Health Professions Department, School of Nursing and Health Professions, University of San Francisco, 2130 Fulton Street, San Francisco, CA 94177, USA.
School of Public Health/0274, University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 N. Virginia Street, Reno, NV 89557, USA.
Biomed Res Int. 2021 Oct 27;2021:5185264. doi: 10.1155/2021/5185264. eCollection 2021.
Volunteering can play an important role in active aging. The resource theory of volunteering posits that volunteerism depends on human, social, and cultural capital. Benefits of volunteering have been documented at the micro-, meso-, and macrolevels, positively affecting individual older people as well as their local communities and society at large. Taking a process-oriented theoretical approach, this study focused on the mesolevel factor of the environment with the purpose of determining the relationship between perceived neighborhood safety and volunteerism over the course of a decade and the extent to which this relationship differs by gender and race. Longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study in the United States of America between 2008 and 2018 were used ( = 72,319 adults 60 years and older). Generalized estimating equations (GEE) with robust standard errors were employed while controlling for a number of covariates. A third of the sample volunteered in the past year (33%). The probability of volunteering among older adults who rated their perceived neighborhood safety as excellent was greater compared with those who rated their perceived neighborhood safety as fair/poor after controlling for all other model covariates (ME: 0.03, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.05). Among males rating their perceived neighborhood safety as excellent, the probability of volunteering was higher (ME: 0.04, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.07). Among females, the probability of volunteering was higher among those who perceived their neighborhood safety to be excellent (ME: 0.03, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.05) or very good (ME: 0.02, 95% CI: 0.00, 0.04). White respondents who rated their neighborhood safety as excellent (ME: 0.05, 95% CI: 0.03, 0.07) or very good (ME: 0.04, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.06) had a higher probability of volunteerism. Results were not significant among Black respondents and those who described their race as "other." This study's process-oriented theoretical approach indicates that initiatives aimed at improving neighborhood safety and older adults' perceptions of neighborhood safety could increase social capital and lead older adults to engage in more volunteering, providing benefits at micro-, meso-, and macrolevels-to older individuals, their local communities, and society at large.
志愿服务在积极老龄化中可以发挥重要作用。志愿服务的资源理论认为，志愿行为取决于人的、社会的和文化的资本。志愿服务的好处已经在微观、中观和宏观层面得到了记录，对个体老年人及其当地社区和整个社会都产生了积极影响。本研究采用过程导向的理论方法，重点研究环境的中观层面因素，目的是确定感知邻里安全与志愿服务在十年间的关系，以及这种关系在性别和种族方面的差异程度。本研究使用了美国健康与退休研究（Health and Retirement Study）2008 年至 2018 年的纵向数据（=72319 名 60 岁及以上成年人）。在控制了许多协变量的情况下，使用了广义估计方程（Generalized estimating equations，GEE）和稳健标准误差。三分之一的样本在过去一年中做过志愿者（33%）。在控制了所有其他模型协变量后，与那些认为邻里安全状况一般/较差的老年人相比，那些认为邻里安全状况极好的老年人参与志愿服务的可能性更大（ME：0.03，95%CI：0.02，0.05）。在认为邻里安全状况极好的男性中，参与志愿服务的可能性更高（ME：0.04，95%CI：0.02，0.07）。在女性中，那些认为邻里安全状况极好或非常好的女性参与志愿服务的可能性更高（ME：0.03，95%CI：0.01，0.05）或（ME：0.02，95%CI：0.00，0.04）。那些认为邻里安全状况极好或非常好的白人受访者（ME：0.05，95%CI：0.03，0.07）或（ME：0.04，95%CI：0.02，0.06）参与志愿服务的可能性更高。黑人受访者和那些描述自己种族为“其他”的受访者的结果则不显著。本研究的过程导向理论方法表明，旨在改善邻里安全和老年人对邻里安全的看法的举措，可以增加社会资本，促使老年人更多地参与志愿服务，从而在微观、中观和宏观层面为老年人及其当地社区和整个社会带来好处。
