Factors associated with community volunteering among adults over the age of 50 in Malaysia

BACKGROUND

Community volunteering is defined as voluntary participation in activities and services to benefit the local community. It has potential benefits to promote social, physical, and mental well-being, and it enhances productive, healthy, and active aging. The tendency to volunteer varies across individuals and communities. There is limited knowledge of contributing factors influencing volunteering among Malaysian adults over the age of 50.

AIMS

The present study aims to assess the association of demographic, cultural, and social factors with volunteering among Malaysian adults over the age of 50.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2020 involving 3,034 Malaysians aged 50 years and above across Malaysia, selected using a multi-stratified random sampling technique based on National Census 2020 data. A validated survey questionnaire to determine the demographic factor (age, sex, education level, employment status, health status, physical disability, and location of residence), cultural factor (ethnicity and religion), and social factor (social support, marital status, living arrangement, mode of transportation) that influence voluntary participation was distributed and collected. The association between these factors and volunteer participation was analysed using logistic regression models to identify significant predictors of voluntary participation among Malaysian adults over the age of 50.

RESULTS

A regression model indicates that living in rural areas (OR 2.03, 95% CI 1.63-2.53), having higher education level (Tertiary level: OR 2.77, 95% CI 1.86-4.13), being employed (OR 1.31, 95% CI 1.10-1.56), differences in ethnicity background (Chinese: OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.39-0.86) and ease of transportation (Driving private transport: OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.19-1.32; Public transport: OR 1.07, 95% CI 1.00-1.154) were significantly associated with volunteering with R2 Nagelkerke of 0.147.

CONCLUSION

Recognising various factors towards community volunteering should be addressed by policymakers and volunteer organisations to increase volunteer participation from potential adults over the age of 50 in promoting healthy and active ageing.

Social Capital and Formal Volunteering Among Family and Unpaid Caregivers of Older Adults

Using data from 1745 caregivers in the National Study of Caregiving (2017), this study explores the connection between caregiving and formal volunteering by identifying the relationship between social capital and formal volunteering among family and other unpaid caregivers of older adults. In addition, this study examines the representative prevalence of formal volunteering in caregivers. We conducted logistic regression models along with established volunteerism correlates from the prior research literature. Approximately a quarter of caregivers participated in volunteering (25.4%). Being male, having higher educational attainment, being a spouse, living separately from the care recipient, caregiving for multiple care recipients, having a better quality of relationship with the care recipient, having better psychological well-being, receiving more social support, attending religious services, and participating in group activity were positively associated with formal volunteer participation. Findings underscore the role of both human and social capital, including the caregiving context, in formal volunteering among caregivers.

Experiences of Civic Participation Among Older African American and Latinx Immigrant Adults in the Context of an Ageist and Racist Society

In the past 20 years, older adults' civic participation has received considerable attention. Current literature shows that rates of voting and volunteering have been consistently lower among African Americans and Latinx older adults compared to White older adults. However, little research has explored civic participation in the context of historical structures of inequality that influence how Black and Latinx populations participate in civic life. I draw from an intersectional life course perspective and phenomenological methods to examine experiences of civic participation through participants' lens. Findings draw our attention to how race/racism and age/ageism shape how, where, and with whom participants participate. Findings demonstrate how civic participation is embedded within systems of inequality that inform individual behavior as well as available opportunities for engagement. These findings call attention to the need to re-conceptualize and support civic participation that centers the experiences of historically ethnoracially oppressed populations.

Associations between volunteering and cognitive impairment: The moderating role of race/ethnicity

Although volunteering has been shown to benefit cognitive health, there is a paucity of evidence on informal volunteering and subjective measures of cognitive impairment. Also, little is known about whether such relationships vary by race/ethnicity. This study aimed to examine the associations of both formal and informal volunteering with older adults' objective and subjective cognition and explore the moderating role of race/ethnicity in such associations. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study in the United States (2010-2016), 9941 older adults (51+) who were cognitively unimpaired in 2010 and alive through 2016 were included. Ordered logistic regression models were performed to assess the relationships among volunteering, cognitive impairment and race/ethnicity. Findings showed that more years of formal and informal volunteering significantly reduced the odds of objective cognitive impairment; neither volunteering type was significant for subjective cognitive impairment. The relationship between informal volunteering and objective cognition varied by race/ethnicity. Compared to non-Hispanic Whites, non-Hispanic Black older adults who engaged in more years of informal volunteering had a significantly higher odds of cognitive impairment over time. The current study is one of the first to look at the associations between informal volunteering and cognition. The inclusion of subjective cognitive impairment, paired with objective measures of cognition, also adds value to the knowledge body. Our findings indicate any type of volunteering is a viable approach to prevent cognitive impairment for older populations. However, more research is needed to better understand why racial/ethnic minority, particularly non-Hispanic Black older adults, do not benefit from informal volunteering.

