING OF CARDS 85 INSTRUCTIONS P l e a s e : 1. Read \" s c a l e d e s c r i p t i o n c a r d s \" ( b l u e ) . 2 . Look through the i tem cards (white) to get a genera l i d e a of t h e i r con ten t . 3 . Sort i tems i n t o the s i x s c a l e s on the b a s i s of c o n t e n t . (Do not respond to i tems from your own e x p e r i e n c e ) . 4. Any i tems which do not f i t i n t o the s i x s c a l e s should be put a s i d e . When the i n i t i a l s o r t i s complete , p lease attempt to s o r t these i tems i n t o the s i x s c a l e s . I f they remain ambigu-ous,' leave them i n tha t ca tegory . 5 . Put the items you have sor ted i n t o each s c a l e behind the a p p r o p r i a t e b lue card and p l a c e a l l cards together w i t h e l a s t i c band. Thank you. 86 APPENDIX B SCALE DESCRIPTIONS 87 SCALES SCALE A: DOING SHIFTS Th is s c a l e c o n t a i n s i tems which r e l a t e d to the moment- to-moment exper ience of do ing a s h i f t . They i n c l u d e r e f e r e n c e s to d i f f e r e n t aspects such as c a l l s h e e t s , the p h y s i c a l environment of the c r i s i s cent re (persons and o b j e c t s i n i t , the atmosphere) i . e . the process of agree ing to do i t and do ing the s h i f t . 3 . Not hav ing fo l lowup on c a l l e r s i s a very f r u s t r a t i n g p a r t of do : d S i h g ; s h i f t s : 4 . On the whole I f e l t depressed a f t e r a s h i f t . 11 . I found hav ing people i n the phone room d i s t r a c t i n g . 13. Record keeping and o ther paper work i n v o l v e d i n doing s h i f t s i s a i s-jasnuisance. 16. There have u s u a l l y been enough c a l l s d u r i n g the s h i f t . 17. Doing s h i f t s r e q u i r e d too much t i m e . 27. I f r e q u e n t l y had too l i t t l e to do w h i l e do ing s h i f t s . 37. The phone room has been a comfor tab le p l a c e i n which to work. 40. Beingg alone on a s h i f t has been a bad e x p e r i e n c e . 49. Being asked to do s h i f t s over and above my commitment i s a l r i g h t w i t h me. SCALE B : THE COMMUNITY \ Th is s c a l e c o n t a i n s items which r e l a t e to the v o l u n t e e r ' s p e r c e p t i o n of the community and the r e l a t i o n s h i p of the c r i s i s cent re to i t (and thus h i s own involvement i n the community by way of the c r i s i s c e n t r e ) . 20 . Whi le doing s h i f t s I d i d not f i n d other community agencies very h e l p f u l . 22. The c r i s i s cent re has a p o s i t i v e e f f e c t on the community SCALE C: PERSONAL CHANGE T h i s s c a l e c o n t a i n s i tems which r e l a t e d to s e l f - p e r c e i v e d change i n the v o l u n t e e r as a r e s u l t of the c r i s i s cen t re exper ience i n terms of g a i n i n g knowledge, i n t e l l e c t u a l l y , and e m o t i o n a l l y and be ing ab le to use that knowledge i n i n t e r p e r s o n a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s both i n and out of the c r i s i s c e n t r e . 6. V o l u n t e e r i n g has been a good way to develop my p o t e n t i a l . 7. I am a b e t t e r l i s t e n e r as a r e s u l t of my v o l u n t e e r e x p e r i e n c e . 8 . I f e l t I got b e t t e r at h e l p i n g others as I d i d more s h i f t s . 9. I changed i n that I found i t more d i f f i c u l t to get i n touch w i t h what the c a l l e r was f e e l i n g as I d i d more s h i f t s . 18. I f i n d I am b e t t e r ab le to cope w i t h c r i s e s i n my own l i f e as a r e s u l t of be ing a c r i s i s cent re v o l u n t e e r . 2 1 . A f t e r be ing there f o r s e v e r a l months, my o v e r a l l f e e l i n g has been that I am l e s s sure my e f f o r t s have been u s e f u l . 