Evalution of Volunteer Motivations: Kahramanmaraş Centered Earthquakes

This study aims to evaluate the motivation of volunteers in Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquakes in Türkiye and to provide a framework for increasing the well-being of volunteers and the sustainability of volunteerism. This research is cross-sectional and descriptive. The study's participants were volunteers who were at least eighteen years old and who had participated in the February 6, 2023, earthquakes in Türkiye. Sociodemographic form and volunteer motivation inventory were used as data collection tools. 414 volunteers who freely engaged in the earthquake disaster completed the data gathering instruments, and agreed to participate in the study made it complete. This study assessed volunteer motivation, which is an important source of social capital during disasters, according to a number of criteria. One of the scale's sub-dimensions, reciprocity scores, was shown to have a statistically significant gender difference. People who had encountered a calamity scored lower than those who had not, according to this study. Volunteer motivation was found to be impacted by disaster training. The reciprocity score, one of the scale's sub-dimensions, was shown to be correlated with the people's income levels. Individuals with low income levels demonstrated lower reciprocity scores than those with medium income levels, according to the findings. As a result of this study's findings, initiatives designed to encourage volunteerism in times of disaster should take into consideration factors like gender, financial level, and prior experience with disasters. It is advised to carry out more research using a mixed method design in order to assess other factors influencing volunteer motivation.