Abstract
Proportions of volunteers & logistic regression are used to analyze data from cross-national probability samples collected in 1990 & 1991 in order to compare memberships in specific types of voluntary associations in twenty-five countries. The objective is to investigate the assumption stemming from Tocqueville's [1835] (1966) observation over a century & a half ago that people of the United States are more likely to volunteer than those of other nations. The following two questions are examined -- 1) comparatively, is the U.S. a "nation of joiners?" & 2) where are nations' volunteering efforts focused? Religious, union, sports/recreation, education/cultural, & political memberships are analyzed both before & after the implementation of controls for exogenous variables. Results indicated that the United States was not exceptional in its voluntary behavior except in terms of religious memberships. In terms of nations with higher aggregate memberships than the U.S., volunteering in Russia, Sweden, East Germany, Norway, & Finland was mainly focused in union memberships, while in the Netherlands, volunteerism was spread more evenly among religious, sports/recreation, & education/cultural memberships. Limitations & suggestions for future research are discussed. 4 Tables, 11 References. Adapted from the source document.