title: Are Volunteer Satisfaction and Enjoyment Related to Cessation of Volunteering by Older Adults?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Previous research indicates that volunteer satisfaction and enjoyment do not exert direct effects on the cessation of volunteering by older adults. This study examined whether satisfaction with and enjoyment of volunteering indirectly affect volunteer cessation via hours volunteered.
  
  
  METHODS
  Our sample consisted of participants in the Americans' Changing Lives study (N = 380) who were 65 years old and older and who volunteered at Wave 1. Volunteer satisfaction, volunteer enjoyment, hours volunteered, and several covariates were assessed at Wave 1, and volunteer cessation was assessed 3 years later at Wave 2.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Volunteer satisfaction and volunteer enjoyment were positively associated with hours volunteered, and more hours volunteered was associated with decreased likelihood of volunteer cessation. The indirect effects of volunteer satisfaction and volunteer enjoyment on volunteer cessation via hours volunteered were -.023 (p = .059) and -.036 (p = .015), respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The dynamics of volunteer cessation are important because a volunteer shortage is forecasted and because the benefits of volunteering may attenuate when volunteering stops. Future research should test the proposed causal sequence using longitudinal data with at least 3 waves.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe. okun@asu.edu.
authors.forename: Morris
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Okun
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe.
authors.forename: Frank J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Infurna
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe.
authors.forename: Ianeta
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hutchinson
mesh_terms: D000041:Absenteeism; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006240:Happiness; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014838:Volunteers / Q000523:psychology*; D014940:Work Schedule Tolerance
keywords: Enjoyment; Indirect effects; Mediation; Satisfaction; Volunteering