Abstract
This analysis of results of the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth provides Canada's first nation-wide insight into child volunteering.
Volunteering by children is much more common than volunteering by adults in the sense that a much higher percentage is involved (77% versus 31%). Differences in the survey questions are thought to be partly responsible for the difference.
Children who regularly attended religious services were much more likely than other children to volunteer. This was true of Roman Catholic, Anglican, United Church and Presbyterian/Lutheran/Baptist, but not of the "other Christian" group comprising mainly smaller and more conservative faith communities.
The 12-year-olds were more likely to volunteer than the 13-year-olds, and girls more than boys.
Volunteers were more inclined to be involved in organized sports, and arts programs or groups, such as Girl Guides or 4-H clubs. Regular attendees at religious services who volunteered were still more likely to be involved in arts programs and groups, though not in organized sports, perhaps because of the time conflict on Saturday or Sunday mornings.
Finally, it was found that volunteers were more likely to always do their homework, always wear a seat belt in the car, and to help other children having trouble with difficult tasks. Regular attendees at religious services were more likely to have these behaviours than other children.
The study includes some multivariate results on number of volunteer commitments, and number of responsible behaviours, and contains some policy and future research suggestions in the conclusion.