The Relationship Between Community Residents' Social Identity and Their Willingness to Volunteer for Social Work Through the Lens of Social Identity Theory: A Case Study Of 100 Community Residents in Meishan City of China

Meiyan Wang

doi:10.54097/tbtfbv27

Authors

Meiyan Wang

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54097/tbtfbv27

Keywords:

Social identity theory, social work, volunteer service.

Abstract

With the continuous development of social work in China, the participation of civil force is indispensable. This paper aims to explore the relationship between the degree of Chinese community residents' social identification with three types of social groups (namely, community residents, social work professionals, and social work recipients) and community residents’ willingness to participate in social work-related volunteer service through the lens of social identity theory. The purpose of the research is to further apply the conclusions to social work practice in the time to come, so as to encourage more civil force to participate in social work. The research method of this study is a survey by questionnaire. Research results show that the degree of Chinese community residents' social identification with community residents, social work professionals and social work recipients are all positively correlated with their willingness to participate in social work-related volunteer service, among which the positive correlation between the degree of Chinese community residents' social identification with social work recipients and their willingness to participate in social work-related volunteer service is most significant. This study proves that enhancing community residents' social identification with social work recipients can effectively promote community residents’ willingness to participate in social work-related volunteer service. In other words, by enhancing community residents’ level of social identification with social work recipients in the future, there will be undoubtedly more civil forces encouraged to participate in Chinese social work.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Tajfel, H. Experiments in intergroup discrimination. Scientific American, 1970, 223 (5), 96–103. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24927662

ZHANG Yi. China volunteer service development report (2021-2022). Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Social Sciences Academic Press, 2022.

Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. The social identity theory of intergroup behavior. Political Psychology (pp. 276-293). Psychology Press. 2004.

Turner, J. C., Brown, R. J., & Tajfel, H. Social comparison and group interest in ingroup favouritism. European Journal of Social Psychology, 1979, 9(2), 187-204.

Tajfel, H., Turner, J. C., Austin, W. G., & Worchel, S. An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. Organizational identity: A reader, 1979, 56(65), 9780203505984-16.

YAN Ding. Social identity theory and previous research. Psychology Techniques and Application, 2016, 4(9): 549--560.

Ye, Y., Zhu, H., Deng, X., & Mu, Z. Negative workplace gossip and service outcomes: An explanation from social identity theory. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 2019, 82, 159-168.

Raskovic, M., & Takacs-Haynes, K. (Re) Discovering social identity theory: an agenda for multinational enterprise internalization theory. Multinational Business Review, 2021, 29(2), 145-165.

Scheifele, C., Ehrke, F., Viladot, M. A., Van Laar, C., & Steffens, M. C. Testing the basic socio‐structural assumptions of social identity theory in the gender context: Evidence from correlational studies on women's leadership. European Journal of Social Psychology, 2021, 51(7), 1038-1060.

Laffan, D. A. Positive psychosocial outcomes and fanship in K-pop fans: A social identity theory perspective. Psychological Reports, 2021, 124(5), 2272-2285.

Thomas, W. E., Brown, R., Easterbrook, M. J., Vignoles, V. L., Manzi, C., D’Angelo, C., & Holt, J. J. Social identification in sports teams: The role of personal, social, and collective identity motives.Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 2017, 43(4), 508-523.

Wang, Sibin., Introduction to Social Work (Third Edition), Higher Education Press, 2014.

Gong, X., Cui, Y. Q. The Institutional Evolution of Social Work in China. Social Construction, 2023, 10(3), 3-13.

He, L.M., He, M.Y. Some Suggestions for Promoting the Development of Social Work in China in the New Era, Chinese Civil Affairs, 2023, 58(2),58-59.

Wang, Q., Existing problems and countermeasures of current social work-- Based on the investigation of Qingdao. Journal of the Party School of C.P.C. Qingdao Municipal Committee, 2017, 100-103.

Yi, S.G., Social Work Identification: A Problem that Professional Education Needs to Face, Academia Bimestrie, 2019, 116-123.

Zhou, H. Y., Professional identity and turnover intention of social workers: Based on a survey of social workers in 11 provinces and cities. Master's thesis of East China University of Science and Technology, 2019.

Postmes, T., Haslam, S. A., & Jans, L. A single‐item measure of social identification: Reliability, validity, and utility. British Journal of Social Psychology, 2013, 52(4), 597-617.

19.Reysen, S., Katzarska‐Miller, I., Nesbit, S. M., & Pierce, L. Further validation of a single‐item measure of social identification. European Journal of Social Psychology, 2013, 43(6), 463-470.

Shin, Y. H., Jung, S. E., Im, J., & Severt, K. Applying an extended theory of planned behavior to examine state-branded food product purchase behavior: The moderating effect of gender. Journal of Food Service Business Research, 2020, 23(4), 358-375.