YPiS 2019 full report

Debbie Maltman, Gemma Jackson & Matthew Linning
Volunteer Scotland, Research and Evaluation
W www.volunteerscotland.org.uk @VolScotland
Young People in Scotland Survey 2019
Analysis of volunteering – full results
August 2020

Key points to cover
• Methodology
• Key findings
• Formal volunteering – the facts
• Formal volunteering – explaining the success story
• Formal volunteering – factors influencing future participation
• Informal volunteering – the facts
• Youth vs. adult volunteering – understanding the differences
• Youth volunteering and inclusion

IPSOS Mori Survey (2019):
• Repeat of Young People in Scotland (YPiS) surveys in 2014 and 2016.
• Representative sample of over 1,700 young people in Scotland.
• Aged 11-18 years (but core years are 12-17 years).
• 60 state-sector secondary schools across 26 local authorities.
• Self-completion survey: Sept – Nov 2019.
• Conducted in mixed ability classes such as personal and social education
• Large representative dataset - allows for robust sub-group analysis.
• Informal volunteering questions introduced for the first time.
Methodology
Further information on the methodology is provided in
the separate ‘Technical Note’

Youth cohorts not included in survey1:
• Young people in private secondary education (4.6%).
• Exclusions from state schools (c. 3.8%).
• Those in special schools (c. 0.9%).
• Youths aged 16 – 18 who have left school (17.8%).
The volunteering participation rate amongst 11-18-year-olds could be
higher or lower than recorded in the YPiS survey due to the above
groups not being included. However, VS believes the impact of this is
marginal and does not affect the overall findings from the YPiS survey.
See further discussion in the Technical Note.
1 See ‘Technical Note’ for relevant data sources
Methodology

YOUNG PEOPLE VOLUNTEERING
KEY FINDINGS

Key findings – formal volunteering
• Current engagement:
– 49% of young people formally volunteer – almost double the adult level of 26%
– c.140,000 secondary school pupils
– 11 million hours p.a.
• Future engagement: 21% of ‘non-volunteers’ would like to volunteer in the future.
• Growth: evidence that the strong growth trend in youth volunteering (2009 – 2016) has
now plateaued:
– 33% in 2009 (Being Young in Scotland, 2009).
– 45% in 2014 (YPiS, 2014).
– 52% in 2016 (YPiS, 2016).
– 49% in 2019 (YPiS, 2019).
• Sectors: sport, children, hobbies and recreation dominate young people’s
volunteering.
• Frequency: 60% of young volunteers volunteered regularly (at least once a month)
and 15% occasionally (less than once a month). Other evidence suggests that
volunteering benefits are directly linked to ‘regularity’.

Key findings – formal volunteering
• Intensity: however, young people spend much less time volunteering than adults:
– 54% of young volunteers provided <1 hour in last 4 weeks (vs. 24% of adults)
– 24% of young volunteers provided > 5 hours in last 4 weeks (vs. 42% of adults)
• ‘Influencers’: parents/guardians are most likely to encourage or help young people into
volunteering (46% of young volunteers) , followed by teachers (22%), someone at a
club or group the young person attended (22%) and friends (20%).
• Benefits: career benefits are important – especially skills development (for 54% of
youth volunteers). However, wellbeing, social capital & altruistic benefits tend to be
cited more frequently than career benefits.
• Gender: Girls are more engaged in formal volunteering than boys – 53% compared to
45%.
– Gender stereo-types are evidenced, especially for volunteering with children
and young people (inside and outside school) where girls’ volunteering participation
is 10% higher than boys.
– However, it is encouraging to see balanced gender participation for volunteering
in physical activity and sport – both boys and girls at 39% (a sea-change from 2014
when the respective rates were 57% and 31%, although the overall decline in youth
volunteering in physical activity and sport is disappointing).

Key findings – informal volunteering
• Current engagement:
– 25% of young people volunteered informally at least once in the last year
– This is 11% lower than the adult level of 36%.
– The high proportion of ‘don’t knows’ (31%) tends to understate the true
participation rate.
– c. 72,000 secondary school pupils
• Future engagement: 23% of ‘non-volunteers’ would like to volunteer in the
future, which is encouraging.
• Gender: boys are slightly more engaged in informal volunteering than girls –
27% compared to 25%
– This is a reversal of gender engagement in formal volunteering.
– However, for ‘non-volunteers’ 28% of girls would like to volunteer in the
future compared to only 18% of boys.
• Age: informal volunteering participation increases by age – from 19% for 12-
year-olds to 29% for 18-year-olds.
• Frequency: 62% of young volunteers volunteered regularly (at least once a
month) and 17% occasionally (less than once a month). This is a similar profile
to the frequency for formal youth volunteering.

