Volunteering and Chronic Inflammation in Later Life: Is Sustained Volunteering Beneficial for Health?

Although research on the health benefits of volunteering has proliferated in recent decades, most studies have focused on whether or not a person volunteers or the monthly frequency of volunteering. This study examines whether sustained volunteering has health benefits above and beyond occasional or short-lived volunteering. To investigate the salubrious effects of volunteering, the present study considers sustained volunteering engagement in terms of both formal and informal volunteering. Using four waves of data from the Health and Retirement Study, we assess the influence of sustained volunteering on chronic inflammation, measured by C-reactive protein (CRP). Results reveal that sustained engagement in formal and informal volunteering is related to lower CRP concentration, but this association is partly mediated by adult health and socioeconomic factors. Although sustained volunteering is associated with lower levels of chronic inflammation, older adults who maintain their volunteering over time are a select category of adults, characterized by higher education and wealth and better health.

Informal Volunteering, Inequality, and Illegitimacy

This article argues that informal volunteering (the unstructured giving of one’s time to help friends, neighbors, or community) has been ignored or understudied within research and policy. With data frequently showing higher rates of informal volunteering among women, people of color, working-class communities, and other often discriminated against groups and qualitative research demonstrating the value of informal volunteering within poorer communities, such positioning serves to reproduce dominant narratives around volunteering, reinforcing social inequalities. Using Bourdieusian critical theory from largely U.K.-based working-class feminist scholars, this article contributes to the nonprofit literature by showing how such a formulation adds to the legitimacy of middle-class cultures and delegitimizes working-class ones, especially at the current neoliberal conjuncture where volunteering experiences are encouraged to be used as a tool of distinction and employability. However, the article cautions against conceptualizing informal volunteering within existing formal volunteering frameworks, as doing so may further hollow out community life.

Does Social Media Engagement Translate to Civic Engagement Offline?

People increasingly engage in politics on social media, but does online engagement translate to offline engagement? Research is mixed with some suggesting how one uses the internet maters. We examine how political engagement on social media corresponds to offline engagement. Using data following the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election, we find the more politically engaged people are on social media, the more likely they are to engage offline across measures of engagement—formal and informal volunteering, attending local meetings, donating to and working for political campaigns, and voting. Findings offer important nuances across types of civic engagement and generations. Although online engagement corresponds to greater engagement offline in the community and may help narrow generational gaps, this should not be the only means to promote civic participation to ensure all have a voice and an opportunity to help, mobilize, and engage.

Informal Volunteering and Socialization Effects: Examining Modelling and Encouragement by Parents and Partner

Informal volunteering is seen as an important indicator of social relations and community life. We therefore investigate the impact of various socialization practices on informal volunteering, being small helping behaviours outside of organizations for people outside the household. From theoretical notions on socialization, we hypothesize that experiencing extensive prosocial socialization practices promotes informal volunteering. We examine socialization processes of both modelling and encouragement and consider two socializing agents: parents and partners. We test our expectations employing the sixth wave of the Family Survey Dutch Population (N = 2464) that included unique measures on socialization as well as informal volunteering and holds important control variables. Our results indicated that parental modelling, partner modelling and partner encouragement were all positively related to informal volunteering, but that parental encouragement was not significantly related to informal volunteering. Our paper, thus, underscores that socialization practices are relevant in nurturing social relations and community life.

The Impact of Productive Engagement on BMI Classification in Middle Age and Later Life

Purpose: This study examines productive engagement among middle-age and older adults as a predictor of body mass classification over time, from a role theory perspective.] Methods: Longitudinal data (2010-2018) from the Health and Retirement Survey were analyzed using multinomial logistic regressions, with separate analyses for two age groups: middle-age (age 50-64; n=8,005) and older adults (age 65 and over; n=9,123). Results: For the middle-age sample, working more hours increased odds of being overweight, and more time spent caring for parents increased the odds of being obese. For older adults, informal volunteering decreased the odds of being underweight. For the most part, being in the obese category was predicted by health (more chronic conditions, worse self-rated health, less frequent vigorous exercise, and non-smoker status), and sociodemographic factors (lower earnings, lower education, Black race, and younger age) for both younger and older samples. Implications: The findings reinforce the benefits of public support for workplace wellness initiatives that promote healthy eating and exercise behaviors. Further, public funding could be used to support programs that promote informal volunteering for older adults could reduce the risks associated with being underweight, thus advancing social aims while promoting public health.

Informal Volunteering Helps Older Adults Stay Put Too! But, Does Gender Matter?

