The Motivation to Volunteer: A Systemic Quality of Life Theory

A new approach to volunteer motivation research is developed. Instead of asking what motivates the volunteer (accepting any conceptual category), we ask to what extent volunteering rewards the individual with each benefit taken from a complete set of possible benefits. As a “complete set of benefits” we use the 16 human functioning modes formulated within the systemic quality of life model (SQOL). Data collected from a large representative sample substantiate the conceptual basis of the approach proposed. Empirical results (by Faceted SSA, a multidimensional scaling technique) support the volunteer-motivation structural hypothesis and highlight the more salient volunteering motivations. Social groups (including volunteers vs. non-volunteers) are compared with respect to their volunteering motivation assessments. The proposed approach sheds new light on theoretical issues, such as the roles of altruism versus egoism in volunteering, and suggests new ways for studying the questions of volunteer recruitment and retention.     

Serious Leisure,Motivation to Volunteer and Subjective Well-Being of Volunteers in Recreational Events

In this paper, we examined the relationships between motivation to volunteer, serious leisure, and the subjective well-being of volunteers at the 2010 Taipei International Flora Exposition. This study used convenience sampling to recruit a total of 1,094 volunteers. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were conducted for data analysis. The results of this study revealed that serious leisure positively associated with both motivation to volunteer and volunteers’ subjective well-being, while the association between motivation to volunteer and subjective well-being, at a level of 0.5, was not significant. These results suggest that greater attention in future research should be paid to the relationship between motivation to volunteer and volunteers’ subjective well-being, with a focus placed on implications for volunteers’ subjective well-being.     

Participation in different types of volunteering at young, middle and older adulthood

Around 35?% of Australian adults volunteer. It has been found that participation in volunteering varies with life course stage: people tend to participate less in early adulthood, which has been referred to as a ??demographically dense?? period, and more in middle adulthood, which has been characterized as a more stable period of life. This paper extends this research to investigate the types of organizations for which people volunteer at different life course stages. This paper uses data from the Negotiating the Life Course project (2003 and 2006) to examine participation in volunteering for different types of organizations. The focus is on the type of organizations for which people volunteer and how that differs in young, middle and older adulthood. There are three dominant types of organizations that people volunteer for: welfare and community, sport and recreation, and education and training, and volunteering with each of these groups varies with a person??s life course stage. Younger adults tend to be more likely to volunteer for religious groups. People in middle adulthood, and particularly those with school-aged children, tend to volunteer in sport and recreation groups and education and training organizations, and volunteering with welfare, community and health organizations is dominant in older adulthood.     

Religion,Volunteerism and Health: Are Religious People Really Doing Well by Doing Good?

While the religion-health connection has been accumulatively established by research findings in one hand, the contribution of volunteering to health is well confirmed empirically on the other hand. Nevertheless, although religion has been long accepted as a feeder system and source of volunteerism, paucity of research has attempted to investigate religious effects on health benefits through the mediation of volunteering. In this study, I examined religious effects on the health outcomes of mental and physical health and life satisfaction through the mediation of other-oriented and self-oriented volunteering based on a statewide representative sample of general adults in Texas. Results showed that both other-oriented and self-oriented volunteering significantly mediated the relationships between participants’ religiosity and health outcomes, but more robust indirect effects through other-oriented volunteering were noted by bootstrap estimates. In addition, the direct effects of religiosity on health outcomes were significantly remained even taking the mediation of volunteering into account, connoting the distinctive role of religion in health that cannot be explained away by secular pathways. Implications of the findings, limitations, and future research directions are also discussed.     

Loneliness and Subjective Happiness as Mediators of the Effects of Core Self-evaluations on Life Satisfaction Among Chinese College Students

The primary goal of this study was to investigate the mediator effects of loneliness and subjective happiness on the relationship between core self-evaluations and life satisfaction in Chinese college students. A total of 301 participants were all students who were attending three different Chinese colleges in Nanchang, Xi’an and Yan’an. Data were collected by using the Core Self-evaluations Scale, UCLA Loneliness Scale, Subjective Happiness Scale and Satisfaction with Life Scale. Path revealed that subjective happiness fully mediated the relationship between core self-evaluations and life satisfaction. Furthermore, the association between core self-evaluations and life satisfaction was not mediated by loneliness and subjective happiness partially mediated the association between core self-evaluations and loneliness. The final model also showed a significant path from core self-evaluations through subjective happiness to life satisfaction and loneliness. Limitations of the study are considered and implications of the results for increasing individuals’ life satisfaction are discussed.     

