Social commitment of volunteering in clown-therapy: an empowering empirical research

Abstract

This paper describes a quantitative empirical research on the factors influencing volunteers in clown-therapy. The field of the volunteering has social relevance particularly for its positive aspects on social community and on prosocial behavior. However, after a broad literature review on the topic of volunteering, the researcher aims to investigate the specific issue of volunteering in clown-therapy, exploring similarities and differences with voluntary activities in other settings, and analysing motivations and reasons for the choice to become a volunteer.

A comparative and statistical approach is the real innovative aspect of this research in that it carried out factor analysis, comparative analysis and overcame the limits of the prior research on volunteering, which had dealt just with some dimensions of the complex phenomenon of volunteering.

Finally, the research results confirm the hypothesis that volunteering in general, and volunteering in clown-therapy in particular, is an activity empowering both for the individual and for the entire community.