Hostname: page-component-74656f9884-rngvg Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-11-04T07:54:34.266Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Boston Area Diary Study and the Moral Citizenship of Care

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2026

Paul G. Schervish  and
John J. Havens
Paul G. Schervish*
Affiliation:
Social Welfare Research Institute, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
John J. Havens
Affiliation:
Social Welfare Research Institute, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
*
3 Correspondence should be directed to Paul G. Schervish, Social Welfare Research Institute, McGuinn 516, 140 Commonwealth Avenue, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts 02467; e-mail: schervis@bc.edu.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This paper describes the theoretical foundations, empirical findings, and practical and philosophical implications of the Boston Area Diary Study (BADS), a study of the caring behavior of 44 participants over one calendar year. In particular, the paper presents an identification theory of care and discusses how it shaped the conceptualization, collection, and analysis of the data in a year-long diary study of daily voluntary assistance. The findings from the BADS (1) theoretically confirm the identification theory of care; (2) methodologically capture how individuals perceive and carry out caring behavior as a unity; and (3) empirically document the existence of a moral citizenship in America that is substantially more vigorous than is implied by the usual indicators of civic and political citizenship.

Résumé

Résumé

Cet article décrit les fondations théoriques, les découvertes empiriques et les implications pratiques et philosophiques du Boston Area Diary Study, une étude du comportement d’entraide sociale de 44 participants sur une année calendaire. En particulier l’article présente une théorie de l’identification de l’aide sociale et discute de la manière avec laquelle elle a façonné la conceptualisation, la récolte et l’analyse des données d’une étude journalière sur l’assistance bénévole et retranscrite quotidiennement sur une durée de un an. Les découvertes du Boston Area Diary Study: (1) confirment de manière théorique la théorie de l’identification de l’aide sociale, (2) cernent de manière méthodologique la façon dont les individus perçoivent et adoptent une attitude d’entraide sociale en tant qu’unité et (3) documentent empiriquement l’existence d’une citoyenneté morale en Amérique qui est substantiellement plus vigoureuse que ce qui est laissé supposer par les indicateurs courants de la citoyenneté politique et civique.

Zusammenfassung

Zusammenfassung

Dieser Aufsatz beschreibt die theoretischen Grundlagen, empirischen Ergebnisse und praktischen und philosophischen Implikationen der Boston Area Diary Study, einer Studie mitmenschlichen Verhaltens von 44 Teilnehmern im Verlauf eines Kalenderjahrs. Insbesondere präsentiert der Aufsatz eine Identifikationstheorie der Pflege und erörtert, wie sie die Konzeptionalisierung, Erhebung und Analyse der Daten in einer einjährigen Tagebuchstudie täglicher freiwilliger Hilfe beeinflusste. Die Ergebnisse der Boston Area Diary Study bestätigen erstens theoretisch die Identifikationstheorie der Pflege, erfassen zweitens methodologisch, wie Individuen mitmenschliches Verhalten als eine Einheit wahrnehmen und ausführen und dokumentiert drittens empirisch die Existenz eines moralischen Bürgerrechts in den USA, das deutlich ausgeprägter ist als es von den üblichen Indikatoren ziviler und politischer Bürgerrechte vermutet wird.

Resumen

Resumen

Este artículo describe las fundaciones teóricas, descubrimientos empíricos, e implicaciones prácticas y filosóficas del estudio diario del área de Boston, un estudio del comportamiento del cuidado de 44 participantes durante un año. En particular, este artículo presenta una teoría de identificación del cuidado y trata sobre cómo se determina la conceptualización, colección y análisis de datos durante un año en un estudio diario de asistencia voluntaria diaria. Los descubrimientos del estudio diario del área de Boston: (1) teóricamente confirma la teoría de identificación del cuidado; (2) metodológicamente capta cómo los individuos perciben y llevan a cabo el comportamiento del cuidado como una unidad, y (3) empíricamente documenta la existencia de una moral ciudadana en América que es substancialmente más vigorosa de lo que indican los indicadores de ciudadanía política y cívica.