88 2 3 . I n o t i c e d a negat i ve change i n my f e e l i n g s about t a k i n g c a l l s as I d i d more s h i f t s . 34. At t h i s t ime I f e e l more ab le to h e l p o thers than I d i d before becoming a v o l u n t e e r . 35. I can express myse l f b e t t e r as a r e s u l t of my v o l u n t e e r ex -p e r i e n c e . 38. I have f e l t more c o n f i d e n t about d e a l i n g w i t h c a l l e r s who are e x p r e s s i n g s t rong f e e l i n g s than I d i d at f i r s t . 42 . My t o l e r a n c e of other people i n genera l i s l e s s as a r e s u l t of my e x p e r i e n c e . 46 . I learned about sources of h e l p i n the c i t y through be ing a v o l u n t e e r . SCALE D: GENERAL IMPRESSION 5Ehis s c a l e c o n t a i n s i tems which r e l a t e t o t t h e v o l u n t e e r ' s genera l impress ion of the c r i s i s cen t re exper ience - e x p e c t a t i o n s , a n t i c i p a t i o n s , d i sappo in tments , e t c . 1. V o l u n t e e r i n g at the c r i s i s cen t re i s a good way to exper ience something beyond m y s e l f . 12. My g e n e r a l f e e l i n g about the exper ience of v o l u n t e e r i n g i s n e g a t i v e . 19. The exper ience of be ing a v o l u n t e e r i s what I expected i t to be . 25 . I t h i n k v o l u n t e e r i n g i s a good way to l e a r n about o ther people and t h e i r l i v e s . 28. V o l u n t e e r i n g at the c r i s i s cent re i s a good way to work toward a b e t t e r s o c i e t y . 29. I t h i n k be ing a c r i s i s cent re v o l u n t e e r i s a good way to repay h e l p g i ven to me or someone e l s e . 44. My o v e r a l l exper ience of the c r i s i s cent re was p o s i t i v e . SCALE E: THE STAFF T h i s Th is s c a l e c o n t a i n s i tems which r e l a t e to the v o l u n t e e r ' s r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h s t a f f i n v a r i o u s r o l e s : t r a i n e r s , g i v e r s of feedback, e v a l u a t i o n , support and f r i e n d s h i p . 5 . I n o t i c e d a p o s i t i v e change i n my r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h s t a f f . 15. I f e l t s t a f f r e l a t i o n s w i t h s t a f f c reated problems i n the c r i s i s c e n t r e . 24 . I found e v a l u a t i o n on my work by the s t a f f l e f t me f e e l i n g b a d l y . 26 . I d i d not f i n d the i n s e r v i c e t r a i n i n g o f f e r e d to be s u f f i c i e n t . 31 . I f e l t my ideas and suggest ions concern ing the c r i s i s cen t re were not cons idered by the s t a f f . 33. The s t a f f d i d not p rov ide adequate feedback on my work. 36. The t r a i n i n g program prepared me fo r t a k i n g c a l l s . 4 1 . My r e l a t i o n s w i t h s t a f f were g e n e r a l l y good. 47. U s o c i a l i z e d w i t h s t a f f o u t s i d e the c r i s i s c e n t r e . 48 . I found s t a f f to be c r i t i c a l about my work. 89 SCALE:F: OTHER VOLUNTEERS Th is s c a l e c o n t a i n s i tems which r e l a t e to the v o l u n t e e r ' s r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h o ther v o l u n t e e r s as co -workers and f r i e n d s . 10. The contact w i t h o ther v o l u n t e e r s was g e n e r a l l y p o s i t i v e . 14. C l i q u e s i n v o l v i n g v o l u n t e e r s and o thers at the c r i s i s c e n t r e caused problems. 30. I exper ienced a l a c k of f e e l i n g understood and supported by o ther v o l u n t e e r s . 32. I found new f r i e n d s amogg the v o l u n t e e r s . 39. My r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h o ther v o l u n t e e r s improved d u r i n g my v o l u n t e e r exper ience . 4 3 . I was aware of a l o t of pe rsona l c o n f l i c t s among v o l u n t e e r s . 