Many older adults desire to remain in one’s home for as long as possible, and many factors have been identified to be helpful, such as formal volunteering (doing unpaid work for religious, educational, health-related or other charitable organizations). While many older adults volunteer formally, many others volunteer informally (providing unpaid help to friends, neighbors, or relatives who did not co-reside). However, less is known about the relationship between informal volunteering and relocation. Guided by the social and material convoy framework, the present study explores the intersection of gender, informal volunteering, and relocation (no move, move within area, and move out of area). Utilizing data from 2008 and 2010 Health and Retirement Study, 8,361 older adults who were 65 and above in 2008 were included. When older people’s financial resources, health, environment, and demographics were controlled, findings from multinomial logistic regression showed that older adults who volunteered informally were less likely to move within area two years later. When stratified by gender, it was found that female (n=4,832) volunteered informally in 2008 were less likely to move within area within two years, too; whereas for male (n=3,529), those who informal volunteered in 2008 were less likely to move out of area in 2010. According to the findings, informal volunteering helps older adults stay put. Future research is needed to understand why informal volunteering helps reduce short distance moves for women but helps reduce long distance moves for men.

Formal versus informal volunteering and wellbeing: does volunteering type matter for older adults?

Although the literature on volunteering and wellbeing among older adults is extensive, it tends to focus on this relationship within spaces of formal volunteering, such as non-profit organisations. However, informal volunteering and other forms of civic engagement may also promote improved wellbeing outcomes for this age group; likewise, these behaviours may be linked to the practice of formal volunteering with an organisation. Drawing on data from the Delaware subsample of the Successful Aging Survey, this article examines whether differences in volunteer engagement influence the relationship between volunteering and wellbeing outcomes among older adults.

Satisfaction With Informal Volunteering During the COVID-19 Crisis: An Empirical Study Considering a Swiss Online Volunteering Platform

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a huge wave of compassion. In particular, online volunteering platforms established channeling help for high-risk groups. It is unclear under which conditions volunteers were satisfied with their COVID-19 volunteering mediated by these platforms and whether they will continue their engagement after the crisis. Therefore, and considering personal susceptibility to COVID-19 infection, this study analyzes the effects of different platform support for volunteers and the fulfillment of volunteers’ motives. The study is based on an online survey of a sample of 565 volunteers who registered at and were placed by a Swiss online platform. Fulfillment of distinct volunteer motives and platform support drive COVID-19 volunteering satisfaction. Moreover, motive fulfillment and platform-related support indirectly impact willingness to volunteer long-term via volunteering satisfaction. Finally, the empirical results show that motive fulfillment and the effect of platform support are contingent on perceived susceptibility to infection.

Volunteering and self-perceived individual health

PurposeThe paper studies the simultaneous effect of formal and informal volunteering on self-perceived individual health across nine European countries while controlling, among other things, for socioeconomic characteristics and social and cultural participation.Design/methodology/approachThis paper employs the 2006 wave of the EU-SILC dataset for estimating recursive trivariate probit models using instrumental variables.FindingsThe paper finds that although formal volunteering and informal volunteering are correlated with each other, they have different impacts on health. Formal volunteering is never correlated with higher self-perceived individual health except in the Netherlands. In contrast, informal volunteering is related to lower self-perceived individual health in Austria, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Spain, and Italy.Research limitations/implicationsThe first limitation concerns the absence of other measures of volunteering, such as volunteering hours that are not available in the employed dataset. The second limitation is that the dataset collection on social and cultural variables in EU-SILC is cross-sectional while the optimal dataset should be a panel data. The third limitation is that instrumental variables are observed in the same year of declaring self-perceived individual health while the optimal timing would be at least one year before.Practical implicationsFindings of the paper show that formal volunteering has no effect on self-perceived individual health while informal volunteering has negative consequences.Social implicationsVolunteering is performed because of an individual decision and could be considered a consequence of how social responsibilities are distributed within countries. Our results show that informal volunteering has a negative effect on health; this is likely to depend on how people manage stress coming from performing this altruistic activity. It is likely that a more cautious distribution of social responsibilities could prevent the negative effects of informal volunteering on health.Originality/valueThe originality of the present paper is in simultaneously examining the impact of formal and informal volunteering on self-perceived individual health. Furthermore, most of the existing studies on formal volunteering and health focus on a single country; this paper compares nine European countries characterized by different social, cultural, economic, and institutional features. Finally, the paper addresses the issue of reverse causation.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-11-2017-0548