Volunteerism, mental health, and well-being in the lesbian, gay and bisexual community

ABSTRACT

Volunteerism plays a vital role in connecting individuals with various communities to provide numerous forms of altruistic service across the US. However, little is known about the numbers of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/gender diverse and queer+ (LGBTQ+) people who engage in volunteer roles and community engagement activities, and the impact this may have upon their well-being and mental health. This secondary analysis of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals (N = 71, weighted) from the 2018 General Social Survey compares volunteerism, mental health, and perceptions of well-being among LGB volunteers and non-volunteers. Findings reveal that as many as 49% of LGB people in the sample that had volunteer experience self-reported that volunteering activities resulted in a lower median number of days of poor mental health (four days in the last 30 days) when compared to the poor mental health reported by non-volunteers (eight days). Implications for the field of social work, volunteerism, and the potential impact upon LGBTQ+ individuals engaging in volunteer efforts are examined.

KEYWORDS:

• Volunteer
• civic engagement
• mental health
• well-being
• sexual orientation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.