Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Relational Interactions Between Immigrant and Native-Born Volunteers: Trust-Building and Integration or Suspicion and Conflict?

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We investigate the bridging interactions between migrant-background and native-born volunteers. Bridging interactions are the connections that occur across social lines between dissimilar groups. Bridging interactions are a core topic in civil society research that is concerned with questions of trust-building through volunteering and civic engagement. Such interactions between native-born and immigrants in voluntary settings are important for both the immigrants and policymakers occupied with the challenge of immigration and integration. While past studies have addressed the topic of immigrant volunteering from a quantitative approach, we offer a qualitative analysis of the micro-interactions of immigrant and native-born volunteers within nonprofit organizations in Germany. Using 22 in-depth interviews, we explore the interaction experiences and the relations of trust and conflict among volunteers of migrant and native origins. We find that volunteering interactions bridge differences between immigrant and native-born populations by reducing exclusionary effects among differing groups. Immigrant volunteering acts as an accelerator to integration due to two characteristics the volunteers have in common: the willingness to adapt to each other’s cultures and the prioritization of the recipients’ needs.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. While in many countries an immigrant is considered a person born in a country other than where he or she currently resides, in Germany the definition of an “immigrant” is broader: someone who either did not possess German citizenship at birth, and/or who has at least one parent who is not a German citizen by birth (Fitzgerald 2012). See full definition in Method section.

  2. For the sake of simplicity, when we use the generalized term “immigrant,” we refer to both Gen1 and Gen2 populations; however, in our research design and in the findings section, we refer separately to first-generation and second-generation immigrants, since they seem to interact differently with native volunteers.

  3. For example, the different age-groups in our sample are reflective of the general volunteer population in Germany. Many German native-born volunteers are 65 years or older, with retirees making up a high percentage of this age group’s volunteer population (Simonson et al. 2017). The largest age group is 14–29 years old—which is also the age range for which Gen2 volunteering spikes (Simonson et al. 2017). The proclivity of Gen1 immigrants to volunteer increases with their length of stay (Voicu and Serban 2012), which explains more middle-aged Gen1 volunteers among our interviewees.

  4. For instance, native German volunteers were asked “What were the biggest challenges you faced as a volunteer?” and “What are your perceptions of Gen1 immigrant volunteers?” as well as “What are your perceptions of Gen2 immigrant volunteers?”.

  5. We thank two anonymous reviewers for raising this point.

References

  • Alba, R. (2005). Bright vs. blurred boundaries: Second generation assimilation and exclusion in France, Germany, and the United States. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 28(1), 20–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Atasoy, A., Atmaca, D.D., Choi, S., Eichenhofer, D.J., Gerlach, M., Henke, S., et al. (2016). Impulspapier der MigrantInnenorganisationen zur Teilhabe in der Einwanderungsgesellschaft (Impulspapier) [Policy Paper on Migrant Organizations] Die Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Migration, Flüchtlinge und Integration.

  • BAMF. (2016). Migrationsbericht des BAMF im Auftrag der Bundesregierung [Migration report of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees] (No. Migrationsbericht 2016). Nürnberg.

  • BBMFI. (2016). Teilhabe, Chancengleichheit und Rechtsentwicklung in der Einwanderungsgesellschaft Deutschland [Participation, equal opportunities and legal development in the immigration society Germany] (Bericht der BBMFI no. 11). Berlin: Federal Government Commissioners for Migration, Refugees and Integration.

  • Bekkers, R. (2012). Trust and volunteering: Selection or causation? Evidence from a 4-year panel study. Political Behavior, 34(2), 225–247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bekkers, R., Völker, B., van der Gaag, M., & Flap, H. (2008). Social networks of participants in voluntary associations. Social capital: An international research program (pp. 185–205). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Bendel, P. (2014). Coordinating immigrant integration in Germany: Mainstreaming at the federal and local levels. Brussels: Migration Policy Institute Europe.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blau, P.M., & Schwartz, J.E. (2018/1997). Crosscutting social circles: Testing a macrostructural theory of intergroup relations. Milton Park, UK: Routledge.