4 5 . IT .d id s h i f t s r e g u l a r l y w i t h a few s p e c i f i c v o l u n t e e r s . 9 0 APPENDIX C QUESTIONNAIRE 91 I f you c a n , p lease r e t u r n t h i s q u e s t i o n a i r e b e f o r e ; I f t h i s i s not p o s s i b l e , p lease r e t u r n i t as soon as you c a n . THE EXPERIENCE OF BEING A CRISIS CENTRE TELEPHONE VOLUNTEER The c r i s i s cent re v o l u n t e e r has r e c e i v e d very l i t t l e a t t e n t i o n i n terms of what the exper ience i s l i k e f o r him or h e r . As a present or former v o l u n t e e r , you are i n a good p o s i t i o n to g i ve us t h i s i n f o r m a t i o n . We need i t to b e g i n to improve the q u a l i t y of our s e r v i c e fo r v o l u n t e e r s , c a l l e r s , and the community g e n e r a l l y . The v a l i d i t y of the i n f o r m a t i o n you g ive us w i l l depend on how c a r e f u l l y you c o n s i d e r and answer each i t e m . Par t A 1. Sex: Ma le_ Female 2 . Age: 3 . What i s your m a r i t a l s t a t u s : S i n g l e M a r r i e d Separated D i v o r c e d _ Widowed Other 4. Do you have any c h i l d r e n l i v i n g w i t h you?: Yes No ( I f y e s , how many?: ) 5 . What l e v e l of educat ion d i d you complete : No formal educat ion E lementary schoo l Some h i g h schoo l High schoo l grad T e c h n i c a l schoo l (Major t o p i c a r e a : ) Community c o l l e g e Some u n i v e r s i t y (Major t o p i c a r e a : ) F i r s t u n i v e r s i t y degree (Major t o p i c a r e a : ) Advanced degree (Major t o p i c a r e a : Other degree (P lease s p e c i f y ) 6 . What i s your occupat ion? 7. Are you p r e s e n t l y employed? Yes No P lease go on to par t B 92 Par t B P lease r a t e the v o l u n t e e r exper ience i n terms of the extent tha t you agree or d i sag ree w i t h the statements a c c o r d i n g to the f o l l o w i n g s c a l e : 5 Agree s t r o n g l y 4 Agree moderate ly 3 N e i t h e r agree nor d i s a g r e e 2 D isagree moderate ly 1 D isagree s t r o n g l y 1. V o l u n t e e r i n g at the c r i s i s cen t re i s a , - 5 4 3 2 1 good way to exper ience something beyond m y s e l f . 2 . Taking c a l l s i s not as i n t e r e s t i n g as i t 5 4 3 2 1 was when I f i r s t s t a r t e d v o l u n t e e r i n g . 3 . Not hav ing fo l lowup on c a l l e r s i s a very 5 4 3 2 1 f r u s t r a t i n g par t of do ing s h i f t s . 4. On the whole I f e l t depressed a f t e r a 5 4 3 2 1 s h i f t . 5 . I n o t i c e d a p o s i t i v e change i n my 5 4 3 2 1 r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h s t a f f . 6. V o l u n t e e r i n g has been a good way to 5 4 3 2 1 develop my p o t e n t i a l . 7. I am a b e t t e r l i s t e n e r as a r e s u l t of my 5 4 3 2 1 v o l u n t e e r e x p e r i e n c e . 8. I f e l t I got b e t t e r at h e l p i n g o thers 5 4 3 2 1 as I d i d more s h i f t s . 9. I changed i n that I found i t more 5 4 3 2 1 d i f f i c u l t to get i n touch w i t h what the c a l l e r was f e e l i n g as I d i d more s h i f t s . 10. The contact w i t h other v o l u n t e e r s was 5 4 3 2 1 g e n e r a l l y p o s i t i v e . 11. I found hav ing people i n the phone room 5 4 3 2 1 d i s t r a c t i n g . 12. My genera l f e e l i n g about the exper ience of v o l u n t e e r i n g i s n e g a t i v e . 5 4 3 2 1 93 5 Agree strongly 4 Agree moderately 3 Neither agree nor disagree 2 Disagree moderately 1 Disagree strongly 13. Record keeping and other paper work 5 4 3 2 1 involved i n doing s h i f t s i s a nuisance. 14. Cliques involving volunteers and others 5 4 3 2 1 a.tdthe c r i s i s centre caused problems. 