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Volunteering is Associated with Delayed Mortality in Older People: Analysis of the Longitudinal Study of Aging

Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System & Stanford University, USA

Carl E. Thoresen

Stanford University, USA

The Longitudinal Study of Aging (LSOA) assessed the health and social functioning of a representative sample of 7527 American community-dwelling older people (> 70 years). We tested the hypothesis that frequent volunteering is associated with less mortality risk when the effects of socio-demographics, medical status, physical activity and social integration are controlled. We used Cox proportional hazards analyses to assess the unadjusted and adjusted associations between frequency of volunteering and time-to-death (96-month follow-up). Death occurred in 38.3 percent of the sample. After adjusting for covariates, frequent volunteers had significantly reduced mortality compared to non-volunteers. This association was greatest for those who frequently visited with friends or attended religious services.

Key Words: Cox proportional hazards regression • mortality • older individuals • social support • volunteerism

Journal of Health Psychology, Vol. 10, No. 6, 739-752 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/1359105305057310


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