Association in Context and Association as Context. Causes and Consequences of Voluntary Association Involvement

Abstract

Over fifty percent of all people are a member of at least one association and about one-third say to be volunteering. Although these figures suggest that voluntary association involvement is an important aspect of many people's lives, some people are highly engaged whereas others belong to no association at all. Who joins and who does not? This book adopts a comprehensive perspective to answer this question. The first part includes two empirical studies on cross-national differences and one on the dynamics of involvement (i.e., becoming involved and ending involvement). Using a multilevel framework, the first empirical study shows that voluntary association involvement is affected by individual religiosity, the national religious context, and their interplay. The second study focuses on the explanatory role of conditions experienced when growing up (e.g., absence of television, war). Results show that it is important to incorporate such cohort explanations. The third empirical study zooms in on the Netherlands and looks at involvement from a dynamic perspective. It shows that the religious context does affect who becomes involved but it does not influence whether people quit associations. The second part of this book answers an important follow-up question. Are there any socioeconomic consequences of voluntary association involvement? With unique life course data from the Netherlands the study shows that voluntary association involvement indeed helps people getting better jobs.