15. I f e l t s t a f f r e l a t i o n s with s t a f f 5 4 3 2 1 created problems i n the c r i s i s centre. 16. There have usually been enough c a l l s .' 5 4 3 2 1 during the s h i f t . 17. Doing s h i f t s required too much time. 5 4 3 2 1 18. I find I am better able to cope with 5 4 3 2 1 c r i s e s i n my own l i f e as a r e s u l t of being a c r i s i s centre volunteer. 19. The experience of being a volunteer i s 5 4 3 2 1 what I expected i t to be. 20. While doing s h i f t s I d i d not f i n d other 5 4 3 2 1 community agencies very h e l p f u l . 21. After being there for several months, my o v e r a l l f e e l i n g has been that I am less sure my e f f o r t s have been u s e f u l . 5 4 3 2 1 94 5 Agree s t r o n g l y 4 Agree moderate ly 3 N e i t h e r agree nor d i s a g r e e 2 Disagree moderate ly 1 D isagree s t r o n g l y 22 . The c r i s i s cent re has a p o s i t i v e e f f e c t 5 4 3 2 1 on the community. 23 . I n o t i c e d a negat i ve change i n my 5 4 3 2 1 f e e l i n g s about t a k i n g c a l l s as I d i d more s h i f t s . 24. I found e v a l u a t i o n on my work by the 5 4 3 2 1 s t a f f l e f t me f e e l i n g b a d l y . 2 5 . I t h i n k v o l u n t e e r i n g i s a good way to 5 4 3 2 1 l e a r n about o ther people and t h e i r l i v e s . 26. I d i d not f i n d the i n s e r v i c e t r a i n i n g 5 4 3 2 1 o f f e r e d to be s u f f i c i e n t . 27 . I f r e q u e n t l y have had too l i t t l e to do 5 4 3 2 1 w h i l e doing s h i f t s . 28. V o l u n t e e r i n g at the c r i s i s cen t re i s a 5 4 3 2 1 good way to work toward a b e t t e r s o c i e t y . 29 . I t h i n k b e i n g a c r i s i s c e n t r e v o l u n t e e r 5 4 3 2 1 i s a good way to repay h e l p g i ven to me or someone e l s e . 30. I exper ienced a l a c k of f e e l i n g 5 4 3 2 1 understood and supported by o ther v o l u n t e e r s . 31 . I f e l t my ideas and suggest ions 5 4 3 2 1 concern ing the c r i s i s c e n t r e were not cons idered by the s t a f f . 32. I found new f r i e n d s among the 5 4 3 2 1 v o l u n t e e r s . 95 5 Agree s t r o n g l y 4 Agree moderate ly 3 N e i t h e r agree nor d i sagree 2 D isagree moderate ly 1 D isagree s t r o n g l y 33. The s t a f f d i d not p rov ide adequate 5 4 3 2 1 feedback on my work. 34. At t h i s time I f e e l more ab le to h e l p 5 4 3 2 1 o thers than I d i d before becoming a v o l u n t e e r . 35 . I can express myse l f b e t t e r as a r e s u l t 5 4 3 2 1 of my v o l u n t e e r e x p e r i e n c e . 36. The t r a i n i n g program prepared me f o r 5 4 3 2 1 t a k i n g c a l l s . 37. The phone room has been a comfor tab le 5 4 3 2 1 p lace i n which to work. 38. I have f e l t more c o n f i d e n t about d e a l i n g 5 4 3 2 1 w i t h c a l l e r s who are e x p r e s s i n g s t rong f e e l i n g s than I d i d at f i r s t . 39. My r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h o ther v o l u n t e e r s 5 4 3 2 1 improved d u r i n g my v o l u n t e e r exper ience . 40 . Being alone on a s h i f t has been a bad 5 4 3 2 1 exper ience . 4 1 . My r e a l t i o n s w i t h s t a f f were g e n e r a l l y 5 4 3 2 1 good. 42 . My t o l e r a n c e of o ther people i n g e n e r a l , 5 4 3 2 1 i s l e s s as a r e s u l t of my e x p e r i e n c e . 4 3 . I was aware of a l o t of p e r s o n a l 5 4 3 2 1 c o n f l i c t s among v o l u n t e e r s . 96 5 Agree s t r o n g l y 4 Agree moderate ly 3 N e i t h e r agree nor d i s a g r e e 2 D isagree moderate ly 1 D isagree s t r o n g l y 44. My o v e r a l l exper ience of the c r i s i s cen t re 5 4 3 2 1 was p o s i t i v e . 