HEALTH BENEFITS OF VOLUNTEERING: EVIDENCE FOR CONTRIBUTIONS BEYOND PERSONALITY Jennifer A. Bellingtier, Claire M. Growney, Shenghao Zhang, & Shevaun D. Neupert Department of Psychology, North Carolina State University RESULTS
BACKGROUND
Physical Health
Formal volunteering among older adults has been
associated with psychological, social, physical, and cognitive benefits (Anderson et al., 2014). Recently, research has questioned whether the benefits of
formal volunteering remain significant predictors of
physical and mental health after controlling for personality (King, Jackson, Morrow-Howell, & Oltmanns, 2015). Personality may predict both volunteering and better
health outcomes.
RESEARCH QUESTION Does volunteering predict health outcomes when controlling for sociodemographics and personality?
METHODS Data source: Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) waves 1
and 2 (Brim at al., 1996; Ryff et al., 2006). 5,665 adults ranging in age from 25-74 years at Wave 1. Self-report measures included: Four volunteering
questions (i.e., hospital, school, politics, and any other organization); Big 5 personality (k = 29) from Midlife Development Inventory; two health questions (physical and mental).
Step 1: Volunteer Status Step 2: Demographics Volunteer Status Current Volunteer Gender Education Marital Status Employment Status Income Age Race Health T1 Step 3: Personality Volunteer Status Current Volunteer Gender Education Marital Status Employment Status Income Age Race Health T1 Extraversion Openness Agreeableness Neuroticism Conscientiousness Note. *p < .05, **p < .01
Cross-Sectional 2 R β ΔR .01** .10** .09** .08** .05**
Results were analyzed using multiple regression.
R .01** .32**
.15**
.07** .03* -.01 .15** .04* -.04** .09** -.09** -.05** .13** .01 -.04* -.15** .12**
Dependent Variable Self-Rated Physical Health Self-Rated Mental Health
Longitudinal β .10**
ΔR .31**
.01 .03* .02 .11** -.01 -.02 .08** -.09** -.02 .47**
-.01 .16** .04* -.05** .15** -.06** -.05** .33
Cross-Sectional 2 R β ΔR .01** .10** .07** .06** .04*
2
R .01** .21**
Longitudinal β .10**
.01 .02 .02 .11** -.01 -.01 .07** -.10** -.02 .45** .03 -.004 -.02 -.05** .06**
Cross-Sectional Step 3 Step 2
.23**
.16**
.20** .04** .02 -.02 .09** -.02 -.02 .07** .01 .01 .40**
-.03* .16** .04* -.02 -.08** -.04* -.01 .01**
ΔR
.24**
.01 -.03* .14** .11** .00 .05** -.10** -.02 .15** .02 .01 -.30** .10**
.03** .03* .01 -.02 .08** -.01 -.02 .06** -.02 .004 .33** .07** .004 -.03 -.12** .08**
Longitudinal (10 yrs) Step 1 Step 3
CONCLUSIONS
Volunteering was coded as 0 = no volunteering, 1 = at
least one hour of volunteering reported in any category.
2
Mental Health
These findings suggest that the health benefits of volunteering do not derive solely from the personalities of those who
choose to volunteer. Volunteering is a significant predictor of current physical health, and mental health 10 years later. Volunteering may be an important activity for maintaining the physical and mental health of older adults. REFERENCES
Anderson, N. D., Damianakis, T., Kröger, E., Wagner, L. M., Dawson, D. R., Binns, M. A., & ... Cook, S. L. (2014). The benefits associated with volunteering among seniors: A critical review and recommendations for future research. Psychological Bulletin, 140(6), 1505-1533. doi:10.1037/a0037610 Brim, O.G., Baltes, P. B., Bumpass, L.L., Cleary, P.D., Featherman, D.L., Hazzard, W. R., … Shweder, R. A. (1996). National survey of midlife development in the United States (MIDUS), 1995-1996. Boston, MA: Harvard Medical School, Department of Health Care Policy. King, H. R., Jackson, J. J., Morrow-Howell, N., & Oltmanns, T. F. (2015). Personality accounts for the connection between volunteering and health. The Journals Of Gerontology: Series B: Psychological Sciences And Social Sciences, 70B(5), 691-697. doi:10.1093/geronb/gbu012 Ryff, C., Almeida, D. M., Ayanian, J. S., Carr, D. S., Cleary, P. D., Coe, C., … Williams, D. (2006). Midlife development in the United States (MIDUS II), 2004-2006. Madison: University of Wisconsin Survey Center.
For further information, contact Jennifer Bellingtier (
[email protected]). Poster presented at the 2016 Southern Gerontological Society Annual Meeting, Charlottesville, VA
