A LIFE DEDICATED TO SERVICE: FAITH AND COMMITMENT TO SERVICE IN COLLEGE STUDENTS
EMILY ANDREWS, MARISA SESSIONS, CINDY MILLER-PERRIN, AND DON THOMPSON
PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY
ABSTRACT
The purpose of the current study was to examine the nature of college students’ commitment to service as part of their vocation, or life purpose. Ninety-one first year undergraduate students participated in an interview that asked the following question: “We often hear about people who ‘dedicate their lives to service.’ What would a life dedicated to service look like to you? Do you see yourself incorporating service to others in your future vocation?” Responses were scored based on a service commitment rubric that consisted of several service commitment dimensions. Sixty-five of the students who were interviewed also completed a web survey that assessed faith attitudes and behaviors. Results indicated that higher faith attitude and faith behavior scores were associated with greater service commitment. Overall, females tended to score at higher levels of service commitment than males. Non-Caucasian students tended to score at higher service commitment levels than Caucasian students. These findings are discussed in terms of the importance of faith development in relation to service commitment, especially in the context of one’s future vocation.
INTRODUCTION
College students often participate in numerous extracurricular activities in addition to their coursework. One such activity that is receiving increasing attention is the volunteer or service work of college students. Past research provides a description of college students’ service activity and the typical characteristics of those who engage in service work. In regards to the frequency of service, one study reported that 20 percent of undergraduates served between one and five hours of community service in a typical week (Astin, Sax, & Avalos, 1999). Research has also documented areas of personal change that college students experience as a result of participating in service work. These areas include an increase in commitment to social activism and decisions to choose a career in a service field (Astin, Sax & Avalos, 1999; Astin & Sax, 1998). Research has also described the typical course by which a deep commitment to service work is initiated and sustained. Common factors that motivate a commitment to service include feeling marginalized as a child and the death of a loved one (Lam, 2001). The factors that sustain service include the presence of mentors, relationships with those in need, and a well-developed faith. Previous research has also examined the role of gender in service commitment and found, in general, that female students are more likely to volunteer than male students (Trudeau & Devlin, 1996).
Among the many factors that contribute to a commitment to service, evidence shows an individual’s faith is the most significant factor in distinguishing a commitment to service. Quantitative studies suggest that young adults who are committed to service are further along in their faith development than comparison individuals (Matsuba & Walker, 2004). In contrast, one study utilizing qualitative measures yielded descriptions of faith that ranged from a personal philosophy of service to participation in organized religion (Fischman et al., 2001).At times faith leads people to serve, while in other cases people seek out certain faith traditions because of their reputation for service. Regardless of the way faith is defined or practiced, however, service and faith are clearly intertwined.
One aspect of faith that is important in the context of service is the concept of vocation. The secular perspective generally defines vocation as one’s work, career, or occupation. Discussions within the Christian community, however, distinguish between various types of vocational calling such as professional service, leadership within the church, and a more general calling to the religious life (Hardy, 1990; Meilaender, 2000; Palmer, 2000). Common to all forms of Christian vocation, however, is the charge to love and serve others with the gifts God has given (Buechner, 1993; Farnham, Gill, McLean, & Ward, 1991; Hardy, 1990).
Although past research has suggested a relationship between faith and service work, studies have been limited by ambiguous definitions of faith. Furthermore, the research to date does not examine students’ attitudes concerning service and lacks a description of how young adults define a commitment to service work. The purpose of the present study was to examine the nature of college students’ commitment to service as part of their life purpose. In addition, the present study also investigated the role of both faith attitudes and behaviors as well as students’ personal sense of vocation in relation to service commitment. The present study makes an important contribution by measuring faith quantitatively and also adds to our understanding of the role of gender in relation to service commitment.
