Teenagers' Perceptions of Volunteering Following the 2010-2011 Canterbury Earthquakes, New Zealand

Limited research exists of teenagers' involvement in the response phase of a natural disaster. There is little, for example on volunteering, and of specifically what motivates teenagers to volunteer and the activities they participate in. Therefore, this study investigated teenagers' invol...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of loss & trauma Vol. 23; no. 5; pp. 366 - 380
Main Authors Pine, Nicola S., Tarrant, Ruth A., Lyons, Antonia C., Leathem, Janet M.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Abingdon Routledge 04.07.2018
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Adolescents
Canterbury earthquakes
earthquake
Earthquakes
natural disasters
New Zealand
Perceptions
Psychological distress
Sense of control
Sense of purpose
Teenagers
volunteering
Volunteers
New Zealand
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Summary:Limited research exists of teenagers' involvement in the response phase of a natural disaster. There is little, for example on volunteering, and of specifically what motivates teenagers to volunteer and the activities they participate in. Therefore, this study investigated teenagers' involvement and perceptions of volunteering following the 2010-2011 Canterbury, New Zealand, earthquakes. Six focus groups were conducted with 31 teenagers aged 16-18 who had experienced the earthquakes. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis leading to four themes, namely sense of control, sense of purpose, shift in perspective, and restrictions. Findings emphasize the importance of organizing youth-focused volunteer groups, due to volunteering potentially reducing teenagers' psychological distress postdisaster.
ISSN:1532-5024
1532-5032
DOI:10.1080/15325024.2018.1501887