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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Recovering from spousal bereavement in later life
— does volunteer participation play a role? | | Author(s) | Yunqing Li |
| Journal title | Journals of Gerontology: Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, vol 62B, no 4, July 2007 |
| Pages | pp S257-S266 |
| Source | http://www.geron.org |
| Keywords | Bereavement ; Adjustment ; Voluntary work [elderly] ; Participation ; Longitudinal surveys ; United States of America. |
| Annotation | Volunteering is an important component of social life, but may be interrupted by life events. This research investigated how widowhood influences subsequent volunteer participation as well as the potential moderating effect volunteer participation may have in coping with the death of a spouse. Analysis of three waves (1986-1994) of longitudinal data from the Americans Changing Lives study (ACL) tested: the effect of widowhood on volunteer participation; the influence of the timing since becoming widowed on volunteering and personal well-being; and the interaction effects of volunteering and widowhood on personal well-being. A cross-sectional time-series design was used to test relationships with people aged 50+ at baseline. Compared with their continually married counterparts, those who experienced spousal loss reported greater likelihood of pursuing volunteer roles, not immediately, but a few years after the death of their spouse. Volunteer roles adopted after spousal loss protected against depressive symptoms and increases in volunteer hours enhanced self-efficacy. These patterns highlight the compensatory function of volunteer participation that helps to offset the negative impact of widowhood on well-being in later life. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-080305222 A |
| Classmark | DW: DR: GHH: TMB: 3J: 7T |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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