Value-Expressive Volunteer Motivation and Volunteering by Older Adults: Relationships With Religiosity and Spirituality.
OBJECTIVE
This study investigates the interplay among religiosity, spirituality, value-expressive volunteer motivation, and volunteering. We examined religiosity and spirituality as predictors of value-expressive volunteer motivation and volunteering and whether religiosity moderated the relations between (a) spirituality and value-expressive volunteer motivation and (b) value-expressive volunteer motivation and volunteering.


METHODS
After applying multiple imputation procedures to data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study among participants 64-67 years old who survived beyond 2004 (N = 8,148), we carried out regression analyses to predict value-expressive volunteer motivation and volunteering from religiosity and spirituality controlling for demographic variables, physical, emotional, and cognitive health, health risk behaviors, and personality traits.


RESULTS
Both religiosity and spirituality were significant (p < .001) positive predictors of value-expressive volunteer motivation. Value-expressive volunteer motivation and religiosity were significant (p < .001) positive predictors, whereas spirituality was a significant (p < .001) negative predictor, of volunteering. Religiosity amplified the relation between value-expressive volunteer motivation and volunteering (p < .05) but did not moderate the relation between spirituality and value-expressive volunteer motivation (p > .45).


CONCLUSIONS
Religiosity may provide the way, and value-expressive volunteer motivation the will, to volunteer. The implications of our findings for the forecasted shortage of older volunteers are discussed.
Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe. okun@asu.edu.
Morris A
MA
Okun
Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe.
Holly P
HP
O'Rourke
Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe.
Brian
B
Keller
Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe.
Kathryn A
KA
Johnson
Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe.
Craig
C
Enders
D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D012067:Religion; D012945:Social Values; D029181:Spirituality; D014838:Volunteers / Q000523:psychology*
Older adults; Religiosity; Spirituality; Value-expressive motivation; Volunteering