TY - JOUR
T1 - Correlates of volunteering among aging Texans
T2 - The roles of health indicators, spirituality, and social engagement
AU - Ahn, Sangnam
AU - Phillips, Karon L.
AU - Smith, Matthew Lee
AU - Ory, Marcia G.
N1 - Funding Information:
The Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services facilitated the current study by providing the 2008 Aging Texas Well (ATW) Indicators Survey dataset. This project was partially supported by Grant Number 90OP0001/03 from the Administration on Aging and Grant Number R01HD047143 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The authors thank Drs. Angelica P. Herrera and Nelda Mier for their valuable comments. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of Texas A&M University System Health Science Center School of Rural Public Health or funding agencies.
PY - 2011/7
Y1 - 2011/7
N2 - Objectives: This study aimed to identify participant characteristics associated with volunteering among older adults. Methods: Based on data from the 2008 Aging Texas Well (ATW) Indicators Survey, we examined the degree to which demographic factors, health status, spiritual participation, and community involvement are associated with volunteering among adults aged 60 years or older (n = 525). Results: Rates of volunteering varied by race/ethnicity: non-Hispanic Whites (56.4%), African Americans (51.1%), and Hispanics (43.2%). Bivariate analyses showed that non-Hispanic White older adults were more likely to participate in formal volunteering activities, while their African American and Hispanic counterparts tended to participate in informal volunteering activities. Logistic regression analyses revealed that volunteering was less observed among Hispanics (OR = 0.48, 95% CI 0.29-0.78). Volunteering was more observed among those who reported providing informal care (OR = 1.93, 95% CI 1.14-3.28), having very good or excellent mental health (OR = 1.90 and 2.07, 95% CI 1.09-3.32 and 1.20-3.55, respectively), having weekly or daily spiritual participation (OR = 2.15 and 2.35, 95% CI 1.28-3.63 and 1.29-4.28, respectively), perceiving community involvement very important (OR = 2.37, 95% CI 1.55-3.62), and being very satisfied with the community interaction (OR = 1.81, 95% CI 1.15-2.85). Conclusions: Given the positive associations of mental health, spirituality, and social engagement with volunteering among older adults, system-level efforts to increase the sense of community among older adults and recognize their roles as volunteers will be helpful in recruiting and retaining older volunteers.
AB - Objectives: This study aimed to identify participant characteristics associated with volunteering among older adults. Methods: Based on data from the 2008 Aging Texas Well (ATW) Indicators Survey, we examined the degree to which demographic factors, health status, spiritual participation, and community involvement are associated with volunteering among adults aged 60 years or older (n = 525). Results: Rates of volunteering varied by race/ethnicity: non-Hispanic Whites (56.4%), African Americans (51.1%), and Hispanics (43.2%). Bivariate analyses showed that non-Hispanic White older adults were more likely to participate in formal volunteering activities, while their African American and Hispanic counterparts tended to participate in informal volunteering activities. Logistic regression analyses revealed that volunteering was less observed among Hispanics (OR = 0.48, 95% CI 0.29-0.78). Volunteering was more observed among those who reported providing informal care (OR = 1.93, 95% CI 1.14-3.28), having very good or excellent mental health (OR = 1.90 and 2.07, 95% CI 1.09-3.32 and 1.20-3.55, respectively), having weekly or daily spiritual participation (OR = 2.15 and 2.35, 95% CI 1.28-3.63 and 1.29-4.28, respectively), perceiving community involvement very important (OR = 2.37, 95% CI 1.55-3.62), and being very satisfied with the community interaction (OR = 1.81, 95% CI 1.15-2.85). Conclusions: Given the positive associations of mental health, spirituality, and social engagement with volunteering among older adults, system-level efforts to increase the sense of community among older adults and recognize their roles as volunteers will be helpful in recruiting and retaining older volunteers.
KW - Community interactions
KW - Informal caregiving
KW - Mental health
KW - Older adults
KW - Spiritual participation
KW - Volunteering
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U2 - 10.1016/j.maturitas.2011.04.002
DO - 10.1016/j.maturitas.2011.04.002
M3 - Article
C2 - 21600708
AN - SCOPUS:79957982333
VL - 69
SP - 257
EP - 262
JO - Maturitas
JF - Maturitas
SN - 0378-5122
IS - 3
ER -