Key findings - inclusion
• Deprivation: Formal volunteering participation in SIMD Q1 is much higher for young
people compared to adults – 45% vs. 20%. In contrast, informal volunteering
participation in SIMD Q1 is much lower for young people compared to adults – 20%
vs. 32%
• Disability: Volunteering is highest amongst those with a physical or mental health
condition of at least 12 months for both formal volunteers (55% vs. 50%) and informal
volunteers (31% vs 25%) – a major finding.
• Rurality: Volunteering participation is highest in rural areas compared to urban for both
formal (52% vs. 48%) and informal volunteering (30% vs. 24%), which is the same
trend as in adult volunteering.
• Ethnicity: volunteering participation is highest for young people of white ethnicity
compared to other ethnicities for both formal (50% vs. 47%) and informal volunteering
(27% vs. 24%), which is the same trend as in adult volunteering.
• Gender: girls are more engaged than boys in formal volunteering (53% vs 45%), the
same as for adult volunteering. For informal volunteering, boys are more engaged than
girls (27% vs 25%).

FORMAL VOLUNTEERING –
THE FACTS

Formal volunteering participation
• 49% of young people have formally volunteered at least once in the last year, with the
majority doing so in their spare time = c.140,000 young people in total.
• 13% of young people volunteer in both their own time and in school time.
n=1731
21%
40%
17%
13%
17%
4%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
Yes, in school
time
Yes, in my own
spare time
No, but I'd like to
do this in the
future
No, and I'd not
consider doing
this
Don’t Know Prefer not to say
%
of
young
people
49%
30%
17%
4% Yes
No
Don’t Know
Prefer not
to say
n = 1,731

20%
34%
18%
14%
17%
5%
45%
27%
40%
21%
12%
13%
3%
52%
21%
40%
17%
13%
17%
4%
49%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Yes, in school
time
Yes, in my own
spare time
No, but I'd like
to do this in
the future
No, and I'd not
consider doing
this
Don’t Know Prefer not to
say
Total Yes
%
of
young
people
2014
(n=2016)
2016
(n=1550)
2019
(n=1731)
Trend in formal volunteering:
2014 to 2019
 While there has been a small decrease in formal youth volunteer participation from 52% in
2016 to 49% in 2019, the increase from 45% in 2014 to 49% in 2019 is statistically
significant.
 There has been a 6% decrease in formal volunteering in school time between 2016 and
2019, while at the same time volunteering outside school has remained stable at 40%.
Being Young in Scotland survey reported 33%
of 11-16-year-olds had volunteered in 2009

Levels of formal volunteering: by
gender
• Girls are more engaged in formal volunteering than boys – 53% compared to 45%.
• For ‘non-volunteers’, 17% of boys expressed no interest in formal volunteering
compared to only 9% of girls.
20%
35%
15%
17%
19%
5%
45%
23%
45%
20%
9%
15%
3%
53%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Yes, in
school time
Yes, in my
own spare
time
No, but I'd
like to do
this in the
future
No, and I'd
not consider
doing this
Don’t Know Prefer not
to say
Total Yes
%
of
young
people
Male Female
n=1,672

age
• Formal volunteer participation increases towards school-leaving age.
• Reason for relatively strong engagement amongst 11-12-year-olds is
unknown.
n=1,660
49%
44%
41%
46%
49%
59%
68%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
11 12 13 14 15 16 17/18
%
of
young
people
Age

age (2014-2019)
• For 2014 – 2019 formal volunteer participation is much higher for those of school-leaving age.
• In 2016 the relatively strong engagement for 11-13-year-olds is unknown. This is the only year
where participation rates for 11-13-years-olds is higher than 14-15-year-olds.
43%
49%
43%
45%
47% 47%
65% 64%
62%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
2014 2016 2019
%
of
young
people
Age 11-13 Age 14.15 Age 16-18

