Giving Back and Staying Put: Volunteering as a Stabilizing Force in Relocation |
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Authors: | Huei-Wern Shen Tam E Perry |
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Institution: | 1. University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USAshenhue@umsl.edu;3. Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA |
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Abstract: | Relocation in older adulthood has been shown to have health-related and environmental triggering factors. This study explores the relationship between volunteering in a community and relocation. Using data from the 2008 and 2010 Health and Retirement Study, which included 9,220 community-dwelling older individuals who were aged 65 years and older, our findings show that volunteering significantly reduces the likelihood of relocating out of the area, and such a relationship is partially mediated by having friends nearby. This study is innovative because it identifies a stabilizing mechanism important for understanding protective factors, such as volunteering, as a way communities can retain older adults. |
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Keywords: | productive aging volunteering social ties housing transitions |
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