The Longitudinal Relationships Between Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction at School and School-Related Subjective Well-Being in Adolescents

Situated within a positive psychology perspective, this study aimed at examining the nature and directionality of longitudinal relationships between basic psychological needs satisfaction at school and adolescents’ school-related subjective well-being. A total of 576 students (40.5 male and 36.8 % students in junior high school) completed measures of adolescent students’ basic psychological needs at school and school-related subjective well-being at two time points, 6 weeks apart. Cross-lagged structural equation modeling showed significant bidirectional longitudinal relationships between autonomy, relatedness, and competence needs satisfaction and school satisfaction. Furthermore, significant bidirectional relationships were observed between competence need satisfaction and positive affect in school. The findings provided important evidence of the roles of adolescents’ different types of needs satisfaction, experienced specifically during school, in adolescents’ school-related subjective well-being. The findings also helped extend the positive psychology perspective to the relatively neglected context of education.     

Aging and Life Satisfaction

This paper was intended to examine how major life events – suchas retirement, deterioration of health, and loss of spouse –experienced in the aging process may affect the elderly's lifesatisfaction. An explanation was also proposed to the change inthe effects of age groups on life satisfaction because of thecontrol of the aging effect. A simple form of a longitudinalsurvey conducted in Taiwan in 1989 and 1993 was used for theempirical test. It was found that life satisfaction among theelderly decreased as age increased beyond 65 years of age. Itwas also found that social demographic variables, an incomedecrease, living arrangement, and level of activity participationhave a profound impact on life satisfaction of Taiwan's elderly. When the correlates were controlled, the coefficients for agegroups greater than 70 turned positive. This change could beexplained by two types of cohort experience: (1) from rough toprosperous life experience and (2) cohort norm on lifeexpectancy.     

Active Participation and Well-Being Among the Elderly in Belgium and the USA: A Cross-National Time-Use Perspective

Active participation of the elderly is a recognized response to address the societal and individual challenges of rising life expectancy such as releasing the pressure of age-related public spending, reducing social isolation and improving well-being. How much time older people devote to active participation and whether their time allocation is associated with well-being remains under-investigated. Using time-use data from Belgium (n?=?1384) and the USA (n?=?2133), we investigate the time older people (65–80 years) spent on active participation and examine how this relates to their life satisfaction as an indicator of well-being. The countries vary in the amount of time spent on paid employment and volunteering, but not on informal help. Belgian older people spend much less time on paid employment than their American counterparts. This implies more are available to volunteer and provide informal help. Yet participation rates in these activities are higher in the USA. Multivariate analyses show that associations between active participation and life satisfaction vary between both countries and within both countries by gender and age. Overall, positive associations between paid work and volunteering and life satisfaction suggest that governments would do well to mobilize elderly into active participation, especially in Belgium. Negative associations between informal help and life satisfaction suggest governments should provide greater support for informal carers.

     

Relationships Among Adolescents’ Leisure Motivation, Leisure Involvement, and Leisure Satisfaction: A Structural Equation Model

The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to test a cause-and-effect model of factors affecting leisure satisfaction among Taiwanese adolescents. A structural equation model was proposed in which the relationships among leisure motivation, leisure involvement, and leisure satisfaction were explored. The study collected data from 701 adolescent students at a junior college in central Taiwan. Participants were assessed using a questionnaire that captured leisure motivation, leisure involvement, leisure satisfaction and demographic data. The preliminary model fit criteria, overall model fit, and fit of the internal structure of model were used to assess the leisure satisfaction model fit. The results revealed that leisure motivation had no significant effect on leisure satisfaction when leisure involvement was also in the model, but leisure motivation had a significant effect on leisure involvement. Adolescents with higher leisure involvement had more positive leisure satisfaction. We found that 92.0% of the variance in adolescents’ leisure satisfaction could be explained by leisure involvement. When leisure involvement was considered in the model, no significant predictive effect on the leisure satisfaction of adolescents was found for leisure motivation. In order to enhance leisure satisfaction, it is strongly suggested that adolescents learn to be involved in leisure activities and obtain support from their family.     

Theory and Validity of Life Satisfaction Scales

National accounts of subjective well-being are being considered and adopted by nations. In order to be useful for policy deliberations, the measures of life satisfaction must be psychometrically sound. The reliability, validity, and sensitivity to change of life satisfaction measures are reviewed. The scales are stable under unchanging conditions, but are sensitive to changes in circumstances in people’s lives. Several types of data indicate that the scales validly reflect the quality of respondents’ lives: (1) Differences between nations in life satisfaction associated with differences in objective conditions, (2) Differences between groups who live in different circumstances, (3) Correlations with nonself-report measures of life satisfaction, (4) Genetic and physiological associations with life satisfaction, (5) Systematic patterns of change in the scales before, during, and after significant life events, and (6) Prediction by life satisfaction scores of future behaviors such as suicide. The life satisfaction scales can be influenced by factors such as question order, current mood, and mode of presentation, but in most cases these can be controlled. Our model of life satisfaction judgments points to the importance of attention, values, standards, and top-down effects. Although the scales are useful in research on individual well-being, there are policy questions that need more analysis and research, such as which types of subjective well-being measures are most relevant to which types of policies, how standards influence scores, and how best to associate the scores with current policy deliberations.     

Validation of the Beliefs Against Volunteering Scale among Chinese Adolescents in Hong Kong

Participation in volunteer service is an indicator of quality of life. This study attempts to validate the Beliefs Against Volunteering Scale (BAV), an assessment of the negative beliefs about volunteerism among Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong. The BAV was administered to 5,946 Chinese adolescents. The BAV and its subscales were found to be internally consistent. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed two factors (i.e., “conceptual bias” and “instrumental bias”) against volunteering. This supports the factorial validity of the test. The BAV scores showed a differentiation of volunteers versus non-volunteers, thus supporting the criterion-related validity of the test. The negative correlations between BAV and (1) measures of positive beliefs about volunteering; and (2) purpose in life demonstrated the construct validity of BAV. The findings suggest that BAV is a reliable and valid instrument in assessing underlying negative beliefs about volunteerism among Chinese adolescents.     

Productive Activity and Life Satisfaction in Korean Elderly Women

The purpose of this study is to explain the effect of participation in productive activities on life satisfaction and its implications for social evaluation of productive aging. This study uses data collected from 1,250 elderly women living in urban areas. The regression model was used to examine the influence of elderly women's participation in productive activities on their life satisfaction. Elderly women who participate in volunteer work, learning, and social group activities commonly recognized their activities as meaningful, feeling like worthwhile members of society, and evaluated such activities as very positive. In contrast, elderly women who participated in household chores and family care activities expressed a negative life satisfaction. The difference in life satisfaction regarding productive activities stems not only from the physical and environmental differences but also from the gap between the official social value underpinned by the recognition of surrounding people, their support, and the value of productive activities.     

Retired women and volunteering: the good, the bad, and the unrecognized

In this article, we examine varied attitudes and practices toward volunteering in later life, as shared by a group of 40 retired women. We categorize women based on their engagement in retirement and label the categories according to societal expectations as follows: traditional volunteers as "good," nonvolunteers as "bad," and caregiving volunteers as "unrecognized." Using critical gerontology and a feminist framework, we juxtapose the lived experiences of retired women with a prevailing discourse on successful aging and civic engagement. We advocate for societal recognition of caregiving as a valuable form of volunteering, as well as the need to respect multiple ways in which older women experience and find meaning in later life.     

中国国有林场职工的生活满意度及影响因素分析

以河北、浙江、山东等14个省（市、自治区）490个林场10000位职工的问卷调查为依据，采用Multinomial Logistic Regression方法深入分析职工生活满意度的影响因素。结果表明：53.6%的国有林场职工对生活感到不满意，68.2%的职工感觉生活压力很大。同时，职工年龄、工作年限、配偶工作、收入、住房面积、工作时间、工作环境、社会保障、林场与职工之间的关系以及职工对未来的信心程度等因素都对生活满意度具有显著的影响。     

Social Capital,Government and Democracy Satisfaction,and Happiness in Turkey: A Comparison of Surveys in 1999 and 2008

Based on data from a 1999 and a 2008 European Values Survey, the main objective of this study is to explore the relationship between a variety of social capital indicators, satisfaction with government and democracy, and subjective well-being. Happiness and life satisfaction were used as outcome measures of subjective well-being. The indicators of social capital used in this study are general trust, trust in institutions, political engagement, concern for others, societal norms, and membership in volunteer organizations. The analyses reveal a significant increase in happiness, life satisfaction, and many social capital variables between 1999 and 2008. Generalized trust, trust in institutions, government satisfaction, and democracy satisfaction are positive correlates of well-being, although some relationships are significant only in 2008. Several demographic variables are also linked with subjective well-being such as income, employment status, age, gender, and education. We discuss the findings in relation to the significant societal, economic, and political changes experienced in Turkey between 1999 and 2008. Policy implications are also emphasized such as improved trust among individuals, trustworthiness of government institutions, and functioning of democracy.     

