Abstract
We investigated whether higher internal control beliefs (perceived control, political efficacy) and improved social relationships (lower loneliness, social support availability) mediated the associations between nonpolitical and political volunteering and subjective well-being (SWB; life satisfaction, emotional well-being). Moreover, we examined whether these effects differed between nonpolitical and political volunteering and across age groups. We conducted longitudinal multilevel regression analyses of data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (1985–2016) in younger (14–29, n = 7,547), middle-aged (40–50, n = 6,437), and older (65–75, n = 3,736) adults (see preregistration at https://osf.io/qk6mu). Significant effects on SWB emerged mainly in older adults who reported higher life satisfaction on occasions with more frequent nonpolitical volunteering than usual but lower life satisfaction on occasions with more frequent political volunteering. The negative effect of political volunteering was mediated by higher loneliness. In younger and middle-aged adults, mixed effects of nonpolitical and political volunteering on the mediating variables and no significant effects on SWB emerged. We discuss methodological, contextual, and life-stage explanations of our findings.
Highlights
Does formal volunteering—unpaid voluntary work conducted in an organization to serve a common benefit (Wilson, 2012)—improve the subjective well-being (SWB) of volunteers? Research has substantiated this assumption, for older volunteers in organizations that provide a supportive environment (Musick & Wilson, 2003; Van Willigen, 2000; but see1 3 Vol.:(0123456789)Bjälkebring et al, 2021)
We considered two specific indicators: life satisfaction and emotional well-being for SWB (Diener, 1994), general perceived control and political efficacy for internal control beliefs (Campbell et al, 1954; Rotter, 1966), and low loneliness and social support availability for social relationships (De Jong Gierveld, 1998; Siedlecki et al, 2014; Umberson & Montez, 2010)
Considering the within-person associations between the mediators and SWB, we found that higher political efficacy than usual was significantly associated with higher emotional well-being, but only in younger adults (β = 0.061)
Summary
Does formal volunteering—unpaid voluntary work conducted in an organization to serve a common benefit (Wilson, 2012)—improve the subjective well-being (SWB) of volunteers? Research has substantiated this assumption (for reviews, see Anderson et al, 2014; Piliavin & Siegl, 2015; Wilson, 2012), for older volunteers in organizations that provide a supportive environment (Musick & Wilson, 2003; Van Willigen, 2000; but see1 3 Vol.:(0123456789)Bjälkebring et al, 2021). Empirical tests of these pathways in a longitudinal framework are scarce and have not addressed moderating factors, such as age (for an exception, see Müller et al, 2014) or type of volunteering. To redress this gap, we used 32 waves (1985–2016) of data from the German SocioEconomic Panel (SOEP) to test whether formal nonpolitical and political volunteering enhanced SWB by fostering internal control beliefs and improving the social relationships of younger, middle-aged, and older individuals. We considered two specific indicators: life satisfaction and emotional well-being for SWB (Diener, 1994), general perceived control and political efficacy for internal control beliefs (Campbell et al, 1954; Rotter, 1966), and low loneliness and social support availability for social relationships (De Jong Gierveld, 1998; Siedlecki et al, 2014; Umberson & Montez, 2010)
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