The power of connections: Psychological sense of community as a predictor of volunteerism.

Two studies explored psychological antecedents of volunteerism, including several dispositional constructs and psychological sense of community (PSOC). In Study 1, 140 retirees completed measures of empathy, self-esteem, generativity, and PSOC, as well as involvement in volunteer organizations and weekly volunteering hours at two points in time. PSOC predicted concurrent and future volunteerism even after controlling for the other predictors.

C-SIDE: drinking simulation for college students.

Objective: Our goals were to develop a realistic simulation of collegiate drinking contexts and evaluate the predictive validity of this methodology.

Method: After methods development, 88 incoming students (61% women) completed measures of alcohol consumption, alcohol expectancies and motives, and the Collegiate-Simulated Intoxication Digital Elicitation (C-SIDE). Eight months later, students reported recent drinking behavior and alcohol-related consequences.