Validation of the volunteer motivation scale and its relations with work climate and intention among Chinese volunteers

Grounded in self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 1985), this two-phase research examines the reliability and validity of the Volunteer Motivation Scale with Chinese volunteers (VMS-C) and its relationship with the supportive work climate and intention to continue being a volunteer. In Study 1, the initial item pool of the VMS-C with 18 items measuring six motivation types was administrated to Chinese volunteers (N = 362). Factor analysis led to a five-factor model with 15 items. This model was cross-validated using confirmatory factor analysis. The five factors were intrinsic motivation, identified regulation, introjected regulation, external regulation and amotivation. In Study 2, the relationships between different types of motivation (i.e. autonomous motivation, controlled motivation, amotivation) and two variables of interests, namely, supportive work climate and intention to stay, were investigated (N = 228). It was found that autonomous motivation (i.e. intrinsic motivation, identified regulation) were positively related to both supportive work climate and intention to stay. Controlled motivation (i.e. introjected regulation, external regulation) and amotivation were negatively associated with the two variables. The current findings are consistent with SDT. More studies guided by the theory in the volunteering area are recommended. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd, Asian Association of Social Psychology and Beijing Normal University.