Young people volunteer formally in
the following areas:
11%
4%
2%
4%
3%
4%
4%
6%
7%
8%
9%
15%
19%
23%
33%
37%
39%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%
Don’t know / prefer not to say
Other
Trade Unions, justice and human rights
Politics
Emergency services, first aid and public safety
Online volunteering
Culture and heritage
Groups aimed at supporting older people
Religion and belief
Environmental protection
Animal welfare
Health, disability and wellbeing
Local community or neighbourhood
Hobbies and recreation
Children or young people (in schools)
Children or youth groups (outside school)
Physical activity, sport and exercise
% of young people volunteering
Sport, children, hobbies and
recreation dominate young
people’s volunteering.
n=843

5% 6%
9%
15%
4%
14%
28%
33%
2% 2%
6%
8% 8%
17%
38%
43%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
Emergency
services, first
aid and
public safety
Online
volunteering
Religion and
belief
Don’t know /
prefer not to
say
Groups
aimed at
supporting
older people
Health,
disability and
wellbeing
Children or
young people
(in schools)
Children or
youth groups
(outside
school)
%
of
young
people
volunteering
Male
Female
Gender variations by type of formal
volunteering (selected examples)
• More boys than girls volunteer in
emergency services, online
volunteering and religion.
• More girls than boys volunteer
with children, health and older
people.
• Almost double the % of boys don’t
know / prefer not to say which
areas they volunteer in.
n=818

Gender variations by type of formal
volunteering are reducing: 2014 -2019
In 2014 53% of boys volunteered in sports compared to only 31% of girls,
a difference of 23%. By 2019 the same proportion of boys and girls
volunteer in sports (39%).
In 2014 only 6% of boys and 5% of girls volunteered with local community
or neighbourhood groups, by 2019 this has increased to 19% of boys and
20% of girls.
43% of girls volunteered with children or young people (in schools) in
2014 compared to only 23% of boys, a difference of 20%.
By 2019 the difference has halved, with 38% of girls and 28% of boys
volunteering in this area.
13% of boys volunteered with children outside of school in 2014
compared to 37% of girls, a difference of 23%.
By 2019 the difference has more than halved, with 33% of boys and 43%
of girls volunteering in this area.
Selected examples

60% of young volunteers are
volunteering formally on a regular
basis (at least once a month).
volunteering formally on an
occasional basis (less than
once a month).
25% don't know or prefer not
to say how often they formally
volunteer.
5%
20%
15%
15%
29%
16%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%
Prefer not to say
Don't know
Less than once a month
Less than once a week
but at least once a month
About once a week
Several times a week
n=843
Frequency of formal volunteering

Frequency of formal volunteering:
by age
• 16-18-year-olds formally volunteer the most regularly (at least once a month),
which has been a consistent finding for 2014 - 2019.
• Occasional formal volunteering (less than once a month) decreases with age.
• Reasons for increased volunteering:
• drive to build experience, skills & CV
• more volunteering opportunities for post-16 age group?
54%
66% 65%
14%
18%
21%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Age 11-13 Age 14-15 Age 16-18
%
of
young
people
volunteering
Regular Occasional
n=818

Frequency of formal volunteering:
2014 - 2019
59%
61%
60%
38%
26%
15%
3%
14%
25%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
2014
2016
2019
Regular Occasional Don’t Know / Prefer not to say
• The % of young people
volunteering on a regular
basis has remained
consistent between 2014
and 2019 with a 1%
increase.
• The % of young people
who don’t know or prefer
not to say how often they
volunteer has increased
significantly from 3% in
2014 to 25% in 2019.

Intensity of formal volunteering -
hours volunteered (in past 4 weeks)
54%
22%
11%
5%
2% 3% 3%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Less than an hour 1-5 hours 6-10 hours 11-15 hours 16-20 hours 21-35 hours 36 hours or more
%
of
young
people
volunteering
Using this data we can calculate that young
people give:
• Over 825,000 hours of help each month
• Almost 11 million hours of help each year
n=843

EXPLAINING THE SUCCESS STORY

Possible explanations
• ‘Influencers’: parents, teachers & friends
• Self-interest: skills, experience and CV
• Jobs market: increasingly limited employment opportunities for young people
• Incentives: awards & recognition
• Targeted support: e.g. Project Scotland, The Prince’s Trust, Third Sector
Interface Network, etc.
Why is volunteering participation
higher for young people?

