Altruism, Helping, and Volunteering Pathways to Well-Being in Late Life (original) (raw)
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Life Altruism, Helping, and Volunteering : Pathways to Well-Being in Late
Objectives: We examined the influence of prosocial orientations including altruism, volunteering, and informal helping on positive and negative wellbeing 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 of altruistic attitudes as important additional predictors, along with prosocial behaviors in fostering life satisfaction and positive affect in old age.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
A mixed methodology was used through the triangulation of quantitative and qualitative data to determine older adults’ perspectives regarding volunteering and identify what factors can contribute to promoting it, with special emphasis on the role that their own well-being plays in this behavior. The results reveal that satisfaction with life as a whole contributes positively to volunteer behavior and satisfaction with the groups one belongs to contributes negatively. The volunteers were less satisfied than non-volunteers with interpersonal relationships and with the groups they belong to. Knowing the opinion of the older adults with regard to volunteering and understanding how this prosocial behavior relates to their own well-being is very useful for developing strategic plans that allow future volunteers to be captured.
ALTRUISM AND PERSONAL WELL – BEING AMONG ADULTS
Today good actions are related to a more prolonged well-being than private conquests that have a momentary effect. It is believed that this discovery may have a very great application in terms of quality of life and altruism. Wellbeing is an important aspect of one's psychological disposition and a mental state that helps a person to maintain balance, anchored in hope and optimism, even during the adversities of life. Altruism is referred to as acting out of concern for the wellbeing of others, without any regard to one's own self. The current study follows the exploratory research design to explore the association between altruism and wellbeing among adults. It is hypothesised that there will be a significant association between the variables. The study includes 202 adults consisting of both men and women. The sample is collected using simple random sampling technique. The tools used are Personal Wellbeing Index –Adult by Cummins et al (2013) and Adapted Self-Report Altruism Scale by Peter Witt and Chris Boleman (adapted version 2009, original version by Rushton, 1981). The results indicated a relationship between altruism and personal well-being. It also pointed out that personal well-being differed among gender. INTRODUCTION To be empathetic and have a positive regard for all irrespective of their relationship creates positivism around us. In this competent world, people are very busy and running behind the goals that they want to achieve. All are more focused on their personal life and their family. There are some who are busy with their own self where they do not have time for others. But there are some people who dislike helping others and intentionally avoid doing good deed for others. On the other hand, there are also individuals and groups who work and devote their time for the needy. They involve in social services helping people. Many conceptual frameworks and empirical studies postulate that individual with high prosocial behaviour tends to live happier than others. The art of giving and the satisfaction that an individual gets is soothing. People who are unconditionally helpful and concerned for the welfare of others tend to have a better subjective and mental well-being. A prosocial behaviour tends to energise within oneself and creates positivity, a sense of happiness.
Who Helps? Attitudes and Characteristics of Elderly Altruists
1988
In contrast to the view of the elderly as helpless and handicapped, some older adults may engage in helping activities and place considerable importance on this involvement. This study examined the characteristics which may distinguish those elderly persons engaged in the highest amounts of altruistic activity from those reporting lesser degrees of involvement. Respondents were 400 persons between the ages of 65 and 100; 200 were randomly selected from the general community, and 200 came from age-homogeneous apartment complexes. Subjects were classified as high helpers or low helpers based on their responses to altruism scales. Three stepwise discriminant function analyses were performed to predict membership in the tv,o helper groups-one for the entire sample and one for each residential subsample. A general find_ng was that the altruistic respondents, in contrast to less helpful subjects, expressed a high degree of willingness to incur costs or risks. Elderly altruists were more likely than the less helpful elderly to perceive themselves as healthy; they possessed personality and motivational characteristics associated with altruism in other age groups, including social responsibility and internal locus of control; and they appeared to experience high degrees of psychosocial well-being. Results of the separate analyses indicated that the study variables accurately classified 87.90 of the cases for the total sample, 92.8% of the senior residents, and 83.4% of elderly respondents in the sample of persons in independent living. (Author/NB)
Volunteering and Wellbeing Among Ageing Adults: A Longitudinal Analysis
VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations
Previous scholarship has shown evidence of a positive relationship between volunteering and improved measures of mental and physical wellbeing. It has also been suggested that volunteering may help individuals navigate transitions between different life stages by encouraging them to become more involved in their communities, thereby building new social connections and improving networks of social support. Using Waves 2 and 3 of panel data from the Midlife in the United States Survey, we examined whether volunteering can buffer against the negative effects of low self-esteem on correlates of psychosocial wellbeing in adults from mid-to later-life. Results indicated that participation in volunteering mitigates the negative effects of adults' low self-esteem on their sense of belonging and life satisfaction. In particular, we determined the adverse effect of negative self-esteem at time T1 on our wellbeing measures (belonging to the community and life satisfaction) at T2 above and beyond the effects of the same measures at T1 and the covariates. Furthermore, we found positive evidence for the moderating influence of volunteering on the relationship between negative self-esteem and both measures of wellbeing, although the effect was stronger for life satisfaction than for belonging. These conclusions suggest that volunteering acts as a buffer for ageing adults, with possible public health implications.