Active Aging through Volunteerism: A Longitudinal Assessment of Perceived Neighborhood Safety as a Predictor among Older Adults, 2008-2018

Volunteering can play an important role in active aging. The resource theory of volunteering posits that volunteerism depends on human, social, and cultural capital. Benefits of volunteering have been documented at the micro-, meso-, and macrolevels, positively affecting individual older people as well as their local communities and society at large. Taking a process-oriented theoretical approach, this study focused on the mesolevel factor of the environment with the purpose of determining the relationship between perceived neighborhood safety and volunteerism over the course of a decade and the extent to which this relationship differs by gender and race. Longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study in the United States of America between 2008 and 2018 were used (N = 72,319 adults 60 years and older). Generalized estimating equations (GEE) with robust standard errors were employed while controlling for a number of covariates. A third of the sample volunteered in the past year (33%). The probability of volunteering among older adults who rated their perceived neighborhood safety as excellent was greater compared with those who rated their perceived neighborhood safety as fair/poor after controlling for all other model covariates (ME: 0.03, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.05). Among males rating their perceived neighborhood safety as excellent, the probability of volunteering was higher (ME: 0.04, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.07). Among females, the probability of volunteering was higher among those who perceived their neighborhood safety to be excellent (ME: 0.03, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.05) or very good (ME: 0.02, 95% CI: 0.00, 0.04). White respondents who rated their neighborhood safety as excellent (ME: 0.05, 95% CI: 0.03, 0.07) or very good (ME: 0.04, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.06) had a higher probability of volunteerism. Results were not significant among Black respondents and those who described their race as “other.” This study's process-oriented theoretical approach indicates that initiatives aimed at improving neighborhood safety and older adults' perceptions of neighborhood safety could increase social capital and lead older adults to engage in more volunteering, providing benefits at micro-, meso-, and macrolevels—to older individuals, their local communities, and society at large.

The importance of meaningful participation: health benefits of volunteerism for older adults with mobility-limiting disabilities

Volunteerism has been increasingly recognised as a health promotion activity for older adults. However, volunteerism has largely been the domain of those who are in good health with few to no physical limitations, and there is limited information about the experiences of older adults with disabilities. This study explores why older adults with mobility-limiting disabilities engage in volunteer work and their perceptions of the personal benefits of volunteering. Twenty older adults, from three Midwest towns in the United States of America, participated in semi-structured, in-depth, face-to-face interviews. Participants in this study identified as having serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs due to a health condition and had volunteered in the last year. Participants were selected purposively for maximum variation in terms of type of disability/impairment, race, gender and age. The constant comparative method of analysis was used to identify themes from their discussions. When asked about why they volunteer and the personal benefits of volunteering, participants discussed seeking out activities that were meaningful to them for both altruistic and more self-directed reasons. They identified a number of physical and emotional health benefits that they saw as directly and indirectly related to being able to participate in these meaningful activities. Findings from this study suggest that, for older adults with disabilities who are interested in volunteer activities, volunteerism can be a beneficial health promotion activity and a potential mechanism for increasing opportunities for meaningful inclusion and participation in their communities.

Volunteering Dynamics and Life Satisfaction: Self-Perceptions of Aging as a Buffer

OBJECTIVES

Research has extensively documented the concurrent benefits of being a volunteer (versus a non-volunteer), but little is known about older adults who once served as a volunteer but then stopped at some point in their lives (i.e., former volunteers). The current study tracked changes in older adults' overall life satisfaction and compared these changes among former volunteers, continuous volunteers, and continuous non-volunteers. We also examined whether self-perceptions of aging may serve as a long-term psychological buffer and protect former volunteers' life satisfaction after they quit volunteering.

METHOD

Data were from the Health and Retirement Study (2006-2016). A pooled sample of participants age 50+ (N = 10,441) indicated volunteer behaviors every other year, and we identified volunteering dynamics based on their volunteering history across 4 waves (8 years). Participants reported on self-perceptions of aging and life satisfaction in the Leave Behind Questionnaire once every 4 years.

