Department of Future Studies and LOHAS Industry, Fo Guang University, Yilan, Taiwan.
Department of Health Administration, Tzu Chi University of Science and Technology, Hualien, Taiwan.
Front Public Health. 2023 Oct 4;11:1140965. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1140965. eCollection 2023.
The pursuit of successful aging is currently the most important research and policy issue in an aging society. Participating in voluntary services can help middle-aged and older adults recognize the positive value and benefits of social participation, feel a sense of happiness and accomplishment, and improve their overall life satisfaction, which can also contribute to successful aging. This study wants to understand whether the participation motivation and expectation confirmation of middle-aged and older adult volunteering will affect their continuous participation behavior and successful aging because of the satisfaction of actual participation?
This study explores the factors related to middle-aged and older adult volunteering participation and their impact on successful aging.
Middle-aged and older adult volunteering from the East Taiwan Community Development Association and community care centers were taken as the research objects. Convenience sampling was used to select volunteers who were over 45 years old (inclusive) and have participated in voluntary services over five (inclusive) times in the last 6 months. Respondents completed the questionnaire through self-completion or face-to-face interviews with the interviewer. The measurement tools include engagement motivation, expectation validation, satisfaction, ongoing engagement, and successful aging.
A total of 536 questionnaires were distributed of which 498 were valid and 38 invalid. The questionnaire recovery rate was 92.91%. Statistical findings include: (1) Those who perceived that their health was good had a better successful aging status than those who perceived that their health was normal. (2) The volunteering participation motivation and expectation confirmation of middle-aged and older adults significantly affected their volunteer participation satisfaction. (3) Participation motivation and expectation confirmation predicted 50.8% of satisfaction. (4) Satisfaction predicted 47.1% of continuous participation. (5) Continuous participation and satisfaction had a predictive power of 65.1% for successful aging.
This study confirms that the motivation and expectation of middle-aged and older adult to participate in volunteering will affect their continuous participation behavior and successful aging status through satisfaction. The research results can be used as a reference for the practical work plan of volunteering.
追求成功老龄化是当前老龄化社会最重要的研究和政策议题。参与志愿服务可以帮助中年和老年人认识到社会参与的积极价值和益处，感受到幸福感和成就感，提高整体生活满意度，这也有助于成功老龄化。本研究旨在了解中年和老年人参与志愿服务的参与动机和期望确认是否会因实际参与的满足感而影响他们的持续参与行为和成功老龄化。
本研究探讨了与中年和老年人参与志愿服务相关的因素及其对成功老龄化的影响。
以东部台湾社区发展协会和社区关怀中心的中年和老年人志愿者为研究对象。采用便利抽样法，选取年龄在 45 岁及以上（含），且在过去 6 个月内参与志愿服务 5 次及以上的志愿者作为研究对象。受访者通过自我完成或与访谈者面对面访谈的方式完成问卷。测量工具包括参与动机、期望验证、满意度、持续参与和成功老龄化。
共发放 536 份问卷，其中有效问卷 498 份，无效问卷 38 份，问卷回收率为 92.91%。统计结果包括：（1）自我评估健康状况良好的人比自我评估健康状况一般的人具有更好的成功老龄化状态。（2）中年和老年人的志愿服务参与动机和期望确认显著影响他们的志愿者参与满意度。（3）参与动机和期望确认预测了满意度的 50.8%。（4）满意度预测了持续参与的 47.1%。（5）持续参与和满意度对成功老龄化的预测能力为 65.1%。
本研究证实，中年和老年人参与志愿服务的动机和期望会通过满意度影响他们的持续参与行为和成功老龄化状态。研究结果可以为志愿服务的实际工作计划提供参考。