4 5 . I d i d s h i f t s r e g u l a r l y w i t h a few 5 4 3 2 1 s p e c i f i c v o l u n t e e r s 46. I learned about sources of h e l p i n the 5 4 3 2 1 c i t y through be ing a v o l u n t e e r . 47 . I s o c i a l i z e d w i t h s t a f f o u t s i d e the 5 4 3 2 1 c r i s i s c e n t r e . 48 . I found s t a f f to be c r i t i c a l about my 5 4 3 2 1 work. 49 . Be ing asked to do s h i f t s over and above 5 4 3 2 1 my committment i s a l r i g h t w i t h me. 97 Par t C Th is par t of the q u e s t i o n a i r e d e a l s w i t h the types of c a l l e r s you had as a v o l u n t e e r . P lease c i r c l e the number that expresses best how you f e l t i n d e a l i n g w i t h them. 5 Very p o s i t i v e 4 Somewhat p o s i t i v e 3 N e i t h e r negat i ve nor p o s i t i v e 2 Somewhat negat i ve 1 Very negat i ve 1. C a l l e r s who d i d n ' t know what t h e i r problem 5 4 3 2 1 was, 2. C a l l e r s who appeared to make some progress 5 4 3 2 1 i n d e a l i n g w i t h t h e i r problem. 3 . C a l l e r s who t r e a t e d me as a r e a l pe rson . 5 4 3 2 1 4 . C a l l e r s who seemed to a p p r e c i a t e me. 5 4 3 2 1 5. C a l l e r s who were honest w i t h me. 5 4 3 2 1 6. C a l l e r s who acknowledged t h e i r own f e e l i n g s . 5 4 3 2 1 98 P lease i n d i c a t e your f e e l i n g s about how e f f e c t i v e you were i n H e a l i n g w i t h the f o l l o w i n g types of c a l l e r s : 5 Very p o s i t i v e 4 Somewhat p o s i t i v e 3 N e i t h e r negat i ve nor p o s i t i v e 2 Somewhat negat i ve 1 Very*_negative 1. M a r i t a l problems 5 4 3 2 1 2 . C h i l d r e n / p a r e n t problems 5 4 3 2 1 3 . A l c o h o l i c or a d d i c t i o n problems 5 4 3 2 1 4 . Drunk c a l l e r s 5 4 3 2 1 5. Abusive c a l l e r s 5 4 3 2 1 6. Chron ic or repeat c a l l e r s 5 4 3 2 1 7. S u i c i d a l c a l l e r s 5 4 3 2 1 8 . Bereaved c a l l e r s (someone d ied) 5 4 3 2 1 9 . T e r m i n a l l y i l l c a l l e r s 5 4 3 2 1 10. Sexual problems (Impotence, f r i g i d i t y , I 5 4 3 2 1 c a n ' t f i n d a pa r tne r ) 11. M a s t u r a t i n g c a l l e r s 5 4 3 2 1 12. Depressed c a l l e r s 5 4 3 2 1 13. Unemployed c a l l e r s ( I c a n ' t f i n d a job) 5 4 3 2 1 14. \"I have not money\" c a l l e r s 5 4 3 2 1 15. Lone ly c a l l e r s 5 4 3 2 1 99 P a r t D 1. Put a \" 1 \" i n f r o n of the best reason and a \"2\" i n f r o n t of the next best reason : I v o l u n t e e r e d . . . In order to h e l p o thers In order to l e a r n In o rder to get i n v o l v e d w i t h people To p o s s i b l y f u r t h e r my c a r e e r i n t e r e s t To l e a r n to cope w i t h p e r s o n a l c r i s e s more e f f e c t i v e l y Other : 2. I completed my t r a i n i n g : Month Year 3. What p rev ious exper ience i n h e l p i n g d i d you have before coming to the c r i s i s centre? 4. D id you have any t r a i n i n g r e l e v a n t to working at the c r i s i s cen t re p r i o r to becoming invo lved? Yes (P lease d e s c r i b e what k i n d and when: 100 5. Please check where appropriate: I am presently active (On the average, how many hours of s h i f t time do you do i n a month? ) I am temporarily i n a c t i v e (Please indicate why: I am permanently i n a c t i v e , because: I moved _I changed jobs _I got sick _I l o s t i n t e r e s t _I had a personal c r i s i s Other: (When did you become permanently inactive? Month Year ) 6. I am presently involved i n other volunteer work: Yes (What kind? ) No Can you suggest any changes that you f e e l would improve the experience of the c r i s i s centre for volunteers and/or c a l l e r s ? 8. Comments you may have on t h i s survey: 9. Date questionaire completed: Thank you for investing your time and e f f o r t into completing t h i s questionaire. 