  • Bosmans, K., De Cuyper, N., Hardonk, S., & Vanroelen, C. (2015). Temporary agency workers as outsiders: An application of the established-outsider theory on the social relations between temporary agency and permanent workers. Vulnerable Groups & Inclusion, 6, 1.

    Google Scholar 

  • BPB. (2016). Bevölkerung mit Migrationshintergrund I [Population with a migrant background].

  • Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buchmann, D. (2011). “Das hat richtig Spaß gemacht!”Freiwilliges Engagement in Deutschland [“That was really fun!”Volunteering in Germany]. Berlin: Betterplace Lab.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carabain, C. L., & Bekkers, R. (2011). Religious and secular volunteering: A comparison between immigrants and non-immigrants in the Netherlands. Voluntary Sector Review, 2(1), 23–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cederberg, M. (2012). Migrant networks and beyond: Exploring the value of the notion of social capital for making sense of ethnic inequalities. Acta Sociologica, 55(1), 59–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chadderton, C. (2016). Volunteering, social cohesion and race: The German technical relief service. Voluntary Sector Review, 7(3), 233–249.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elias, N., & Scotson, J.L. (1965/1994). The established and the outsiders: A sociological enquiry into community problems (2nd ed.). London: Sage.

  • Engel, R. J., & Schutt, R. K. (2017). The practice of research in social work (4th ed.). LA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fitzgerald, J. (2012). Social engagement and immigration attitudes: Panel survey evidence from Germany. International Migration Review, 46(4), 941–970.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garkisch, M., Heidingsfelder, J., & Beckmann, M. (2017). Third sector organizations and migration: A systematic literature review. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 28(5), 1839–1880.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenspan, I., Walk, M., & Handy, F. (2018). Immigrant integration through volunteering: The importance of contextual factors. Journal of Social Policy, 47, 803.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Groß, T., & Alpbek, M. (2017). Engagierte Migranten Teilhabe in der Bürgergesellschaft [Participation of engaged migrants in civil society]. Schwalbach im Taunus: Wochenschau.

    Google Scholar 

  • Handy, F., & Greenspan, I. (2009). Immigrant volunteering: A stepping stone to integration? Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 38(6), 956–982.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hooghe, M. (2003). Participation in voluntary associations and value indicators: The effect of current and previous participation experiences. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 32(1), 47–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hooghe, M., & Stolle, D. (2003). Age matters: Life-cycle and cohort differences in the socialisation effect of voluntary participation. European Political Science, 2(3), 49–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lang, R., & Roessl, D. (2011). The role of social capital in the development of community-based co-operatives. In M. Tuunanen, J. Windsperger, G. Cliquet, & G. Hendrikse (Eds.), New developments in the theory of networks (pp. 353–370). Berlin: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Manatschal, A. (2015). Reciprocity as a trigger of social cooperation in contemporary immigration societies? Acta Sociologica, 58(3), 233–248.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McAllum, K. (2018). Committing to refugee resettlement volunteering: Attaching, detaching and displacing organizational ties. Human Relations, 71(7), 951–972.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paluck, E. L., & Green, D. P. (2009). Prejudice reduction: What works? A review and assessment of research and practice. Annual Review of Psychology, 60(1), 339–367.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pettigrew, T. F. (1998). Intergroup contact theory. Annual Review of Psychology, 49(1), 65–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pettigrew, T. F., & Tropp, L. R. (2006). A meta-analytic test of intergroup contact theory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90(5), 751–783.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community. New York: Simon & Schuster.

    Google Scholar 

  • QSR International. (2015). QSR International pty ltd. Retrieved from https://www.qsrinternational.com. Accessed 1 Mar 2015.

