Associationism ans participation in volunteer activities among Spanish young: changes and current trends

Abstract

The studies carried out in Spain on social involvement focus mainly on the analysis of traditional political associations: parties and labor unions. The growth in volunteering and the substantial increase of Third Sector associations in the nineties, however, are often interpreted as a recovery of young people’s interest in social and political involvement; but there are few studies on the political effects and public scope of Spanish young people’s associative involvement. This work concerns this idea. Based on data derived from surveys about participation and on results obtained from a number of empirical studies about young people who get involved in altruistic associations, we analyze the expression, changes and the arrangements of their associative commitment and contrast the interpretations of their associative involvement to offer an explanation of their nature, effects and social scope.