101 APPENDIX D COVERING LETTER 102 JOINT COMMITTEE OF CRISIS SERVICES \" S e r v i n g the G . V . R . D . \" Dear V o l u n t e e r : The J o i n t Committee of C r i s i s S e r v i c e s i s an a s s o c i a t i o n of a l l o f the c r i s i s cen t res and s u i c i d e f o l l o w - u p s e r v i c e s i n the Lower M a i n l a n d . I t s purpose i s to a l l o w an exchange o f i n f o r m a t i o n between the cen t res i n an e f f o r t to improve the q u a l i t y o f c r i s i s response s e r v i c e s throughout the community. V o l u n t e e r s are the backbone of the c r i s i s cen t re s e r v i c e i n the Lower M a i n l a n d . I t i s t h e r e f o r e important to get the v i e w -po in t of v o l u n t e e r s who a r e , or have been, i n v o l v e d w i t h out l o c a l c r i s i s c e n t e r s so that we can do e v e r t h i n g p o s s i b l e to make the exper ience of be ing a telephone v o l u n t e e r a rewarding one. Th is i s t o the b e n e f i t of a l l i n v o l v e d , e s p e c i a l l y those who depend on the s e r v i c e i n t ime o f need. No l a r g e s c a l e i n q u i r y has been made to t r y to f i n d out how v o l u n -t e e r s v iew t h e i r exper ience working i n c r i s i s c e n t r e s . Your response to the enc losed q u e s t i o n n a i r e w i l l make a s i g n i f i c a n t c o n t r i b u t i o n to c o n t i n u i n g and improv ing the c r i s i s s e r v i c e s i n our community. Your response to the q u e s t i o n n a i r e i s e n t i r e l y c o n f i d e n t i a l and anonymous. There i s no i d e n t i f i c a t i o n o f p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n d i v i d u a l s . I f you are i n t e r e s t e d i n the f i n a l g e n e r a l i z e d r e s u l t s o f the survey , they w i l l be made a v a i l a b l e to the v a r i o u s c e n t e r s a f t e r the study i n completed. I f you wish to make comments about the q u e s t i o n n a i r e , p lease f e e l f ree to use the back of the l a s t page. I f p o s s i b l e , we would a p p r e c i a t e r e c e i v i n g the completed q u e s t i o n n a i r e w i t h i n ten days. I f t h i s i s not p o s s i b l e f o r y o u , p lease r e t u r n i t when you can . Upon comple t ion p l a c e the q u e s t i o n -n a i r e i n the stamped, p re -addressed envelope and drop i t i n the m a i l . Thanking you i n advance fo r your h e l p . Yours t r u l y , Research and E v a l u a t i o n Committee J o i n t Committee of C r i s i s S e r v i c e s 103 APPENDIX E REMINDER POSTCARD 104 February , 1978 Dear V o l u n t e e r : I f you have completed and re tu rned the q u e s t i o n n a i r e sent to you by the J o i n t Committee of C r i s i s S e r v i c e s , we are most a p p r e c i a t i v e . I f you have l o s t i t or \"put i t o f f \" , we would l i k e to encourage you to \"Do I t Now!\" Every i n d i v i d u a l ' s response i s important i n such a survey . We cannot have an accurate under -s tand ing of what the v o l u n t e e r exper ience i s wi thout a h i g h number of responses . I f you have a l r e a d y done so , p lease d i s r e g a r d t h i s p o s t c a r d . I f you h a v e n ' t , p lease complete and m a i l the q u e s t i o n n a i r e as requested . S i n c e r e l y , The JCCS "@en . "Thesis/Dissertation"@en . "10.14288/1.0054348"@en . "eng"@en . "Counselling Psychology"@en . "Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library"@en . "University of British Columbia"@en . "For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use."@en . "Graduate"@en . "A survey of active and inactive crisis centre volunteers"@en . "Text"@en . "http://hdl.handle.net/2429/21089"@en .