  • Qvist, H. P. Y. (2018). Secular and religious volunteering among immigrants and natives in Denmark. Acta Sociologica, 61(2), 202–218.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rothbart, M. (2001). Category dynamics and the modification of outgroup stereotypes. In R. Brown & S. L. Gaertner (Eds.), Blackwell handbook of social psychology (pp. 45–64). Malden: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sassen-Koob, S. (1989). Formal and informal associations: Dominicans and Colombians in New York. Center for Migration Studies special issues, 7(1), 261–277.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schultze, G. (Ed.). (2013). Migrantenorganisationen: Engagement, transnationalität und integration [Migrant organizations: engagement, transnationality and integration]. Bonn: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simonson, J., Vogel, C., & Tesch-Römer, C. (Eds.). (2017). Freiwilliges Engagement in Deutschland [Volunteering in Germany]. Wiesbaden: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simsa, R., Rameder, P., Aghamanoukjan, A., & Totter, M. (2018). Spontaneous volunteering in social crises: Self-organization and coordination. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 39(2), 236–255.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinha, J. W., Greenspan, I., & Handy, F. (2011). Volunteering and civic participation among immigrant members of ethnic congregations: Complementary not competitive. Journal of Civil Society, 7(1), 23–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Slootjes, J., & Kampen, T. (2017). ‘Is my volunteer job not real work?’ The experiences of migrant women with finding employment through volunteer work. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 28(5), 1900–1921.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Statistisches Bundesamt. (2016). Bevölkerung und Erwerbstätigkeit: Bevölkerung mit Migrationshintergrund Ergebnisse des Mikrozensus 2015 [Population and employment: population with migrant background: Results of the micro census] (1 No.2.2). Wiesbaden: Statistisches Bundesamt.

  • Thomsen, S. L., Walter, T., & Aldashev, A. (2013). Short-term training programs for immigrants in the German welfare system: Do effects differ from natives and why? IZA Journal of Migration, 2(1), 24. https://doi.org/10.1186/2193-9039-2-24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Valentova, M., & Alieva, A. (2018). Do non-EU immigrants exhibit different patterns of participation in voluntary associations from those of natives and EU immigrants? Ethnic and Racial Studies, 41(5), 804–823.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van der Meer, T. (2016). Neither bridging nor bonding: A test of socialization effects by ethnically diverse voluntary associations on participants’ inter-ethnic tolerance, inter-ethnic trust and intra-ethnic belonging. Social Science Research, 55, 63–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Ingen, E., & Bekkers, R. (2015). Generalized trust through civic engagement? Evidence from five national panel studies. Political Psychology, 36(3), 277–294.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Ingen, E., & Wilson, J. (2017). I volunteer, therefore I am? Factors affecting volunteer role identity. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 46(1), 29–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vasta, E. (2010). The controllability of difference: Social cohesion and the new politics of solidarity. Ethnicities, 10(4), 503–521.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Voicu, B. (2014). Participative immigrants or participative cultures? The importance of cultural heritage in determining involvement in associations. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 25(3), 612–635.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Voicu, B., & Şerban, M. (2012). Immigrant involvement in voluntary associations in Europe. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 38(10), 1569–1587.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Voicu, M., & Voicu, B. (2016). Civic participation and gender beliefs: An analysis of 46 countries. Czech Sociological Review, 3(52), 321–345.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, L., & Handy, F. (2014). Religious and secular voluntary participation by immigrants in Canada: How trust and social networks affect decision to participate. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 25(6), 1559–1582.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wiertz, D. (2016). Segregation in civic life: Ethnic sorting and mixing across voluntary associations. American Sociological Review, 81(4), 800–827.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, J. (2012). Volunteerism research: A review essay. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 41(2), 176–212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yap, S. Y., Byrne, A., & Davidson, S. (2011). From refugee to good citizen: A discourse analysis of volunteering. Journal of Refugee Studies, 24(1), 157–170.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

First of all, we thank all volunteer interviewees who shared their experiences with us. We appreciate comments by participants of the ARNOVA Emerging Scholars Research Roundtable - especially Ruth S. Bernstein and Jurgen Willems. Finally, we thank four anonymous reviewers and the Journal Editors for most valuable comments on prior version of the paper.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel

    Anne Stefanie Ruiz Sportmann & Itay Greenspan

  2. School of Social Policy and Practice, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA

    Anne Stefanie Ruiz Sportmann

Authors
  1. Anne Stefanie Ruiz Sportmann
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Itay Greenspan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anne Stefanie Ruiz Sportmann.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Ruiz Sportmann, A.S., Greenspan, I. Relational Interactions Between Immigrant and Native-Born Volunteers: Trust-Building and Integration or Suspicion and Conflict?. Voluntas 30, 932–946 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-019-00108-5

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-019-00108-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation