Volunteering and Wellbeing Among Ageing Adults: A Longitudinal Analysis

In 2019, Dr. Ama Nyame-Mensah co-authored an article with Drs. Allison R. Russell, Arjen de Wit, and Femida Handy. In it, they explore whether volunteering buffers against the negative effects of low self-esteem on correlates of psychosocial wellbeing in adults from mid- to later-life. Using Waves 2 and 3 of panel data from the Midlife in the United States Survey, they found that participation in volunteering mitigates the negative effects of adults’ low self-esteem on their sense of belonging and life satisfaction. In particular, they determined the adverse effect of negative self-esteem at time T1 on two wellbeing measures (belonging to the community and life satisfaction) at T2 above and beyond the effects of the same measures at T1 and the covariates. Furthermore, they found positive evidence for the moderating influence of volunteering on the relationship between negative self-esteem and both measures of wellbeing, although the effect was stronger for life satisfaction than for belonging. These conclusions suggest that volunteering acts as a buffer for ageing adults, with possible public health implications.