BACKGROUND Volunteering has been linked to reduced mortality in older adults, but the mechanisms explaining this effect remain unclear. This study investigated whether volunteering is associated with increased survival in participants of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing and whether differences in survival are modified by functional disabilities. METHODS A multivariate Cox Proportional...

Does volunteer participation reduce depressive symptoms among older people? Does depression influence whether older people will volunteer? Might nonrandom attrition in a longitudinal study bias the relationship between volunteering and depression? This research addresses these questions with three-wave data from theAmericans' Changing Lives study. Multigroup structural equation models for compl...

These studies examined how the practice of accounting for one's time-so that work can be billed or charged to specific clients or projects-affects the decision to allocate time to volunteer activities. Using longitudinal data collected from law students transitioning to their first jobs, Study 1 showed that exposure to billing time diminished individuals' willingness to volunteer, even after co...

We review the evidence on physiological correlates of volunteering, a neglected but promising field of research. Volunteers are in better health, both self-reported and assessed, and perform better on cognitive tasks. Research thus far has not examined neurological, neurochemical, hormonal and genetic correlates of volunteering. Studies on charitable giving suggest that these physiological char...

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of motives for volunteering on respondents' mortality risk 4 years later. METHODS Logistic regression analysis was used to examine whether motives for volunteering predicted later mortality risk, above and beyond volunteering itself, in older adults from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. Covariates included age, gender, socioeconom...

UNLABELLED BACKGROUND Much of the literature to date concerning public attitudes towards people with severe mental illness (SMI) has focused on negative stereotypes and discriminatory behaviour. However, there also exists a tradition of volunteering with these people, implying a more positive attitude. Groups with positive attitudes and behaviours towards people with SMI have received relati...

The present study investigated dispositional variables that underlie informal volunteering, service that occurs outside of any organizational structure. Dispositional variables previously related to formal volunteering, individualism/collectivism and intrinsic/extrinsic motivation, were examined along with perceived locus of control. Time spent in informal service was related to collectivism, i...

OBJECTIVES Studies often fail to adequately test the causal relationship between volunteering and well-being. Yet the media and empirical research have focused attention on the impact of volunteering on the well-being of elderly persons. This study addresses two questions: First, does volunteering improve the psychological and physical well-being of elderly persons? Second, do elderly volunteer...

OBJECTIVE To determine the sociodemographic and motivational characteristics of parents who volunteer their children for clinical research. DESIGN A questionnaire was administered to parents who volunteered their children for a randomised, double blind, placebo controlled trial of a drug to treat asthma and to a control group of parents whose children were eligible for the trial but had refus...

Background Evidence for the health benefits of a physically active lifestyle among older adults is strong, yet only a small proportion of older people meet physical activity recommendations. A synthesis of evidence identified "best bet" approaches, and this study sought guidance from end-user representatives and stakeholders to refine one of these, a peer-volunteering active aging intervention....