SOCIAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF AIDS VOLUNTEERISM

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Because volunteers and volunteer organizations have played critical roles in caring for persons living with HIV and AIDS (PWAs) and in educating the public about HIV disease, it is important to understand the social and psychological aspects of this type of volunteerism. Guided by a conceptualization of volunteerism as a three-stage process that unfolds over time, relevant psychological theories are being applied and extended in this program of research on AIDS volunteerism. The first stage of the volunteer process concerns the antecedents Of AIDS volunteerism and addresses issues of volunteer recruitment and training, including questions of who volunteers and why. The second stage focuses on the experiences of volunteers and the helping relationships that develop between volunteers and PWAs. The third stage emphasizes the consequences of AIDS volunteerism for the volunteers themselves, for members of their social networks, and for society at large. This research involves coordinated cross-sectional, longitudinal, and intervention studies conducted in field settings with AIDS volunteers, PWAs, and members of volunteers' social networks. Specifically, the proposed research involves analyses of data from a national survey of AIDS volunteers and followup and analyses for a longitudinal study of volunteers providing direct service to PWAs. In addition, four field experiments will test hypotheses at each stage of the volunteer process. This multi-level approach -- examining AIDS volunteerism at the level of volunteers, recipients of volunteerism, and the social system -- has the potential to increase understanding of helping and social relationships and also to contribute to the optimal utilization of volunteers in caring for PWAs, preventing new HIV infections, and increasing public education and awareness of AIDS.