RESULTS

Continuous volunteers reported greater subsequent life satisfaction than former volunteers and continuous non-volunteers 4 years later, when we adjusted for their baseline life satisfaction. Yet, the difference between continuous volunteers and former volunteers was absent among participants with more positive self-perceptions of aging.

DISCUSSION

This study reveals a potential discontinuity in the benefits of volunteering as older adults transition out of their volunteer activities. Findings, however, also reveal individual differences by self-perceptions of aging, offering suggestive evidence that may refine interventions to prolong the benefits of volunteering.

Cultural generativity in perspective: motivations of older Jewish volunteers

The physical, mental and social benefits for older adults who volunteer are well-documented. Absent from this area of research is an understanding of volunteer motivations among ethnoculturally diverse older adults. This paper addresses this research gap by examining motivations to volunteer related to cultural generativity among Jewish older adults, a group that remains underexplored in research. Cultural generativity is defined as an impulse to pass down one's culture to the next generation, and thus to outlive the self. The Jewish community is notable for possessing high levels of social capital, indicated by close community ties and the large number of faith and culturally based organisations, and therefore makes them an important ethnocultural group to study. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 20 adult volunteers age 65 and over. The guiding research questions for this study are: What are the motivations to volunteer among older Jewish adults? and Do these motivations align with the concept of generativity applied to Jewish culture? Data analysis identified three themes related to cultural generativity: volunteering to preserve and pass down Jewish traditions and teachings; a Jewish ethic of giving back perceived as a duty; and experiences of anti-Semitism and discrimination motivating Jewish participants to volunteer. Findings suggest the ways in which cultural generativity may be expressed through volunteerism.

Volunteerism and Cardiovascular Health: The HCHS/SOL Sociocultural Ancillary Study

Objectives

The objective of this study was to examine the association between volunteerism and favorable cardiovascular health (CVH) among Hispanics/Latinos living in the US.

Methods

Data from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (2008-2011) Sociocultural Ancillary Study were used (N = 4,926; ages 18-74 years). Favorable CVH was defined as positive profiles of all major CVD risk factors: low total serum cholesterol, blood pressure, and body mass index; not having diabetes; and not smoking. Survey-weighted logistic regression models were adjusted for sociodemographic, lifestyle, and psychological factors. In secondary analyses, we tested whether the volunteerism-CVH association was modified by sex, age, or years lived in the US (<10 vs. ≥10 years; a proxy acculturation measure).

Results

Prevalence of volunteerism was 14.5%. Compared to non-volunteers, volunteers had 1.67 higher odds of favorable CVH in the fully-adjusted model (Odds Ratio [OR] = 1.67, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] = 1.11, 2.52). There was evidence of effect modification by acculturation; only volunteers who had lived in the US ≥10 years had 2.41 higher odds of favorable CVH (OR = 2.41, 95% CI=1.53, 3.80). There was no evidence of effect modification by sex or age.

Conclusions

Volunteerism was associated with favorable CVH among US Hispanics/Latinos.

Volunteering Served as a Transitional Role That Enhances the Well-Being and Cognitive Health Among Older Adults With Cognitive Impairments

OBJECTIVES

We examined whether volunteering among older adults with cognitive impairments serves as a transitional role that can enhance these older persons' well-being and cognitive health.

METHODS

Using data from the Health and Retirement Study, we selected older adults with cognitive impairments (N = 472) and developed linear mixed models to assess associations between volunteering and health outcomes.

RESULTS

Volunteers in our sample were mostly females, non-Hispanic whites, those with higher income, and those with a high-school diploma. Volunteering was associated with higher levels of self-rated health, and consistent participation in volunteer work was related to stronger feelings of purpose in life. Cognitive health slightly improved over time only among those who volunteered.

DISCUSSION

We demonstrate that cognitive impaired older adults' participation in the volunteer role can benefit cognitive health while strengthening their late life resilience.

Fifty-Five Years of Research Into Older People's Civic Participation: Recent Trends, Future Directions

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

This study analyzes critically existing knowledge concerning older people's civic participation, pinpoints gaps in the literature, and proposes new directions for research.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

We conducted a scoping review of literature on older people's civic participation. To conduct this review, we followed the 5-step framework developed by Arksey and O'Malley (Arksey H, O'Malley L. Scoping studies: Towards a methodological framework. Int J Soc Res Method. 2005; 8: 19-32), and expanded by Levac and colleagues (Levac D, Colquhoun H, O'Brien KK. Scoping studies: Advancing the methodology. Implement Sci. 2010; 5: 69).