The Association Between School Stress,Life Satisfaction and Depressive Symptoms in Adolescents: Life Satisfaction as a Potential Mediator

The aim of the present study was to investigate the interrelationships between school-related stress (school performance, teacher interaction), life satisfaction, and depressive symptoms, as well as the potential mediating role of life satisfaction on the association between school-related stress and depressive symptoms. A total of 1,239 adolescents (13–18 years of age) from public elementary and secondary schools in mid-Norway participated in the school-based survey. The data were analysed using structural equations modelling. The present study showed that stress of school performance was significantly and positively related to depressive symptoms and significantly and inversely related to life satisfaction. At the bivariate levels, stress of teacher interaction was associated with more depressive symptoms and reduced life satisfaction. However, these associations were non-significant in the multivariate analyses, controlled for stress of school performance. A significant inverse association was found between life satisfaction and depressive symptoms. Further, life satisfaction partly mediated the association between stress of school performance and depressive symptoms. The results reflect the complexity of the interaction between adolescents’ experience of school performance stress and mental health, and the role of life satisfaction as a potentially relevant mediator of this association.     

Money Buys Financial Security and Psychological Need Satisfaction: Testing Need Theory in Affluence

The most prominent theory to explain the curvilinear relationship between income and subjective well-being (SWB) is need theory, which proposes that increased income and wealth can lead to increased well-being in poverty because money is used to satisfy basic physiological needs. The present study tests the tenets of need theory by proposing that money can buy happiness beyond poverty if the money satisfies higher-order needs. Findings indicate that in older adults (n = 1,284), as economic standing rises, so do individual perceptions of financial security (a safety need), which in turn increases overall life satisfaction. Further, a path model tested the degree to which financial security and psychological need satisfaction mediated the path from economic standing to life satisfaction and demonstrated the complete mediation through higher-order needs—there was a 66% reduction in the direct link through financial security and a 34% reduction through psychological need satisfaction. Discussion focuses on how these mediation and path models extend need theory.     

Social Relations and School Life Satisfaction in South Korea

This study pays special attention to adolescents who are at the critical stage of social, cognitive and emotional development and their satisfaction with school life which is important for their educational experience and adult life. The purpose of this study is to examine how students’ relationships with friends, teachers and parents are associated with their school life satisfaction. We conducted hierarchical linear modeling with nationally representative data on 3,790 high school seniors in the consideration of different school types (general and vocational high schools) reflecting the contextual characteristics of South Korean education system. Our findings show that all those relations are associated with school life satisfaction and that some distinctive dimensions of each relation matter for students’ school life satisfaction. In particular, teacher-student relationship was found to shape students’ satisfaction with school life both at individual and school level. In spite of several limitations, the broad investigation of students’ social relations provided a policy implication for improving adolescents’ satisfaction with their school lives.     

On the Sunny Side of Life: Sunshine Effects on Life Satisfaction

This paper seeks to analyze the influence of the weather on a person’s self-reported life satisfaction. On a theoretical level, it is claimed that ‘nice’ weather can improve the affective well-being of a person. Given this, it is argued that affects can, in turn, have an impact on that person’s general assessment of his or her life. In particular, it is expected that people would report a higher life satisfaction on days with unambiguously ‘nice’ weather. Data from three German large-scale surveys are used to test empirically to what extent self-reported life satisfaction is determined by the weather. All in all, the results are mostly consistent with the initial hypothesis. In all three samples those respondents surveyed on days with exceptionally sunny weather reported a higher life satisfaction compared to respondents interviewed on days with ‘ordinary’ weather. In two out of three samples, this difference was statistically significant. Hence, the supposed sunshine effect on peoples’ life satisfaction does indeed exist. Implications of these findings are discussed in a conclusion.     

Knowledge Sharing and Life Satisfaction: The Roles of Colleague Relationships and Gender

This study is the first to test the impact of knowledge sharing on life satisfaction. Based on social exchange theory, social capital theory, and self-determination theory, we tested a mediation pathway through which knowledge sharing affects life satisfaction via its influence on perceived quality of relationships with colleagues. Drawing on social role theory, we also examined the moderating role of gender on the relation between colleague relationship and life satisfaction. While social capital theory and self-determination theory suggest that quality colleague relationships have a positive impact on life satisfaction, social role theory suggests that the strength of this relationship varies on the basis of gender. Data collected from 246 full-time workers supported the mediation path, even when job satisfaction was controlled. While gender moderated the effect of colleague relationships on life satisfaction, the moderated mediation effect of knowledge sharing on life satisfaction was not supported. Our results suggest that knowledge sharing, as an important work behavior, not only promotes effective work-related outcomes but also has a positive impact on individuals’ subjective well-being. Theoretical implications are discussed.