Volunteering and its effect on the health and mortality of older people:
A short summary of the research literature
Alan S. York Ph.D
(Schools of Social Work, Bar-Ilan & Ariel Universities)
Over the last thirty years social science scholars have studied the effects of volunteering on the volunteers themselves. It now
seems clear, beyond all shadow of doubt, that volunteering and most other pro-social behavior are beneficial not only to those
receiving the help offered but to those giving the help. In this brief summary we shall summarize the research in one branch of
this field: does volunteering contribute to the health of elderly volunteers and lengthen their lives?
An early research was that of Sabin (1993) who analyzed national data from the American Longitudinal Study on
Aging. He summarized the literature from the 1980's, which had found "an observed link between social relationships and
mortality" and provided "possible explanations". The latter included hypotheses that volunteers are likely to receive better health
information, they may receive more tangible help from others, they are more subject to social control and peer pressure toward
healthy behavior, they may have "positive psychological states" that enhance their health, and that volunteering and other prosocial behavior "could be expressions of a greater life coherence and will to live" (Sabin, 1993, p. 46).
David Horton Smith, probably the most influential researcher of volunteering, wrote a comprehensive article on
volunteering in 1997. In his chapter on the positive effects of volunteering on happiness and health, he quoted studies on "greater
psychological well-being" and greater life satisfaction among old people who volunteered, but, since these studies were seldom
longitudinal, it was probable that healthier old people were more likely to volunteer (Smith, 1997).
Another comprehensive review of the literature by Wilson and Musick (1999) provided the kind of data that Smith did
not find. They quoted longitudinal researches in the field of physical health and mortality that "permit the conclusion that
volunteering is causing good health, rather than that healthy people are volunteering more" (Wilson & Musick, 1999, p. 146),
particularly among the old. The data on the effects on mental health were less uniform, but they quoted a number of studies in
which old people who volunteered report higher life satisfaction and better mental health.
Thoits and Hewitt (2001) used panel data on 3,617 respondents in 1986 and 2,867 (from the same panel) in 1989. In
both samples elderly people were disproportionately sampled. They found that volunteering enhanced happiness, life satisfaction,
self-esteem, sense of control over life, physical health and lack of depression. Conversely, those with these higher levels invested
more hours in volunteer service.
An extensive review of the literature on pro-social behavior (Penner, Dovidio, Piliavin, & Schroeder, 2005) considered
the previously quoted researches and others, and reported that older volunteers "were healthier and lived longer than non-volunteer
groups" (p. 380). They suggested that helping others distracts the volunteers from their own troubles, enhances a sense of value in
their lives, improves their self-evaluation, increases positive moods, and leads to social integration, all of which contribute to
better health and longer lives.
Lum and Lightfoot (2005) provided additional evidence in their comparison of older people (70 plus) in 1993 and 2000
panels of a national study. They provide empirical support that volunteering slows down the decline in self-reported health and
functioning levels, slows the increase in depression levels, and improves mortality rates.
Finally, Konrath, Fuhrel-Forbis, Lou, and Brown (2011) have added an extra dimension to the question of the effect of
volunteering on old people's health: motivation. They used the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, which, since 1957, has followed
10,317 high school graduates, examining and analyzing the results from 1992, 2004 and 2008. They found indeed that volunteers
were at a lower risk of mortality compared to non-volunteers, especially those who volunteered more regularly and more
frequently. But, when they divided the volunteers into those whose motivation for volunteering was self-oriented and those whose
motivation was other-oriented, they found that the self-oriented volunteers had a mortality risk similar to the non-volunteers, while
the other-oriented volunteers had a decreased mortality risk. Self-oriented volunteering included self-protection, self-enhancement
and/or career promotion; other-oriented volunteering included altruistic values and social connection.
Thus we can conclude that empirical research has shown that elderly volunteers enjoy better physical and mental health
than non-volunteers, reflected in or associated with increased satisfaction, happiness and self-esteem. They live longer than those
who do not volunteer, at least those whose volunteering is for other-oriented reasons. It would appear by now that volunteering
leads to the social and psychological states of mind that enhance good health, although clearly the healthy old are more likely to
volunteer. We suggest that encouraging and supporting volunteering by old people is as important to their physical and mental
health as are diet, exercise and other factors.
Bibliography
Konrath, S., Fuhrel-Forbis, A., Lou, A., & Brown, S. (2011). Motives for volunteering are associated with mortality risk in older
adults. Health Psychology, 1, 87-96.
Lum, T.Y., & Lightfoot, E. (2005). The effects of volunteering on the physical and mental health of old people. Research on
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Penner, L.A., Dovidio, J.F., Piliavin, J.A., & Schroeder, D.A. (2005). Pro-social behavior: Multilevel perspectives. Annual Review
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