RESULTS

Research into older people's civic participation has grown steadily over the past 55 years. However, the increasing number of publications mainly concerns collective forms of social participation, particularly volunteering, with other types of participation being more stable over time. Contextual as well as dynamic aspects of civic participation remain underdeveloped. Diversity of older people is scarcely represented in current research.

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS

This scoping review identifies 4 critical gaps in the literature that should be at the forefront of future research. These are classified as conceptual, contextual, processual, and diverse aspects of research into older people's civic participation.

The effects of subjective life expectancy on volunteerism in older adults

Previous studies used chronological age to examine the relationship between aging and volunteerism. In the current study, we examined the influence of subjective life expectancy (SLE) on volunteering based on the socioemotional selectivity theory emphasizing that older adults focus on very close relationships. Data of 11,203 older adults, 55 to 74 years old ( M = 65.0, SD = 5.6), from five waves (2006–2014) of the Health and Retirement Study were included. Growth curve modeling results showed that older adults with higher SLE scores at baseline not only spent more time volunteering but also showed a slower decrease in volunteering over time. Furthermore, changes in older adults’ SLE were associated with a change in volunteering. The findings may show the relative importance of close relationships and social activities for older adults and contribute to demystifying the differences shown in the volunteer participation among older adults.

The association between voluntary work and health care use among older adults in Germany

Objective

While most studies focused on the relation between volunteering and health-related outcomes, little attention has been given on the association between volunteering and the use of health care services. Thus, with this analysis we aimed at exploring whether and how the voluntary work of older adults is related to the utilization of health care services in Germany.

Methods

The analysis was based on data from the German Ageing Survey (DEAS), a nationally representative, longitudinal study of the German population aged 40 years and older. Focusing on volunteering, data from the waves 2002, 2008 and 2011 was used. Voluntary work in groups and organizations (yes/no) was used as explanatory variable. To quantify health care utilization, visits to general practitioners and specialists as well as nights in the hospital in the past 12 months were used. Fixed effects regressions were applied to estimate the association between volunteering and the outcome variables.

Results

Regressions revealed that the onset of volunteer involvement was associated with an increase in specialist visits, whereas volunteering did not affect visits to general practitioners and the probability of hospitalization significantly.

Conclusion

Our findings emphasize the relation between volunteering and specialist visits. Future research is needed to examine the impact of volunteering on health care use, taking more detailed information regarding the specific context of volunteering as well as personality factors and personal background into consideration. This might be reasonable in advancing the knowledge about this association and in developing planned interventions.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12913-019-3867-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Productive aging via volunteering: Does social cohesion influence level of engagement?

This study investigated whether neighborhood social cohesion influenced volunteer intensity over two years. The sample was drawn from Health and Retirement Study respondents who completed the 2010 or 2012 Psychosocial and Lifestyle Questionnaire (n = 12,929). Results showed that compared to nonvolunteers, a one-unit increase in neighborhood social cohesion increased the odds of moderate (OR: 1.07, p < .05) and high volunteering (OR: 1.10, p < .001). However, other productive roles, social contact, and education were significant in distinguishing high intensity from moderate volunteering while neighborhood social cohesion was not. Social workers should consider the neighborhood environment when recruiting volunteers.

Volunteering among First-Generation Asian Ethnic Groups Residing in California

This study was a cross-sectional investigation of volunteer activity among four distinct Asian ethnic subgroups-Chinese, Filipino, Korean, and Vietnamese-who have immigrated to the United States. Data from the 2011-2012 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) were used with an analytic sample of Chinese (n = 547), Filipino (n = 229), Korean (n = 490), and Vietnamese (n = 546) adults 50 and older. A series of logistic regression models were estimated to examine differences and similarities across the four ethnic groups in volunteer activity. Consistent with previous studies, Asian immigrants with more years of education and those who became U.S. citizens were more likely to participate in volunteering. However, the correlates were not consistent within Asian ethnic subgroups. For example, education was not a significant factor for older Korean immigrants while it was a salient factor among other Asian subgroups. Results showed similarities and differences associated with volunteer participation among diverse ethnic subgroups. The findings underscored the importance of culture-specific information in creating inclusive opportunities for volunteering.