METHOD
Participants
A random sample of 300 students was recruited from the 2002 entering class of a small, private, Christian, liberal arts university in southern California, as part of a larger longitudinal study on vocational development. Of the 300 recruited individuals, 150 were asked to participate in an interview. A total of 92 students (44% male, 56% female) participated in the interview procedure for a response rate of 61%. Of those interviewed, 65 (38.5% male, 61.5% female) also completed a web-based survey for a 71% response rate. Most participants were 18 or 19 years of age with 97% and 95.4% at these ages for the interview only condition (M=18.28) and interview and web-survey condition (M=18.60), respectively,. Both groups were predominantly Caucasian (67%, 69.2%), although other ethnicities were also represented (12%, 15.4% Asian, 9%, 10.8% Latino, 2%, 1.5% African American, and 10%, 3.1% other).
Measures
Demographic Form. Participants completed a demographic form that assessed information about demographic characteristics of the sample such as age, sex, ethnicity, and parental income.
Personal Interview. Participants completed a 30-minute personal interview to qualitatively assess faith and vocational development. For the current study, responses to the following question were analyzed: “We often hear about people who ‘dedicate their lives to service.’ What would a life dedicated to service look like to you? Do you see yourself incorporating service to others in your future vocation?”
Web Survey. A 93-item web-based survey was developed to assess college student development in the areas of faith, identity, and vocation. Responses to two sections of the survey were evaluated in the current study. Faith attitudes were assessed with a 16-item (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.80) inventory consisting of four subscales assessing strength of faith (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.75), importance of faith (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.88), life application of faith (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.87), understanding of calling (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.45). Faith behaviors were assessed with a 10-item (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.80) inventory consisting of three subscales assessing public religious activity (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.63), private religious activity (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.55), and the experience of spiritual feelings (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.88). For the majority of questions, participants responded using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from one (“strongly disagree”) to five (“strongly agree”). The 10 questions that assessed specific faith behaviors required participants to choose one of several ordinal responses (e.g., “never;” “once a week;” “one or two times per year”). Sample items for these inventories are displayed in Table 1.
Procedures
Three hundred participants were randomly selected from the 2002 entering class, using a stratified random sampling technique to ensure equal numbers of male and female participants. Participants were sent a letter inviting them to participate in a web-based survey. The survey materials required approximately 30 minutes to complete. As an incentive, the participants received one hour of credit towards an academic unit. From the original sample of 300, 150 students were selected to complete the personal interview, again using a stratified random sampling technique to ensure equal numbers of male and female participants. As an incentive, the participants received two hours of credit towards an academic unit. Trained research assistants conducted all personal interviews. All personal interviews were tape-recorded and then transcribed.
RESULTS
Scoring Service Commitment Dimensions
Responses to the interview question were examined using a scoring rubric created for the current study. Responses were rated on several different service dimensions of service with scores ranging from 1-5. A score of 5 indicated the greatest level of commitment to that service dimension. The scoring criteria for each dimension are listed in Table 2.
Specificity refers to how specific one’s plans for service are, such as to what degree the respondent has identified where and how they plan to serve. Sacrifice refers to how much a person was willing to give up or give of oneself to serve others. The third dimension of ideal/actual congruence looked at the consistency between the example of a life of service given and the respondent’s intended application of service in their own life. The motivation service commitment dimension attempted to evaluate what inspires the participant to serve and who they intend to benefit with their service. Finally, intentionality refers to the degree to which a person seeks out service opportunities.
Interrater Reliability for Service Commitment Dimensions
Two independent raters analyzed the interview transcripts of participants. The inter-rater reliability for exact matches for dimensions of service was 54%. Interrater reliability increased for matches within plus or minus one level of a dimension (93%). In cases of discrepancy between the two raters, the participant was classified in the higher level.
Classifying Students into Service Commitment Levels
An overall service commitment level was determined after evaluating the scores for each dimension. Students were classified into one of five service commitment levels based on the highest score received across the five service commitment dimensions. Table 3 shows the percentages of participants who were in each level of service commitment. The service commitment levels were highly correlated with each of the service dimensions (p<.01).
