Features of social identity of volunteers engaged in professionally oriented volunteer activities and subject to emotional burnout

Abstract

The increased interest in volunteerism over the last five years determines the importance of this area, including in science. Changing social situations contribute to the rapid emergence of new areas of volunteer activity. At the same time, the problem of volunteer identification with the group as a factor in overcoming their emotional burnout is relevant. The purpose of the study is to study the characteristics of the social identity of “burning out” volunteers engaged in professionally oriented volunteer activities. 84 volunteers of the Kursk State Medical University and the Volunteer Resource Center of the Kursk Region aged 18 to 23 years took part in it. The experimental group (EG) included students of the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Clinical Psychology of Kursk State Medical University aged 19 to 23 years (36 girls and 6 boys), engaged in professionally oriented volunteer activities (medical volunteers) for 6 months or more . The control group (CG) consisted of 42 volunteers from the Autonomous Non-Profit Organization Volunteering Resource Center of the Kursk Region aged 18 to 23 years (34 girls and 8 boys). Observation and conversation, as well as standardized methods for diagnosing social identity and emotional burnout, were used to collect data. The results were processed using the computer program “Statistica 11.0”. It has been empirically proven that volunteers engaged in professionally oriented and non-professionally oriented volunteer activities burn out. In the identity structure of “burning out” volunteers, the dominant positions are occupied by the “Reflective Self” and the “Social Self.” At the same time, professionally oriented volunteers primarily identify themselves with educational and professional roles, while non-professionally oriented volunteers identify themselves with family roles. The predominant type of social identity for professionally oriented volunteers is pseudo-identity as a possible factor in overcoming depersonalization, and for non-professionally oriented volunteers it is an achieved and high achieved identity in overcoming emotional exhaustion and burnout. This must be taken into account when developing a program for its prevention and correction.