Understanding patterns of commitment - Student motivation for community service involvement

This constructivist study investigated college student perceptions of their motivations to participate in community service in high school and college. Data from interviews with twenty-four college Students, half of whom continued their high-school involvement in community service and half of whom did not, was analyzed using a grounded theory approach and revealed that patterns of commitment are mediated by early socialization experiences, the influence of peers, and by how closely service is connected to an emerging sense of self.