Fostering Meaning, Purpose, and Enduring Commitments to Community Service in College: A Multidimensional Conceptual Model

Abstract

Using longitudinal data collected as part of the 2004/09 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study, this study employed structural equation modeling to examine how multiple dimensions of college students’ service participation shape life goals oriented toward meaning, purpose, and citizenship and subsequent service engagement. The findings suggest that life goals and subsequent service participation are a function of students’ citizenship predispositions, the intensity and context of service involvement, and, importantly, the benefits that students derive from their service participation. Becoming a more compassionate and socially aware person as a result of service work is positively linked to committing oneself to a meaningful life marked by helping others, civic engagement, and service.