By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Mental Health Weekly Digest -- New research on Mental Health is the subject of a report. According to news originating from Jena, Germany, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, 'We tested whether formal volunteering, in terms of its associations with mental health, compensates for the absence of major work and family roles among older adults or rather complements such roles among both younger and older adults. Two cross-sectional samples of younger (aged 18-42 years, N = 2,346) and older (aged 56-75 years, N = 1,422) German adults were used.'
Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from the University of Jena, 'We regressed mental health indicators on control variables, 2 indicators of formal volunteering (participation in voluntary organizations and volunteer work), and their interactions with employment/partnership status. Participation in voluntary organizations was associated with higher positive affect, higher life satisfaction, and fewer depressive symptoms in younger adults. In older adults, it was related to higher life satisfaction only among working individuals, although the difference from nonworking individuals was not significant. Volunteer work was associated with higher positive affect in both age groups. In younger adults, it had no relation to life satisfaction and depressive symptoms. In older adults, it was related to higher life satisfaction among nonworking individuals and to fewer depressive symptoms among those without a steady partner.'
According to the news editors, the researchers concluded: 'Volunteer work but not participation in voluntary organizations yielded compensatory effects on mental health among older adults.'
For more information on this research see: Participation in Voluntary Organizations and Volunteer Work as a Compensation for the Absence of Work or Partnership? Evidence From Two German Samples of Younger and Older Adults. Journals of Gerontology Series B-Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 2012;67(4):514-524. Journals of Gerontology Series B-Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences can be contacted at: Oxford Univ Press Inc, Journals Dept, 2001 Evans Rd, Cary, NC 27513, USA (see also Mental Health).
The news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained from M.K. Pavlova, University of Jena, Center Appl Dev Sci, D-07743 Jena, Germany.
Keywords for this news article include: Jena, Europe, Germany, Mental Health
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