Keywords

diary studygiving and volunteeringmoral citizenshipcareidentification theorycivil societyBoston

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations , Volume 13 , Issue 1 , March 2002 , pp. 47 - 71
Copyright
Copyright © 2002 International Society for Third-Sector Research and The Johns Hopkins University

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

Footnotes

1

This paper combines material previously presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, Chicago, August 6-10, 1999, and the Independent Sector Spring Research Forum, Alexandria, Virginia, March 20-21, 1997.

References

Almeida, D. M., McDonald, D. A., Havens, J. J., and Schervish, P. G. (2001). Temporal patterns in social responsibility. In Rossi, A. (ed.), Caring and Doing For Others: Social Responsibility in the Domains of Family, Work, and Community, University of Chicago Press, New York.Google Scholar
Brown, E. (1999). Assessing the value of volunteer activity. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 28(1), 3–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
de Tocqueville, A. (1988). Democracy in America, Harper, New York.Google Scholar
Durkheim, E. (1984). The Division of Labor in Society, Free Press, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edwards, B., and Foley, M. W. (1998). Civil society and social capital beyond Putnam. American Behavioral Scientist, 42(1), 124–140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frank, R. H. (1988). Passions within Reason: The Strategic Role of the Emotions, Norton, New York.Google Scholar
Gilleman, G.S.J. (1959). The Primacy of Charity in Moral Theology, Newman Press, Westminster, MD.Google Scholar
Havens, J. J., and Schervish, P. G. (2001). The methods and metrics of the Boston area diary study. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 30(3), 527–550.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heilbroner, R. L. (ed.) (1986). The Essential Adam Smith, Norton, New York.Google Scholar
Hodgkinson, V. A., and Weitzman, M. S. (1996). Giving and Volunteering in the United States: Findings from a National Survey, Independent Sector, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Sector, Independent (1996). Overview and Executive Summary: Trends Emerging from the Biennial Surveys on Giving and Volunteering, Independent Sector, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Jackson, E. F., Bachmeier, M. D., Wood, J. R., and Craft, E. A. (1995). Volunteering and charitable giving: Do religious and associational ties promote helping behavior? Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 24, 59–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaplan, A. E. (1996). Giving USA 1996: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 1995, AAFRC Trust for Philanthropy, New York.Google Scholar
Kohlberg, L. (1981). The Philosophy of Moral Development: Moral Stages and the Idea of Justice, Harper and Row, San Francisco.Google Scholar
Ladd, E. C. (1999). The Ladd Report, Free Press, New York.Google Scholar
Leming, L. M., and Havens, J. J. (1998). By their fruits, shall we know them? Comparing philosophy of giving to actual behavior. Paper presented at the 1998 annual meeting of the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action, Seattle, WA.Google Scholar
Martin, M. W. (1994). Virtuous Giving: Philanthropy, Voluntary Service, and Caring, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, IN.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marx, K. (1977). The fetishism of commodities. In McLellan, D. (ed.), Karl Marx: Selected Writings, Oxford University Press, Oxford.Google Scholar
O’Connell, B. (1999). Civil Society: The Underpinnings of American Democracy, University Press of New England, Hanover, New Hampshire.Google Scholar
Pope, S. (1991a). Expressive individualism and true self-love: A Thomistic perspective. Journal of Religion, 71, 384–399.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pope, S. (1991b). The order of love and recent Catholic ethics: A constructive proposal. Theological Studies, 52, 255–288.10.1177/004056399105200204CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pope, S. (1992). Agape and human nature: Contributions from neo-Darwinism. Social Science Information, 31(3), 509–529.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Powell, F., and Guerin, D. (1997). Civil Society and Social Policy: Voluntarism in Ireland, A&A Farmer, Dublin, Ireland.Google Scholar
Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, Simon and Schuster, New York.Google Scholar
Salamon, L. M., and Anheier, H. K. (1995). Caring sector or caring society: Discovering the nonprofit sector cross-nationally. In Schervish, P G., Hodgkinson, V. A., Gates, M., and Associates (eds.), Care and Community in Modern Society: Passing on the Tradition of Service to Future Generations, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.Google Scholar
Schervish, P. G. (1995). Christmas and the elementary forms of the spiritual life. In CCCIA Annual 1995: The Church and Popular Culture, Catholic Commission on Intellectual and Cultural Affairs, Philadelphia, pp. 62–79.Google Scholar
Schervish, P G. (1997a). Inclination, obligation and association: What we know and what we need to learn about donor motivation. In Burlingame, D. F. (ed.), Critical Issues in Fund Raising, Wiley, New York.Google Scholar
Schervish, P. G. (1997b). Major donors, major motives: The people and purposes behind major gifts. In Burlingame, D. F. and Hodge, J. M. (eds.), Developing Major Gifts. New Directions for Philanthropic Fundraising, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, Vol. 16 (Summer), pp. 85–112.Google Scholar
Schervish, P G. (2001a). The material horizons of philanthropy: New directions for money and motives. InE. R. Tempel and D. F. Burlingame (eds.), Understanding the Needs of Donors: The Supply-Side of Charitable Giving. New Directions in Philanthropic Fundraising, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, Vol. 28 (Fall), pp. 5–16.Google Scholar
Schervish, P G. (2001b). The spiritual horizon of philanthropy: New directions for money and motives. In Tempel, E. R. and Burlingame, D. F. (eds.), Understanding the Needs of Donors: The Supply-Side of Charitable Giving. New Directions in Philanthropic Fundraising, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, Vol. 28 (Fall), pp. 17–31.Google Scholar
Schervish, P. G., Coutsoukis, P., and Havens, J. J. (1998). Social participation and charitable giving revisited: Replication of a multivariate analysis. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action, Nov. 1998, Seattle, WA.Google Scholar
Schervish, P. G., Halnon, R., and Bettez-Halnon, K. (1996). Culture and emotion in Christmas: The elementary forms of the spiritual life. The International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 16(9/10), 144–170.10.1108/eb013273CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schervish, P. G., and Havens, J. J. (1997). Social participation and charitable giving: A multivariate analysis. Voluntas, 8(3), 235–260.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schervish, P G., and Herman, A. (1988). Empowerment and beneficence: Strategies of living and giving among the wealthy, Final Report of The Study on Wealth and Philanthropy, Social Welfare Research Institute, Boston College.Google Scholar
Schervish, P G., O’Herlihy, M. A., and Havens, J. J. (2001). Agent-Animated Wealth and Philanthropy: The Dynamics of Accumulation and Allocation among High-Tech Donors, Social Welfare Research Institute, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA.Google Scholar
Seligman, A. (1992). The Idea of Civil Society, New York, Free Press.Google Scholar
Selznick, P. (1999). The Moral Commonwealth: Social Theory and the Promise of Community, University of California Press, Berkeley, CA.Google Scholar
Smith, A. (1759/1976). The Theory of Moral Sentiments, Liberty Classics, Indianapolis.Google Scholar
Toner, J. (1968). The Experience of Love, Corpus Books, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Verba, S., Schlozman, K. L., and Brady, H. E. (1995). Voice and Equality: Civic Voluntarism in American Politics, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ver Ploeg, M., Altonji, J., Bradburn, N., DaVanzo, J., Nordhaus, W., and Samaniego, F. (eds) (2000). Time-Use Measurement and Research: Report ofa Workshop, National Academy Press, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Walzer, M. (1995). The concept of civil society. In Walzer, M. (ed.), Toward a Global Civil Society, Berghahn, Providence, RI.10.3167/9781571810540CrossRefGoogle Scholar