Well-being element of questionnaires

Through volunteering here, I am doing something for a cause that I believe in

Clary et al. 1998; Stukas et al.

2009 (adapted)

2.3.2.3 Motivational Fulfilment Index (MFI)

The Motivational Fulfilment Index (MFI) was only possible to calculate from responses in study 2, where respondents had reported on their motivations and motivational benefits. To

calculate the MFI, a ‘match score’ was calculated for each motivational factor, ‘values’,

‘understanding’, ‘social’, ‘protective’ and ‘career’, and multiplied by the motivation’s ranking, and all resulting values were then summed to create the MFI. The match score was ‘1’ if the motivational benefit factor value was equal to or greater than the motivational factor value, i.e. the motivation was fulfilled, otherwise it was scored as ‘0’. Motivational factors were based on the average motivational factor value, with the highest value having a rank of 5 and the lowest value a rank of 1 to reflect the differential importance of motivations. When there were ties, the rankings were split, i.e. if two values were the same and would have rankings 4 and 3, both were awarded 3.5. Subsequently the MFI was calculated as the match score for each factor multiplied by the rank of that factor (e.g. ‘understanding’ match score x ‘understanding’

factor rank) and summed across factors. With five possible matches and rankings from 5 to 1, the MFI ranges between 0 (no matches at all) to 15 (all five motivations fulfilled). This way of calculating the MFI recognises that all motivations are not equally important to volunteers and it allows a match of low importance motivations to have an, albeit small, positive effect, unlike previously suggested match indices by Clary et al. (1998) and Stukas et al. (2009).

2.3.2.4 Well-being element of questionnaires

The well-being element of the questionnaires was based on the PERMA well-being theory proposed by Seligman (2011) which includes the five well-being elements: ‘positive emotion’

(P), ‘engagement’ (E), ‘relationships’ (R), ‘meaning’ (M) and ‘achievement’ (A). No measure for the model was proposed by Seligman, but Butler and Kern (2016) developed the PERMA Profiler (PERMA-P) measure based on the model (appendix III). The PERMA-P consists of the five well-being elements proposed by Seligman as well as additional items for other elements of well-being considered important, including negative affect and physical health (in this thesis termed ‘health’). Each of these seven well-being elements is represented by three items.

‘Loneliness’ and ‘happiness’ are presented as single items on the PERMA-P. Satisfaction, a common single measure of well-being used by national statistics offices (Cabinet Office 2014), was not included in the PERMA-P but following Hone et al. (2014) it was added to

37 questionnaires in this research and evaluated separately to well-being. All items were scored on an 11-point (0-10) Likert scale (Likert 1932).

The wording of two items in the PERMA-P was changed after the first pilot study of the questionnaire and discussing the questionnaire with volunteers, volunteer managers and colleagues. The two words, ‘loved’ and ‘angry’, were seen by volunteers to be ‘quite American’

and badly fitted to a British volunteering context. The ‘love’ item wording was changed from

“To what extend do you feel loved?” to “To what extend do you feel appreciated?” The ‘angry’

item wording was changed from “How often do you feel angry?” to “How often do you feel frustrated?” (see Table 2.5 for the adapted PERMA-Ps used in this research). The adapted PERMA-P was used in study 1 to measure general well-being of participants before an activity and measure level of activity-related well-being immediately after the activity. In study 2, the adapted PERMA-P was used to measure the remembered well-being during volunteering of current volunteers and the general well-being of former and potential volunteers. In study 3, it was used to measure the perceived well-being of volunteers by volunteer managers.

The validity of the adapted PERMA-P was examined through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, detailed in chapter 4. The validity of the model was assessed separately for the volunteer studies (studies 1 and 2) and the volunteer manager study (study 3) as their contexts differed. For studies 1 and 2, the validity of the adapted model was assessed within the

context of self-reported volunteering, whereas in study 3 it was assessed within the context of volunteer managers’ perception of volunteering. Well-being factor values were calculated as the mean of the items belonging to the individual factors. Overall mean well-being was

calculated as the mean of all 23 well-being-related items on the questionnaire including the 15 PERMA items as well as items for ‘health’, ‘negative emotions’ (reverse scored), ‘loneliness’

(reverse scored) and ‘happiness’.

38

Table 2.5. Adapted PERMA Profiler well-being elements and associated items used in study 1 for measuring A) general well-being and B) activity well-being and based on the original PERMA Profiler by Butler and Kern (2016).

Well-being element

A) Adapted PERMA-P items, general well-being B) Adapted PERMA-P items, activity well-being (volunteering example) Positive

emotion

In general, how often do you feel joyful? How much of the time did you feel joyful during volunteering today?

In general, how often do you feel positive? How much of the time did you feel positive during volunteering today?

In general, to what extent do you feel contented? To what extent do you feel contented right now after having volunteered?

Engagement How often do you become absorbed in what you are doing? To what extent did you become absorbed in your volunteering tasks today?

In general, to what extent do you feel excited and interested in things? To what extent did you feel excited and interested in things during your volunteering today?

How often do you lose track of time while doing something you enjoy? To what extent did you lose track of time during volunteering today?

Positive relationships

To what extent do you receive help and support from others when you need it?

To what extent did you receive help and support from others when you needed it during your volunteering today?

To what extent do you feel appreciated? To what extent have you been feeling appreciated during your volunteering today?

How satisfied are you with your personal relationships? How satisfied were you with your interactions with other people during volunteering today?

Meaning In general, to what extent do you lead a purposeful and meaningful life? To what extent did you find your volunteering today purposeful and meaningful?

In general, to what extent do you feel that what you do in your life is valuable and worthwhile?

To what extent did you feel that what you did during your volunteering today was valuable and worthwhile?

To what extent do you generally feel you have a sense of direction in your life?

To what extent do you feel you have a sense of direction in your volunteering?

Chapter 2

39 Well-being

element

A) Adapted PERMA-P items, general well-being B) Adapted PERMA-P items, activity well-being (volunteering example) Achievement How much of the time do you feel you are making progress towards

accomplishing your goals?

How much of the time did you feel you were making progress towards accomplishing your goals volunteering today?

How often do you achieve the important goals you have set for yourself? To what extent did you achieve the important goals you had set for your-self during your volunteering today?

How often are you able to handle your responsibilities? During your volunteering today, how often were you able to handle your responsibilities?

Negative emotion

How often do you feel anxious? How much of the time did you feel anxious during your volunteering today?

How often do you feel frustrated? How much of the time did you feel frustrated during volunteering today?

How often do you feel sad? How much of the time did you feel sad during volunteering today?

Health In general, how would you say your health is? How would you say your health is right now after volunteering?

How satisfied are you with your current physical health? How satisfied are you with your physical health right now after having volunteered?

Compared to others of your same age and sex, how is your health? Compared to others of your same age and sex, how is your health right now after volunteering?

Single items Taking all things together, how happy would you say you are? How happy are you right now after volunteering?

How lonely do you feel in your daily life? How lonely did you feel during your volunteering today?

40