Routes into Formal volunteering:
'Influencers’
•Parents/guardians are
most likely to help
young people into
volunteering, followed
by teachers and then
someone at a club or
group the young person
attended.
•10% of young
people start formally
volunteering on their
own initiative.
2%
4%
10%
11%
12%
13%
20%
22%
22%
46%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
Someone else
Someone at a local community
organisation…
No, I did it without any encouragement
Someone from a scheme
(e.g. DofE, Saltire)
Other family member
Don’t know / prefer not to say
Friends
Someone at a club or group I go to
A teacher
My parent(s), or guardian
n=843

16%
13% 12%
9%
7%
Routes into Formal volunteering by age
- Selected ‘Influencers’ -
• Parents or guardians have greatest influence with 11-15-year-olds.
• Teachers have greatest influence with 16-18-year-olds.
14% 17%
11%
11% 9%
4%
35% 35%
27%
13% 14%
18%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Age 11-13 Age 14-15 Age 16-18
%
of
young
people
Friends Other family member My parent(s), or guardian A teacher
n=817

16%
13% 12%
9%
7%
Routes into Formal volunteering:
‘Influencers’ (selected examples 2014 & 2019)
• Parents or guardians have
the greatest influence in
both 2014 and 2019.
• The influence of teachers,
friends, other family
members and someone at
a local community
organisation have less
influence in 2019 than in
2014.
• More young people are
undertaking volunteering
on their own, without any
encouragement in 2019
than in 2014.
10%
6%
18%
31%
32%
41%
4%
10%
12%
20%
22%
46%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%
Someone at a
local community
organisation…
I did it
without any
encouragement
Other family
member
Friends
A teacher
My parent(s),
or guardian
2019 2014

Benefits from formal volunteering
n = 817
Wellbeing & altruism benefits
20%
20%
23%
26%
35%
36%
37%
37%
39%
43%
52%
67%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80%
Feeling less lonely or isolated
Improved mental health
Improved physical health
Increased trust in others
Feeling better about myself
Feeling happier
Feeling appreciated
Feeling I've made a difference
Making new friends
Feeling part of a team
Increasing confidence
Having fun
Career benefits
12%
15%
22%
24%
40%
54%
0% 20% 40% 60%
Feeling I've improved my
study prospects
Feeling I've improved my
job prospects
Increased understanding
of what I can achieve
Learning how to overcome
challenges
Being a leader
Learning new skills
n=843
n=843
• Career benefits are important – especially skills development.
• However, wellbeing, social capital & altruistic benefits are cited more frequently.
• Where the response categories are comparable between years the same trend is evident in 2014 -2019.
• This highlights the importance of volunteering in enhancing self-efficacy.

FACTORS INFLUENCING FUTURE
PARTICIPATION

Formal Volunteering – ‘Influences’
(Top 10)
•‘If I could volunteer in
something that interested
me or was important to
me’ and volunteering with
friends would encourage
the highest proportion of
young people to start
volunteering or volunteer
more
•The response categories
in 2014, 2016 and 2019
differ, which does not allow
for a time series
comparison.
n=1731
15%
15%
16%
18%
23%
23%
23%
26%
27%
27%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
If there were more volunteering
opportunities available for people under…
If I could volunteer close to where I live
If I knew I would be appreciated
Don’t know
If it fitted around my other commitments
(e.g. homework, weekend job, etc.)
If I knew I would be making a difference
If it would improve my skills
If it would improve my career/job
prospects
If I could do it with my friends
If I could volunteer in something that
interested me or was important to me
% of young people
n = 843

Formal volunteering – ‘Influences’
(Bottom 8)
•12% of young people would
volunteer more or start
volunteering if someone asked
them to get involved.
•Only 3% of young people
responded that ‘nothing would
encourage me’.
•The response categories in
2014, 2016 and 2019 differ,
which does not allow for a full
time series comparison.
1%
3%
3%
9%
9%
9%
10%
12%
0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14%
Other
Nothing would encourage me
Prefer not to say
If I could do it with my family
If I knew I would be fully supported
during my volunteering
If I could try volunteering to see if I liked
it
If there was more help available to find
out about volunteering opportunities
If someone asked me to do something
% of young people
n = 843

