Productive aging via volunteering: Does social cohesion influence level of engagement?

ABSTRACT

This study investigated whether neighborhood social cohesion influenced volunteer intensity over two years. The sample was drawn from Health and Retirement Study respondents who completed the 2010 or 2012 Psychosocial and Lifestyle Questionnaire (n = 12,929). Results showed that compared to nonvolunteers, a one-unit increase in neighborhood social cohesion increased the odds of moderate (OR: 1.07, p < .05) and high volunteering (OR: 1.10, p < .001). However, other productive roles, social contact, and education were significant in distinguishing high intensity from moderate volunteering while neighborhood social cohesion was not. Social workers should consider the neighborhood environment when recruiting volunteers.

KEYWORDS:

• Neighborhood
• civic engagement
• productive aging
• belonging
• Health and Retirement Study

Notes

1. Health and Retirement Study (HRS 2014 Core Final V1.0, HRS 2012 Core Final V1.0, HRS 2010 Core Final V5.0) public use datasets. Produced and distributed by the University of Michigan with funding from the National Institute on Aging (grant number NIA U01AG009740). Ann Arbor, MI, 2016.

2. Analyses were completed including and excluding respondents who died during the two-year observation period, and these models generated similar results. To aid in the presentation of the findings, respondents who survived and provided valid data at both time points (2010 and 2012, or 2012 and 2014) were included in the final sample. These findings are available from the first author upon request.

Additional information

Funding

There is no funding source to report for this research.