Abstract (eng)
Aim of the study: The aim of the present study was to investigate the motives of elderly volunteers’ in the light of the Socioemotional Selectivity Theory. Additionally, the volunteers’ physical and mental health, their religiosity and age, and the duration of the voluntary action were taken into account. Method: It was a questionnaire-based cross-sectional study. The sample consisted of 175 formal volunteers, aged 18 to 84. They filled out a socio-demographical sheet, questions about their voluntary activity, the questionnaire to determine their motives for the voluntary activity (Skalen zur Einstellungsstruktur ehrenamtlicher Helfer) and a survey about their physical and mental health (Health-Survey SF-8). The statistical analyses were conducted on the basis of three age-specific groups (18- 29, 30- 59, 60+). Results: The study found that older people are engaged in more organizations and spend more hours on volunteer work than younger people. Motives of social responsibility and self-awareness are especially meaningful to older volunteers. Furthermore, older volunteers show less value concerning the motives of self-awareness, self-worth/ appreciation and career than younger volunteers. Multiple regressions showed the age-specific influences of physical and mental health on the motives of career and self-awareness. The duration of action had no significant influence on the motives. However, religiosity was positively associated with the motive of job-balance, but only for the middle-aged group. Conclusion: In the light of current demographic changes, the adoption of social roles following retirement is an intrapersonal mechanism of high societal relevance. The results support Socioemotional Selectivity Theory by indicating (1) the influence of health on the career motive of in the middle-aged group and (2) the differences in motives of career and self-awareness between the age-groups. Our findings might inform elderly and help them to match their expectations, desires and type of voluntary work. A better match - in turn - has a positive influence on the duration of the action. Thus, future research might want to extend our investigations about the motives for informal voluntary work.