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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Volunteerism, health and civic engagement among older adults | | Author(s) | Benjamin H Gottlieb, Alayna A Gillespie |
| Journal title | Canadian Journal on Aging, vol 27, no 4, Winter 2008 |
| Pages | pp 399-406 |
| Source | http://www.utpjournals.com |
| Keywords | Voluntary work [elderly] ; Participation ; Citizenship ; Health [elderly] ; Social surveys ; Literature reviews ; Canada ; United States of America. |
| Annotation | In North America, 40% to 50% of older people are actively involved as formal volunteers in providing diverse health and human services. The authors review empirical studies concerning older people's motivations for volunteering, as well as the health and morale benefits they derive from this expression of altruism. Knowledge of the exact nature and amount of volunteer activity necessary to produce these effects is limited, and studies have yet to identify the behavioural and psychological mechanisms that are implicated. The authors propose that older volunteers may enjoy good health and longevity because being useful to others instils a sense of being needed and valued. The authors present several theoretical perspectives on the developmental significance of volunteering, discuss the challenges to volunteerism imposed by the baby boom cohort, and identify future research priorities. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-090602205 A |
| Classmark | GHH: TMB: IKC: CC: 3F: 64A: 7S: 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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