Formalvolunteering – ‘Influences’
by age and gender
More girls want to volunteer with their friends (32%) than boys (22%)
7% of boys said that nothing would encourage them compared to 2%
of girls.
16-18-year-olds (22%) are more interested in being able to volunteer
close to where they live than younger age groups (14% for 11-13-year-
olds).
11-13-year-olds (11%) are more interested in being able to volunteer
with their family than older age groups (4% of 16-18-year-olds)

Volunteering – ‘Influences’ for formal,
informal and non-volunteers
Improving skills is a key influence for formal (24%), informal (23%) and
non-volunteers (24%).
Formal volunteers (26%) are more influenced by improving their career /
job prospects than informal volunteers (24%) and non-volunteers (23%).
Informal volunteers are more interested in volunteering in something that
interested or is important to them (31%) than formal volunteers (27%)
and non-volunteers (20%).
More non-volunteers (26%) don’t know what would encourage them to
volunteer than formal volunteers (18%) and informal volunteers (11%). Is
there an opportunity to promote the benefits of volunteering to young
non-volunteers?

Formalvolunteering – Benefits vs
‘Influences’
23% of young people formally volunteering would be influenced to do more
volunteering if it would improve their skills. However, more than half (54%) of
young formal volunteers benefited from gaining new skills.
27% of young people formally volunteering would be encouraged to volunteer
more if they could volunteers alongside their friends. However, 39% of young
formal volunteers benefited from volunteering by making new friends.
16% of young people formally volunteering would be encouraged to do more if
they knew it would be appreciated. However, 37% of young formal volunteers cited
feeling appreciated as a benefit from their volunteering.
26% of young people formally volunteering would be encouraged to do more if
volunteering improved their career and job prospects. While only 15% of young
formal volunteers cited improved job and career prospects as a benefit from their
volunteering. This may be due to the early stage that young people in secondary
school are at in their career development. Benefits of gaining new skills (54%),
being a leader (40%), overcoming challenges (24%) and increased confidence (52%)
may all benefit young people in their career path in the future, when they leave
school.

INFORMAL VOLUNTEERING –
THE FACTS

Levels of informal volunteering
• 25% of young people have informally volunteered, = c. 72,000 young people in total
• Almost a third of young people don’t know if they’ve volunteered informally
25%
23%
14%
31%
6%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
Yes No, but I'd like
to do this in
the future
No, and I'd not
consider doing
this
say
%
of
young
people
25%
37%
31%
6%
Yes
No
Don’t
Know
Prefer
not to
say
n = 1,731

27%
18%
17%
32%
6%
25%
28%
12%
30%
6%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
Yes No, but I'd like to
do this in the
future
No, and I'd not
consider doing this
%
of
young
people
Male Female
Informal volunteering participation:
by gender
n=1,672
• Boys are slightly more engaged in informal volunteering than girls – 27%
compared to 25%.
• However, for ‘non-volunteers’ 28% of girls would like to volunteer in the future
compared to only 18% of boys.
*Excludes young people who identify in another way or prefer not to say, both groups have a lower
participation rate which reduces the overall participation rate to 25%.

Informal volunteering participation:
by age
• Informal volunteer participation does not follow the same trend of increasing
formal volunteer participation with age.
• Why are both formal and informal volunteer participation rates high for 11
year-olds?
29%
19%
25%
23%
29%
30%
29%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
11 12 13 14 15 16 17/18
%
of
young
people
Age
n=1,660

volunteering informally on a
regular basis (at least once a
month).
volunteering informally on an
occasional basis (less than
once a month).
21% don't know or prefer not
to say how often they informally
volunteer.
n=843
Frequency of informal volunteering
3%
18%
17%
18%
24%
20%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
Prefer not to say
Don't know
Less than once a month
Less than once a week but at
least once a month
About once a week
Several times a week
n=436

Frequency of informal volunteering:
by age
• Regular informal volunteering is higher for 14-18-year-olds compared to 11-13-
year-olds.
• Occasional informal volunteering also increases by age, unlike formal
volunteering.
54%
66% 65%
14%
18%
21%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Age 11-13 Age 14-15 Age 16-18
%
of
young
people
volunteering Regular Occasional
n=423

