The Impact of Personal Motivation on Volunteering Service Behaviour Among Public University Students in Heilongjiang Province, China: The Mediating Role of Volunteering Service Intention

Abstract

 
This study develops and validates an integrated structural model to examine youth volunteerism among undergraduates in Heilongjiang Province. Drawing on Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), the model explores the direct and indirect effects of personal motivation on volunteering service intention and behaviour. Survey data from 521 students were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM) in Amos with bias-corrected bootstrapping. Measurement testing confirmed robust reliability and validity, with the structural model demonstrating excellent fit (CMIN/df=1.334, RMSEA=0.025, GFI=0.940). Structural path analysis revealed that personal motivation significantly and positively influences both service intention (β=0.823,p<0.001) and actual service behaviour (β=0.354,p<0.001), while service intention directly predicts service behaviour (β=0.476,p<0.001). Mediation analysis confirmed that volunteering service intention acts as a complementary partial mediator, accounting for 60.31% of the total effect (IDE=0.538,Total Effect=0.892).
Theoretically, this study extends TPB and SDT by demonstrating that volunteering service intention serves as a key psychological transmission mechanism through which multidimensional personal motivation translates into sustained volunteer behaviour among Chinese university students. Practically, because intention carries more than 60% of the motivational impact, higher education administrators optimizing "Second Classroom" systems should strengthen commitment-building activities, foster volunteer identity development, and establish structured volunteer mentorship programs. Methodological limitations, including the cross-sectional design and regional sample, highlight the need for future longitudinal and multi-regional validation studies.