Objectives This review summarizes the current knowledge about volunteering in later life and suggests 5 research questions at the forefront of knowledge development. Results Rates of volunteering do not decline significantly until the middle of the 7th decade, and older volunteers commit more hours than younger volunteers. Older adults with more human and social capital tend to volunteer, and there is good evidence of a reciprocal relationship between volunteering and well-being. Program and policy developments in the field are outstripping production of knowledge to support evidence-based practices. Discussion Research on the dynamics of volunteering over the life course as well as the patterns of activities that co-occur with volunteering is needed to guide program development. Research methods and findings from transdisciplinary work on the mechanisms through which psychosocial conditions affect health must be extended to the study of the effects of volunteering on older adults. Finally, we need to engage in more applied social science aimed at improving volunteer management, especially recruitment and retention of older volunteers.

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Volunteering in Later Life: Research Frontiers

https://isiarticles.com/bundles/Article/pre/pdf/4195.pdf

A meta-analysis of the effect of education on social capital

Objectives: We examined the influence of prosocial orientations including altruism, volunteering, and informal helping on positive and negative well-being outcomes among retirement community dwelling elders. Method: We utilize data from 2 waves, 3 years apart, of a panel study of successful aging (N = 585). Psychosocial well-being outcomes measured include life satisfaction, positive affect, negative affect, and depressive symptomatology. Results: Ordinal logistic regression results indicate that altruistic attitudes, volunteering, and informal helping behaviors make unique contributions to the maintenance of life satisfaction, positive affect and other well being outcomes considered in this research. Predictors explain variance primarily in the positive indicators of psychological well-being, but are not significantly associated with the negative outcomes. Female gender and functional limitations are also associated with diminished psychological well-being. Discussion: Our findings underscore the value o...

Altruism, Helping, and Volunteering Pathways to Well-Being in Late Life

Today's discussion about the growing 'burden of ageing' must not neglect the substantial productive potential of the elderly population. Using micro-data from the new 'Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe' (SHARE), we explore cross-national patterns of volunteering and the relationship between selected socio-demographic characteristics and participation in voluntary work among the population aged 50 and older in 10 countries. Our analysis reveals a clear spatial pattern of volunteering (with higher participation rates in Northern Europe and lower ones in the Mediterranean countries) and shows that particularly age, education, health, and involvement in other social activities matter greatly for the individual's propensity to engage in volunteer work. Our conclusions stress the need to maintain a contextual perspective in future research on volunteering, accounting for the role of institutions and culture, and support policies and programs designed to encourage elder citizens to make use of their productive potential – for the benefit of themselves and society.

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The participation of older Europeans in volunteer work

Recent studies based on attachment theory demonstrate that dispositional and experimentally manipulated attachment security facilitate cognitive openness and empathy, strengthen self-transcendent values, and foster tolerance of out-group members, suggesting an effect of one behavioral system, attachment, on another, caregiving Here we report 2 studies conducted in 3 different countries (Israel, the Netherlands, and the United States) to determine whether the 2 dimensions of attachment insecurity—anxiety and avoidance—are related to real-world altruistic volunteering In both studies and across the 3 locations, avoidant attachment was related to volunteering less and having less altruistic and exploration-oriented motives for volunteering Anxious attachment was related to self-enhancing motives for volunteering Additional results suggested that volunteering ameliorates the interpersonal problems of individuals high in anxiety and that volunteering has more beneficial effects if it is done for altruistic reasons Future directions for experimental research on this topic are outlined

Attachment, caregiving, and volunteering: Placing volunteerism in an attachment‐theoretical framework

This study examines whether employment status has an effect on a person's decision to volunteer and the number of hours volunteered. The data are from the 1993 Asset and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old (AHEAD) study. Demographic and socioeconomic characteristics are used to determine the rate of volunteering in relation to employment status because fewer people remain in the workforce among the older population. A logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between respondents who did or did not volunteer within the past 12 months. A regression analysis suggested that part-time work, age, education, importance of religion, and health status are significantly related to volunteer hours. Although only a small number of respondents are currently working, the number of volunteer hours contributed is higher in comparison to past studies.

Lona H. Choi

Papers

Factors Affecting Volunteerism among Older Adults