YOUTH vs. ADULT VOLUNTEERING –
UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENCES

Total volunteer participation
Youth volunteering Adult volunteering
SHS 2018
Formal vol. participation rate = 49%
Informal vol. participation rate = 25%
• Formal volunteer participation for young people is almost double the adult rate.
• Informal volunteer participation is 11% higher for adults than young people.
Formal Informal
31.4% 17.3% 7.9%
Formal Informal
12% 14% 22%
Formal vol. participation rate = 26%
Informal vol. participation rate = 36%
n=9,700
n=9,700

Formal volunteering participation
Young people vs. adults
Formal Volunteering participation Regular vs. occasional formal volunteering
29%
20%
7%
6%
12%
0%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
Young People
(YPiS 2019;
n=843)
Adults
(SHS 2018;
n=2,522)
%
of
population
Regular
Occasional
Don't know/ prefer not
to say
49%
26%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Young People
(YPiS 2019;
n=1,731)
Adults
(SHS 2018;
n=9,700)
%
of
population

Youth vs. adult formal volunteer participation
Trend in formal volunteering by age
YPiS, 2019, n=1,731
SHS, 2018, n=9,700
See separate ‘TechnicalNote’
on age cohort coverage
• Formal
volunteering
participation is
significantly higher
for young people
than adults.
• This trend is
evident in each of
the survey years
2014-2019.
49%
26%
21%
33%
28% 28%
19%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
11-18 16 - 24 25 - 34 35 - 44 45 - 59 60 - 74 75 +
%
of
population
Age

Possible explanations for drop-off
in formal volunteering
• Absence of the ‘ASK’ factor when young people leave home and
education.
• Demand for skills / CV building reduces when in employment.
• Lack of time – increased career / personal responsibilities in
adulthood (yet, adult volunteering is highest for 35 – 44 age group
in the 2018 Scottish Household Survey, which is usually the
busiest time of people’s lives).
• Peer pressure/influence – perhaps volunteering is less appealing for
young adults.
Addressing the drop-off: Can the ‘good practice’ lessons from
youth volunteering be used to grow adult volunteering?

Informal volunteering participation
Young people vs. adults
Informal Volunteering participation Regular vs. occasional informal volunteering
25%
36%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
Young People
(YPiS 2019;
n=1,731)
Adults
(SHS 2018;
n=9,700)
%
of
population
16%
30%
4%
6%
5%
0%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
Young People
(YPiS 2019;
n=436)
Adults
(SHS 2018;
n=2,522)
%
of
population
Regular
Occasional
Don't know/
prefer not to
say

Youth vs. adult informal volunteer participation
Trend in informal volunteering by age
YPiS, 2019; n=1,731
SHS, 2018, n=9,700
See separate ‘TechnicalNote’
on age cohort coverage
25%
35% 35%
42%
37%
36%
24%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
11-18 16 - 24 25 - 34 35 - 44 45 - 59 60 - 74 75 +
%
of
population
• Unlike formal
volunteering,
informal
volunteering is
higher for adults
than for young
people.
• This is the first
year that informal
volunteering has
been included in
both the SHS and
YPiS.

Intensity of formal volunteering -
hours volunteered (in past 4 weeks)
54%
24%
22%
34%
11%
17%
5%
7%
2%
7%
2% 6%
3% 5%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
% of young people formally volunteering
(YPiS 2019)
% of adults formally volunteering
(SHS 2018)
Hours
volunteered
(monthly)
Less than an hour 1-5 hours 6-10 hours 11-15 hours 16-20 hours 21-35 hours 36 hours or more
Young people spend much less time volunteering than adults:
– 54% of young volunteers provided <1 hour in last 4 weeks (vs. 24% of adults)
– 24% of young volunteers provided > 5 hours in last 4 weeks (vs. 42% of adults)

HOW INCLUSIVE IS YOUTH
VOLUNTEERING?

Inclusive volunteering: key findings
Deprivation:
• Formal volunteering participation in SIMD Q1 is much higher for young people
compared to adults – 45% vs. 20%
• In contrast, informal volunteering participation in SIMD Q1 is much lower for young
people compared to adults – 20% vs. 32%
Disability:
• Volunteering is highest amongst those with a physical or mental health condition of
at least 12 months for both formal volunteers (55% vs. 50%) and informal volunteers
(31% vs 25%) – a major finding.
• This is counter-intuitive and at variance with adult volunteering. Equivalent SHS
formal volunteering 2018 data are 24% vs. 28%).
Rurality:
• Volunteering participation is highest in rural areas compared to urban for both
formal (52% vs. 48%) and informal volunteering (30% vs. 24%), which is the
same trend as in adult volunteering.