Prosocial Behavior in Late Life
While older adults are frequently portrayed as incompetent, dependent, and a drain on societal resources, theory and research demonstrate that the elderly engage in diverse prosocial behaviors, but that much of the prosocial capability of the elderly lies dormant. In this chapter, we present evidence in support of a model recognizing the powerful contributions made by the elderly to their families and communities. This contributory model of successful aging suggests that prosocial behavior by older adults is motivated by empathetic concern, religious obligation, and a sense of duty. Prosocial behavior is presented as a normative facet of old age that is conceived as a direct expression of the motivation to help future generations and society. The impacts of prosocial behavior on physical health, mental health, and mortality are considered. Because of the cross-disciplinary nature of this inquiry, we propose directions for future research intended to produce an integrative understanding at the micro, meso, and macro levels.
Beyond keeping active: Concomitants of being a volunteer in old-old age
Psychology and Aging, 2003
This study examines concomitants of volunteering in the context of other lifestyle activities. Investigating formal volunteering in old-old age, the authors analyzed data of 148 volunteers versus 1,195 nonvolunteers in a national sample of the Israeli Jewish population aged 75-94. As hypothesized, being a volunteer related (whether as a cause or effect) to more positive functioning on psychosocial markers and prospectively resulted in reduced mortality risk even when other activity outlets (physical activity, everyday activities, having a hobby) were controlled. These findings suggest that the benefits of volunteering in late life are not reducible to those of other activities.
Volunteering and Psychological Well-Being Among Young-Old Adults: How Much is Too Much?
The …, 2008
Purpose: Research concerned with the relationship between volunteer activity and psychological wellbeing has typically reported higher levels of wellbeing among older adult volunteers relative to nonvolunteers. However, few studies have examined nonlinear associations between frequency of volunteer activity and well-being. We examined nonlinear associations between hours spent volunteering and psychological well-being, controlling for employment status, partner status, physical health, and education. We also investigated associations between different domains of volunteer activity and well-being, along with the possible moderating effects of gender on these relationships. Design and Methods: We used data from the PATH Through Life Project, a populationbased study of Australian adults. Participants consisted of 2,136 older adults aged 64 to 68. Results: Nonlinear associations between hours spent volunteering and psychological well-being were evident, with these associations characterized by inverted U shapes, with nonvolunteers and those volunteering at high levels producing lower well-being scores relative to those volunteering at moderate levels. Few associations between specific domains of volunteer activity and well-being were evident, and no notable gender interactions emerged. Implications: The results point toward optimal frequency of engagement in volunteer activity for psychological well-being as being bounded by upper and lower levels, outside of which benefits to well-being diminish.
Ageing populations across Europe are increasing. Communities have an important role in not only engaging this segment of the population but also in helping them to make them feel “part of something” (local or global) in order to favour their psychological well-being. The purpose of this paper is to study the effects of volunteering and being connected in one’s community on well-being. The present paper will test an older volunteers’ psychological well-being model. 143 older volunteers completed measures of religiousness, sense of global responsibility, psychological sense of community, generativity, motivation to volunteer and a profile of mood states. Data show that a psychological sense of community has a key role in the study of older volunteerism due to its impact on well-being. Service agencies and administrations can develop campaigns to sustain older volunteerism in order to increase well-being and reduce social costs.