Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
Gerontologist. 2021 Jan 21;61(1):59-70. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnaa140.
The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may have prompted more engagement in prosocial activities, such as volunteering and support transactions. The day-to-day affective and social implications of these activities for adults of different ages are unknown. The current study examined associations of daily prosocial activities with affective and social well-being, and whether these associations varied by age.
Participants ages 18-91 in Canada and the United States (N = 1,028) completed surveys for 7 consecutive evenings about their daily experiences of COVID-19-related prosocial activities (formal volunteering, support provision, support receipt), positive and negative affect, and satisfaction with social activities and relationships. Analyses were conducted using multilevel modeling and accounted for a range of potential confounding factors (e.g., sociodemographics, work, family, caregiving, daily stressors).
Older age predicted more frequent formal volunteering, as well as more support provision and support receipt due to COVID-19. In particular, middle-aged and older adults provided more emotional support than younger adults, middle-aged adults provided the most tangible support, and older adults received the most emotional support. All three types of prosocial activities were associated with higher positive affect and greater social satisfaction on days when they occurred. Providing COVID-19-related support further predicted lower same-day negative affect. Age did not significantly moderate these associations.
Older age was related to more frequent engagement in prosocial activities during the COVID-19 crisis. These activities were associated with improved daily affective and social well-being for adults of all ages.
2019 年新型冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行可能促使人们更多地参与亲社会活动，例如志愿活动和支持交易。这些活动对不同年龄段成年人的日常情感和社交影响尚不清楚。本研究考察了日常亲社会活动与情感和社交幸福感的关联，以及这些关联是否因年龄而异。
来自加拿大和美国的 18-91 岁参与者（N=1028）连续 7 天晚上完成了关于 COVID-19 相关亲社会活动（正式志愿活动、提供支持、获得支持）、积极和消极情绪以及对社交活动和关系满意度的日常经历的调查。分析使用多层建模进行，并考虑了一系列潜在的混杂因素（例如，社会人口统计学、工作、家庭、护理、日常压力源）。
年龄较大与更频繁的正式志愿活动以及由于 COVID-19 而提供更多的支持有关。特别是，中年和老年成年人比年轻成年人提供更多的情感支持，中年成年人提供最多的有形支持，而老年成年人获得最多的情感支持。这三种类型的亲社会活动都与发生当天更高的积极情绪和更大的社交满意度相关。提供 COVID-19 相关支持进一步预测了当天的负面情绪较低。年龄并没有显著调节这些关联。
在 COVID-19 危机期间，年龄较大与更频繁地参与亲社会活动有关。这些活动与所有年龄段成年人的日常情感和社交幸福感的提高有关。