Inclusive volunteering: key findings
Religion:
• Formal volunteering participation is highest for those of Christian faith (60%)
and lowest for ‘other faiths’ (43%). For those with no religion it is 47%.
• Informal volunteering participation follows a similar trend with the respective
rates being 34%, 23% and 25%.
Ethnicity:
• Volunteering participation is highest for young people of white ethnicity compared to
other ethnicities for both formal (50% vs. 47%) and informal volunteering (27% vs.
24%), which is the same trend as in adult volunteering.
Gender:
• Girls are more engaged than boys in formal volunteering (53% vs 45%), the same as
for adult volunteering.
• For informal volunteering, boys are more engaged than girls (27% vs 25%). This is
an important finding as adult female participation (37%) in informal volunteering is
higher than for males (34%).

Formal volunteering by
deprivation
(Based on Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation - SIMD Q*)
Deprivation data based on postcode of pupils.
*SIMD Q ranks areas in Scotland on a scale of:
1 - Most deprived 20% of the population;
to
5 - Least deprived 20% of the population.
Volunteer in spare time
Volunteer in school time
22%
14%
20%
23%
27%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
SIMD Q1
(n=357)
SIMD Q2
(n=321)
SIMD Q3
(n=327)
SIMD Q4
(n=348)
SIMD Q5
(n=377)
%
of
young
people
34% 32%
42% 47% 45%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
SIMD Q1
(n=357)
SIMD Q2
(n=321)
SIMD Q3
(n=327)
SIMD Q4
(n=348)
SIMD Q5
(n=377)
%
of
young
people
Total that volunteer
45%
39%
50%
54% 54%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
SIMD Q1
(n=357)
SIMD Q2
(n=321)
SIMD Q3
(n=327)
SIMD Q4
(n=348)
SIMD Q5
(n=377)
%
of
young
people

Formal volunteering by
deprivation (2014 & 2019)
to
36%
42% 42%
46%
55%
45%
39%
50%
54% 54%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
SIMD Q1 SIMD Q2 SIMD Q3 SIMD Q4 SIMD Q5
%
of
young
people
Total that volunteer
2014 2019 • In 2014 formal volunteer
participation increases as
deprivation decreases, the same
trend we see with adult
participation rates.
• In 2019 participation rates fall
between SIMD Q1 and SIMD Q2,
before increasing.

Informal volunteering by
deprivation
to
20% 20%
29% 28% 28%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
SIMD Q1
(n=357)
SIMD Q2
(n=321)
SIMD Q3
(n=327)
SIMD Q4
(n=348)
SIMD Q5
(n=377)
%
of
young
people
Informal volunteer - Yes
23% 22% 21%
26%
24%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
SIMD Q1
(n=357)
SIMD Q2
(n=321)
SIMD Q3
(n=327)
SIMD Q4
(n=348)
SIMD Q5
(n=377)
%
of
young
people
No, but I'd like to do this in the future
16%
11%
16%
14% 15%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
SIMD Q1
(n=357)
SIMD Q2
(n=321)
SIMD Q3
(n=327)
SIMD Q4
(n=348)
SIMD Q5
(n=377)
%
of
young
people
No, and I'd not consider doing this

Formal volunteering by physical or
mental health condition
27%
42%
15% 14%
11%
5%
55%
21%
42%
19%
15% 16%
2%
50%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Yes, in school
time
Yes, in my own
spare time
No, but I'd like
to do this in the
future
No, and I'd not
consider doing
this
Don’t Know Prefer not to say Total Yes
%
of
young
people
Yes
(n=350)
No
(n=960)
• More young people with a physical
or mental health condition
formally volunteer (55%) than
those without (50%).*
*These rates exclude young people who don’t know if they have a health condition or preferred not to say. Both these
groups have a lower volunteering participation rate which reduces the overall participation rate to the overall rate of 49%.

