Volunteering among mature Australians: Who does it and why?

The current study examines the relevance of two theoretical approaches, socio-structural resources theory and the functional analysis of behaviour theory, to understand volunteer behaviour of older adults. The aims of this study were to ascertain whether volunteering is associated with greater wellbeing in older Australians; to identify whether volunteers and non-volunteers differ in their socio-structural resources; to explore older adults' motivations for volunteering, and to investigate the relationship between motivation and connectedness, incorporating perceived appreciation and respect by the organisation and the community. For this purpose, 140 individuals (91 female and 49 males) aged 55 years and over participated in the study. Of this number 85 were volunteers and 55 were non-volunteers. Contrary to our prediction, wellbeing did not differ between volunteers and non-volunteers. The relationship status was the only socio-structural variable found to differ between volunteers and non-volunteers, with volunteers more likely to be single than in an intimate relationship. As predicted, the most important motivation for volunteering was to express personal values while the least important motivation was to gain career-related experience. Also as predicted, a positive relationship was noted between the value motive for volunteering and connectedness. The implications of understanding motives for volunteering for the recruitment and retention of older adults are discussed.