Relationship between Service Commitment Levels and Faith Attitudes and Behavior
Service Commitment Level and Faith Attitudes. Table 4 displays the means and standard deviations for faith attitude scores across service levels. A one-way ANOVA was conducted on total faith attitude scores across service levels. Results indicated significant group differences, F(2, 60) = 4.64, p < .02. Mean comparisons indicated that those in Service Commitment Level Three scored significantly lower than those in Service Commitment Level Five (p < .02). A MANOVA examining the four subscales of faith attitudes across service levels were conducted. This revealed significant group differences for faith attitudes, F(4, 58) = 2.90, p < .04. Examination of the univariate F tests indicated significant group differences for the Calling subscale, F(2,63) = 5.93, p < .01. Posthoc mean comparisons between service level groups for Calling indicated that those in Service Commitment Level Three scored significantly lower on this subscale than those in Service Commitment Level Five.
Service Commitment Level and Faith Behaviors. Table 4 also displays the means and standard deviations for faith behavior scores across service levels. A one-way ANOVA was conducted on total faith behavior scores across service levels. Results indicated significant group differences, F(2, 60) = 4.58, p < .02. Mean comparisons indicated that those in Service Commitment Level Three scored significantly lower than those in Service Commitment Level Five (p < .02). A MANOVA examining the three subscales of faith behaviors across service levels were conducted. This revealed significant group differences for faith behaviors, F(3, 59) = 3.04, p < .04. Examination of the univariate F tests indicated significant group differences for both the Public and Private Activities subscales, F(2,63) = 3.26, p < .05 and F(2,63) = 3.48, p < .04, respectively. Posthoc mean comparisons between service level groups for both Public and Private Activities scores indicated that those in Service Commitment Level Three scored significantly lower on this subscale than those in Service Commitment Level Five.
Predicting Levels of Service Commitment
A Chi Square was conducted to assess ethnic differences across Service Commitment Levels. Results showed that participants with ethnicity other than Caucasian were more likely to be in higher service levels than those from Caucasian ethnicity X(2)=15.87, p<.001.
A Chi Square was also conducted to assess gender difference across Service Commitment Levels. Results indicated that males were more likely to fall in service commitment levels suggesting a low commitment to service compared to females who were more likely to fall in service commitment levels suggesting a high level of service commitment X(3)=9.09, p <.03.
To examine gender differences further, Pearson product-moment correlations were used to assess the relationship between scores on the Service Commitment Dimensions and measures of faith attitudes and behaviors for both males and females. For both males and females the dimensions of Sacrifice and Ideal/Actual Congruence were the only dimensions that were significantly correlated with Faith Attitudes and Behaviors. However, fewer significant correlations were observed for males than females.
CONCLUSIONS
The results of the current study suggest that stronger commitment to service is associated with stronger faith attitudes and more frequent faith behaviors. This is particularly true regarding the areas of personal sense of calling and public and private faith activities. The results of the current study also suggest that service commitment is related to ethnicity and gender. Non-Caucasian students show a stronger commitment to service than Caucasian students. This could be due to the greater challenges that Non-Caucasian students may have faced that could lead them to develop a greater desire to help others and enact lives of purpose at a younger age.
In terms of gender, females showed a stronger commitment to service than males. For males, service commitment was mainly associated with faith behaviors in the ideal/actual congruence dimension. For females, service commitment was associated with both faith behaviors and faith attitudes in relation to both the sacrifice and ideal/actual congruence dimensions. These findings indicate that female students not only are more committed to service, but also have greater ties between their faith and their service commitment.
In conclusion, service, as an important component of vocation, should be discussed in the context of faith development in order to help students discern their vocational callings.
Table 1
Web Survey Scales and Subscales
Scale / Subscale / ? # / Example QuestionFaith Attitude / Strength of
religious belief / 7 / Most of the time I feel close to God
10 / I have doubts about whether my religious beliefs are true
Life application of faith / 2 / I depend on my faith in God for decision-making and direction
God’s calling / 12 / I spend a lot of time contemplating God’s will for my life
14 / I have a good sense about God’s purpose for my life
Importance of faith / 17 / My faith is not very important to me
Faith Behavior / Public activity / 2 / How often do you take part in the activities and organizations of a church or place of worship other than attending services?