31%
24%
14%
24%
8%
25% 25%
17%
30%
3%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
Yes No, but I'd like to do
this in the future
No, and I'd not
consider doing this
%
of
young
people
Yes
(n=350)
No
(n=960)
Informal volunteering by physical or
mental health condition
• More young people with a
physical or mental health
condition informally volunteer
(31%) than those without
(25%).

21%
39%
18%
13%
17%
4%
48%
24%
43%
15%
11%
16%
5%
52%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Yes, in school
time
Yes, in my own
spare time
No, but I'd like
to do this in the
future
No, and I'd not
consider doing
this
say
Total Yes
%
of
young
people
Urban
(n=1419)
Rural
(n=312)
Formal volunteering by urban/rural
• More young people from rural areas
(52%) formally volunteer than those from
urban areas (48%).
• As with adult participation this is a
consistent trend between 2014 and 2019.

Informal volunteering by urban /
rural
24%
24%
15%
31%
7%
30%
21%
13%
31%
5%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
Yes No, but I'd like to do this
in the future
No, and I'd not consider
doing this
%
of
young
people
Urban
(n=1419)
Rural
(n=312)
• More young people from
rural areas (30%)in formally
volunteer than those from
urban areas (24%).

Formal volunteering by religion
30%
49%
18%
10%
12%
0%
60%
21%
34%
17% 17%
14%
8%
43%
19%
39%
19%
15%
17%
2%
47%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Yes, in school
time
Yes, in my own
spare time
No, but I'd like to
do this in the
future
No, and I'd not
consider doing
this
%
of
young
people
Christian
(n=324)
Non christian
(n=182)
No religion
(n=972)
• Christian faiths have the highest
formal volunteer participation.
• Non-Christian faiths have the lowest
participation.
• This follows the same trend as in
2014.
• 19% of those with no religion would
be interested in formal volunteering
In the future.

34%
29%
14%
21%
3%
23% 24%
13%
25%
15%
25% 24%
16%
31%
4%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
Yes No, but I'd like to do
this in the future
No, and I'd not
consider doing this
%
of
young
people
Christian
(n=324)
Non christian
(n=182)
No religion
(n=972)
Informal volunteering by religion
• Christian faiths have highest
informal volunteer participation.
• Non-Christian faiths have the lowest
participation.
• 29% of Christian would be interested in
informal volunteering In the future.

Formal volunteering by ethnicity
21%
42%
18%
14%
15%
2%
50%
26%
35%
18%
13%
16%
6%
47%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Yes, in school
time
Yes, in my own
spare time
No, but I'd like to
do this in the
future
No, and I'd not
consider doing
this
%
of
young
people
White ethnicity
(n=1366)
Other ethnic groups
(n=190)
More young people from white
ethnicities (50%) formally volunteer
than those from other ethnic
backgrounds (47%) in 2019.
In 2016 young people from ethnic
minorities had a participation rate
(53%),1% higher than those of white
ethnicity (52%).

27%
25%
16%
28%
4%
24%
23%
13%
31%
10%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
Yes No, but I'd like to do this
in the future
No, and I'd not consider
doing this
%
of
young
people
White
ethnicity
(n=1366)
Other ethnic
groups
(n=190)
Informal volunteering by ethnicity
More young people from white
ethnicities (27%) informally volunteer
than those from other ethnic
backgrounds (24%).

Relevant sources
Links to Data tables and Technical Note for the YPiS 2019 Report
https://www.volunteerscotland.net/for-organisations/research-and-evaluation/publications/young-people-
and-volunteering-in-scotland-2019/
Young People and Volunteering in Scotland 2016, Volunteer Scotland, Jan 2017
Young People and Volunteering in Scotland 2014, Volunteer Scotland, Mar 2015
Scottish Household Survey 2018, Scottish Government, Sept 2019
https://www.gov.scot/publications/scotlands-people-annual-report-results-2018-scottish-household-
survey/
Scottish Household Survey – Cross-sectional analysis for 2016 and 2018, Volunteer Scotland
https://www.volunteerscotland.net/for-organisations/research-and-evaluation/publications/scottish-
household-survey-cross-sectional-analysis/
Summary statistics for schools in Scotland – No. 10, 2019
https://www.gov.scot/publications/summary-statistics-schools-scotland-no-10-2019-edition/

YPiS 2019 full report

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