Volunteering and Wellbeing Among Ageing Adults: A Longitudinal Analysis

Russell, Allison R.; Nyame-Mensah, Ama; Wit, A. de; Handy, Femida

doi:10.1007/s11266-018-0041-8

Cited by 58 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 75 publications

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“…A longitudinal study for retired men and women revealed that the frequency of volunteering, as well as future intentions to perform such activities, predicted higher positive affect in the feeling of ability (Pushkar et al, 2010). One of the scarce studies with panel data found positive evidence for the moderating influence of volunteering on the relationship between negative self-esteem and wellbeing (Russell et al, 2019). The results of these articles suggest that volunteering might act as a safeguard for seniors.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 98%

Benefits of Older Volunteering on Wellbeing: An International Comparison

2019

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Healthier aging implies lower health service expenditure and the possibility for individuals to make a longer and more valuable contribution to society. Lifestyles, including volunteering, affect our health. The policy implications of the present study are that it aims to broaden the state of knowledge and be useful to public decision-makers: if voluntary activities enhance the integration of older people into society, their participation will help to generate economic resources and improve their own welfare; if, however, health and participation do not show positive synergies, then policymakers must act independently in each of these fields. In this work, we focus on the societies of Chile, Mexico, and Spain because they have significantly aging populations and share

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 98%

Benefits of Older Volunteering on Wellbeing: An International Comparison

2019

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“…However, hardly any research has considered neighborhood belonging as an outcome. Voluntary participation may foster neighborhood belonging because it often occurs at the community level and may attach people to places and communities (Berkman et al, 2000;Russell et al, 2019). In a meta-analysis, Talò et al (2014) found an average correlation of 0.36 between voluntary participation and sense of community, a psychological construct that encompasses feelings of belongingness to, mattering in, and being emotionally connected to a community (McMillan & Chavis, 1986).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nonpolitical Versus Political Participation: Longitudinal Associations with Mental Health and Social Well-Being in Different Age Groups

2021

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Drawing on public opinion and empirical research, one may advise people to participate in voluntary organizations because voluntary participation can improve their mental health and social well-being. However, do such benefits apply across different types of participation and across the life course? In this study, we investigated whether benefits to mental health and social well-being differ between nonpolitical and political participation and across age groups (preregistration is accessible at https://osf.io/kqcbe). Using 25 waves of data from the British Household Panel Survey and the Understanding Society (1991–2016), we conducted multilevel analyses with observations nested within participants in younger (14–29, n = 10,536), middle-aged (40–50, n = 4,955), and older (65–75, n = 3,059) adults. We used life satisfaction and GHQ-12 scores as measures of mental health, and social support and neighborhood belonging as measures of social well-being. We found only few and small significant effects at the within-person level: On occasions when younger adults reported political participation, they reported slightly higher neighborhood belonging than when they did not. On occasions when older adults reported nonpolitical or political participation, they reported slightly higher life satisfaction than when they did not. However, we found no significant differences between nonpolitical and political participation and among age groups. In sum, our findings qualify the opinion that voluntary participation yields significant benefits to engaged individuals. We discuss potential explanations, including characteristics of political participation in the United Kingdom.

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“…However, research has shown that people are motivated to volunteer also to grow and satisfy personal psychological needs [ 6 , 7 , 8 ]. Evidence exists that volunteering may promote the volunteers’ benefits in terms of physical, social, and psychological health [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ]. Most studies have focused only on the beneficial effects of engaging in volunteering, whereas individual characteristics that may contribute to volunteers’ psychological health have not been thoroughly investigated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Associations of Self-Efficacy, Optimism, and Empathy with Psychological Health in Healthcare Volunteers

Dionigi¹,

Casu

Gremigni

2020

IJERPH

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Optimism and self-efficacy have been associated with psychological health. Empathy has also been found to have a unique role in community health volunteering and promote positive functioning. This study investigated whether self-efficacy and optimism were associated with psychological health in terms of psychological and subjective well-being in healthcare volunteers. It also investigated whether empathy added to the explanation of psychological health, over and above that accounted for by self-efficacy and optimism. A convenience sample of 160 Italian clown doctors volunteering in various hospitals completed self-report measures of self-efficacy, optimism, empathy, psychological well-being, and subjective well-being. Results of hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that self-efficacy and optimism were associated with both outcomes and that aspects of empathy, such as others’ perspective taking and personal distress for others’ difficulties, added to the explanation of psychological health with opposite effects. The present study adds to previous research on the role of self-efficacy, optimism, and empathy for community health volunteers’ psychological health. It also offers suggestions regarding the training for this type of volunteer.

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Volunteering and Wellbeing Among Ageing Adults: A Longitudinal Analysis

Cited by 58 publications

References 75 publications

Benefits of Older Volunteering on Wellbeing: An International Comparison

Benefits of Older Volunteering on Wellbeing: An International Comparison

Nonpolitical Versus Political Participation: Longitudinal Associations with Mental Health and Social Well-Being in Different Age Groups

Associations of Self-Efficacy, Optimism, and Empathy with Psychological Health in Healthcare Volunteers

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