Private activity / 3 / How often have you read the Bible in the last year?
5 / Now, thinking about the present, about how often do you pray?
Feeling / 8 / I feel God’s love for me, directly or through others
Table 2
Descriptions of Service Commitment Dimensions
Service Commitment Dimension / Scores / DescriptionsSpecificity / 5 / Lists specific ways to serve in life
4 / Has a general idea of where they would like to serve and how
3 / Mentions specific ways they’ve seen service performed as possibilities for themselves
2 / Unclear about where service is needed
1 / Does not include specific area for service in whole answer – everything has the potential to be service
Sacrifice / 5 / Self-giving sacrifice not compartmentalized in life – self-gift, self-emptying to God and others (sacrifice will). Sacrifice is a way of life
4 / Sees service as a way of life and chooses what this life will look like, willing to move outside their comfort zone to serve others
3 / Service is bound to a time and place in life (limited) Understands that service demands a sacrifice (time, money, desires, talents)
2 / Giving fits in conveniently with their desired life, not costly
1 / Hesitant to give of self or possessions
Ideal/Actual / 5 / Strives to be like ideal example of service (implies action)
Congruence / 4 / Looks to their ideal model of service as a model for their own service
3 / Parts of their ideal are seen in their prediction of their service
2 / Does not seem to reflect a desire to serve in a way close to their ideal
1 / Unclear about what a “life dedicated to service” is when they attempt to answer first part of question
Motivation / 5 / Motivated primarily by faith for the purpose of serving God, although serving God is through people
4 / Motivated by faith to serve, but see it as serving people (others or humanity in general)
3 / Motivated to serve for the sake of improving society or others’ lives, as well as being a good example for others to see
2 / Motivation to serve is personal gain, life fulfillment
1 / Motivation to serve is recognition
Intentionality / 5 / Service is premeditated – specifically identified ways to serve on a daily basis
4 / Service is intentional – looks for ways to serve in everything
3 / Identifies ways in which service is needed and often serves in that way. Realizes everything has the potential to be service
2 / When given an opportunity to serve they usually take it
1 / When service occurs it is random – not planned – person is passive about service opportunities
Table 3
Percentage of Students Scored in each Service Commitment Level
Service Commitment Level / PercentLevel One / 0
Level Two / 2.2
Level Three / 33.0
Level Four / 48.4
Level Five / 16.5
Table 4
MANOVA Results for Faith Scores by Service Levels
Service Commitment Levels
Level Three / Level Four / Level FiveFaith Scores / M / SD / M / SD / M / SD / F
Faith Attitudes / 66.42 / 13.04 / 71.18 / 12.49 / 80.09 / 10.11 / 4.64**
Strength of belief / 22.63 / 4.20 / 23.14 / 3.41 / 25.82 / 3.60 / 2.85
Importance of faith / 7.13 / 3.15 / 7.64 / 2.74 / 8.91 / 1.81 / 1.55
Life application of faith / 14.96 / 3.90 / 15.82 / 3.86 / 17.91 / 1.70 / 2.53
Understanding of calling / 18.25 / 3.55 / 20.57 / 4.01 / 23.09 / 4.68 / 5.93**
Faith Behaviors / 39.21 / 9.79 / 42.93 / 10.68 / 50.09 / 7.58 / 4.58**
Public religious activity / 15.92 / 5.77 / 17.68 / 4.78 / 20.55 / 3.45 / 3.26*
Private religious activity / 15.67 / 3.57 / 17.50 / 4.97 / 19.91 / 4.95 / 3.48*
Spiritual feelings / 12.25 / 3.42 / 13.04 / 3.36 / 15.18 / 2.56 / 3.06
Note: *p < .05, **p < .02