Author(s): Des Hanrahan

Department: St. John of God North East Services, Drumcar, Dunleer, Co. Louth with School of Applied Social Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4.

Keywords: Family-based short breaks, recruiting, intellectual disability, learning disability, adults, respite, characteristics, motives, motivation.

Reported: Hanrahan, D (2008) The Characteristics and Motives of those who Hosted Adults with Intellectual Disability, During the First Ten Years of an Irish family-based Short-breaks Service. Poster presentation,18th. SJOG Annual Research and Evaluation Study Day, 14th. October: Stillorgan.

Family-based short break services depend on finding and retaining volunteer hosts. However, recruitment and retention is becoming more difficult and providers are resorting to employing professional hosts rather than addressing how to improve voluntary provision. The study attempts to redress this by increasing our knowledge of volunteer hosts; who they are; why they host; why they eventually leave and whether there are specific variables that predict durability. The aim is to maximise productivity. Documentary research was employed to obtain and analyse data from the files of all those (n=57) who hosted adults with intellectual disability (ID), during the first ten years of an Irish service. A theoretical framework, based on Self-determination Theory (Deci and Ryan, 2000) and a Functional Approach to volunteer motivation (Clary and Snyder, 1999), was used. The study found that hosts were mainly older married women from rural areas, who had personal experience of ID and who had dependent children, as well as some paid employment outside the home, when they volunteered. Their motives were primarily self-determined and included important personal values. These motives were more likely to be associated with durability although those who left did so, because of changes in their personal circumstances. The study concluded that better informed recruitment is required, together with an emphasis on encouraging and supporting relationships among the stakeholders, as well as proactively meeting the needs of volunteers, if the potential of voluntary services is to be maximised. Implications for further research are indicated.