Most normal activities that people engage in are associated with healthy social connections. As people age, they lose access to many of those stabilizing resources because of events and conditions like retirement, poor health, or death of a spouse. The more of those activity based connections that a person loses, the less life satisfaction she or he is likely to have. Volunteer work provides an avenue for seniors to re-establish relationships that can enhance health and improve quality of life in later years. However, not all volunteer situations provide the elements necessary to achieve those desired results.
Freedom of Choice Is Important
One very important factor that makes volunteer work act as a buffer to depression is the ability to choose the frequency and kind of activity in which to participate. One recent study (Wahrendorf, Ribet, Zins, & Siegrist 2008), took a look at senior citizen participation in a range of different socially useful activities where motivational factors included varying degrees of personal choice and obligation. The activities included formal volunteer work, informal help such as aiding friends, and caring for a sick or disabled person.
The researchers' aim was to measure the relationship between how often seniors engaged in each of the activities, their perceived control in choosing those activities, and the symptoms of depression among the study participants.
Results of the study showed that people participated more often, and measured the least amount of depression, when volunteer work which was performed because of personal choice. Those who helped others because they felt an obligation participated less often and had elevated levels of depression; even though their work had just as much social value.
Re-establishing Role Identity
Role identity also plays an important part in determining whether volunteer work will enhance psychological well-being among elderly people. A role identity is the way people see themselves being and behaving in a specific position. Examples of role identity might include friend, worker, spouse, or parent.
In the absence of those roles, older adults report less positive emotion and sense of purpose in life. In an attempt to study the relationship between volunteer work and loss of role-identity, Greenfield and Marks (2004) investigated the relationships between those two factors and the level of negative affect, positive affect, and purpose in life among elderly people.
Their findings demonstrated that major role-identity absences correlated to lower levels of psychological well-being. Formal volunteer work was a predictor of more positive feelings and emotions, and volunteering improved sense of purpose among those with major role-identity losses. The role of friend is an especially strong predictor of life satisfaction among older people (Sibert, Mutran, & Reitzes, 1999). Volunteering is a great opportunity for seniors to meet new people and replace friendships that may have been lost with the passage of time.
Length of Volunteer Service is a Determining Factor
The length of time a person has been involved in volunteer work is related to just how beneficial that activity can become. Musik and Wilson (2003) gathered survey responses about the frequency and longevity of volunteer activity among a group of people aged 65 and older. The information was taken at three different periods in a seven year time span. Results showed that people who said they were involved in volunteer work at each reporting juncture experienced more positive emotions than those who were volunteering at two reporting points. Those who were volunteering at just one of the points in time experienced the most negative, and fewest positive emotions.
The authors concluded that the longer people volunteer, the more benefit they receive in fighting depression. It is also interesting to note that seniors, who waited longer to start volunteering, measured higher for initial symptoms of depression than those who had volunteered for the same length of time, but began volunteering at an earlier age.
Indications are that volunteering provides the maximum benefit for fighting depression when people start early and stay involved.
Expanding Senior Citizen Population
The Baby Boom generation will ensure that the U.S. population age 65 and over is going to grow dramatically in the next few decades. The number of seniors who suffer from depression is expected to rise right along with it. In addition to the community service and economic benefit of harnessing all of their experience and expertise to help others, volunteer work has the healing potential to make the aging process a more satisfying and happy time for seniors.
Resources:
Greenfield, E.M., & Marks, N.F. (2004). Formal volunteering as a protective factor for older adult's psychological well-being. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social(5), S258-S264. Sciences, 59B
Musick, M.A., & Wilson, J. (2003). Volunteering and depression: The role of psychological and social resources in different age groups. Social Science & Medicine, (56), 259-269. doi: 10.1016/S0277-9536(02)00025-4.
Siebert, D.C., Mutran, E.J., & Reitzes, D.C. (1999). Friendship and social support: The importance of role identity to aging adults. Social Work, 44(6), 522-533.
Wahrendorf, M., Ribet, C., Zins, M., & Siegrist, J. (2008). Social productivity and depressive symptoms in early old age - results from the GAZEL study. Aging and Mental Health, 12(3), 310-316. doi:10.1080/13607860802120805.
Hollis Willeford - Hollis is now retired after careers in aviation, marine transportation, and sales. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology, and ...
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