Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T04:21:29.776Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Why do older adult volunteers stop volunteering?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 March 2010

FENGYAN TANG*
Affiliation:
School of Social Work, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
NANCY MORROW-HOWELL
Affiliation:
Brown School of Social Work, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
EUNHEE CHOI
Affiliation:
School of Social Work, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
*
Address for correspondence: Fengyan Tang, 2217C Cathedral of Learning, School of Social Work, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA15260, USA E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

This paper reports a United States study of the factors that influence the turnover of older adult volunteers. Based on a parent study of programmes that use older adult volunteers, the follow-up study examined the experience for 207 older volunteers who served in ten programmes in 2005 and 2006, respectively. Telephone interviews and mail surveys were used to collect programme and personal information. The findings indicated that aspects of the volunteer experience, like duration of involvement, volunteering in other programme(s), type of activity, the adequacy of on-going support, and the availability of stipends influenced volunteering retention and turnover. Respondents who volunteered for a longer period were committed in other programmes, felt better supported, and received a stipend were less likely to quit volunteering in a designated programme. Also those volunteering in public safety programmes were least likely to quit. As reported by older adult volunteers themselves, the primary reasons for volunteer withdrawal included a higher priority of another productive activity or commitment, declining health, and problems with the programme administration. Volunteers with extensive experience were least likely to withdraw. The findings suggest that organisations with volunteer programmes can promote older adults' long-term engagement as volunteers by providing on-going support and stipends. Changes in programme characteristics would impact positively on volunteer retention, especially among low-income older Americans.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Brudney, J. L. and Kellough, J. E. 2000. Volunteers in state government: involvement, management, and benefits. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 29, 1, 111–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Center for Health Communication 2004. Reinventing Aging: Baby Boomers and Civic Engagement. Center for Health Communication, Harvard School of Public Health, Cambridge, Massachusetts.Google Scholar
Chacon, F., Vecina, M. L. and Davila, M. C. 2007. The three-stage model of volunteers' duration of service. Social Behavior and Personality, 35, 5, 627–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cnaan, R. A. and Cascio, T. A. 1999. Performance and commitment: issues in management of volunteers in human service organizations. Journal of Social Service Research, 34, 1, 137.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Einolf, C. J. 2009. Will the boomers volunteer during retirement? Comparing the baby boom, silent, and long civic cohorts. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 38, 2, 181–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farmer, S. M. and Fedor, D. B. 2000. Volunteer participation and withdrawal: a psychological contract perspective on the role of expectations and organizational support. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 9, 4, 349–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fisher, L. R. and Schaffer, K. B. 1993. Older Volunteers: A Guide to Research and Practice. Sage, Newbury Park, California.Google Scholar
Galindo-Kuhn, R. and Guzley, R. 2001. The volunteer satisfaction index: construct definition, measurement development, and validation. Journal of Social Service Research, 28, 1, 4568.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gidron, B. 1978. Volunteer work and its rewards. Volunteer Administration, 11, 3, 1832.Google ScholarPubMed
Gidron, B. 1984. Predictors of retention and turnover among service volunteer workers. Journal of Social Service Research, 8, 1, 116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Graham, J. W., Taylor, B. J., and Cumsille, P. E. 2001. Planned missing-data designs in analysis of change. In Collins, L. M. and Sayer, A. G. (eds), New Methods for the Analysis of Change: Decade of Behavior. American Psychological Association, Washington DC, 335–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horton, N. J. and Lipsitz, S. R. 1999. Review of software to fit generalized estimating equation regression models. American Statistician, 53, 2, 160–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Independent Sector 2002. America's Senior Volunteers. Independent Sector, Washington DC. Available online at http://www.independentsector.org/programs/research/senior_volunteers_in_america.html [Accessed 4 May 2009].Google Scholar
Kosinski, W. J. Jr and Keller, M. 1996. A 12-item short-form health survey: construction of scales and preliminary tests of reliability and validity. Medical Care, 34, 3, 220–33.Google Scholar
Kotz, S., Johnson, N. and Read, C. B. 1982. Encyclopedia of Statistical Sciences. Wiley, New York.Google Scholar
Kovacs, P. J. and Black, B. 1999. Volunteerism and older adults: implications for social work practice. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 32, 1, 2540.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laczo, R. M. L. and Hanisch, K. A. 2000. An examination of behavioral families of organizational withdrawal in volunteer workers and paid employees. Human Resource Management Review, 9, 4, 453–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liang, K.-Y. and Zeger, S. L. 1986. Longitudinal data analysis using generalized linear models. Biometrika, 73, 1, 1322.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McBride, A. M. 2007. Civic engagement, older adults, and inclusion. Generations, 30, 4, 6671.Google Scholar
McPherson, L. M. 1983. An ecology of affiliation. American Sociological Review, 48, 4, 519–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, L. E., Powell, G. N. and Seltzer, J. 1990. Determinants of turnover among volunteers. Human Relations, 43, 9, 901–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morrow-Howell, N. 2006. Civic engagement (at the 2005 White House Conference on Aging). Public Policy and Aging Report, 16, 1, 1317.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morrow-Howell, N., Hinterlong, J. and Sherraden, M. 2001. Productive Aging: Concepts and Challenges. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland.Google Scholar
Morrow-Howell, N., Hinterlong, J., Sherraden, M., Tang, F., Thirupathy, P. and Nagchoudhuri, M. 2003. Instructional capacity for elder service. Social Development Issues, 25, 1-2, 189204.Google Scholar
Morrow-Howell, N., Hong, S. and Tang, F. 2009. Who benefits from volunteering? Variations in perceived benefits. The Gerontologist, 49, 1, 91–102.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Morrow-Howell, N., Kinnevy, S. and Mann, M. 1999. The perceived benefits of participating in volunteer and educational activities. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 32, 2, 6580.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morrow-Howell, N., Tang, F., Hong, S., Goldberg, J., Kim, S. and Luman, A. 2006. Older Adults in Service to Society. CSD Research Report 06-05, Center for Social Development, Washington University, St Louis, Missouri.Google Scholar
Morrow-Howell, N., Tang, F., Kim, J., Lee, M. and Sherraden, M. 2005. Maximizing the productive engagement of older adults. In Wykle, M., Whitehouse, P. and Morris, D. (eds), Successful Aging Through the Lifespan: Intergenerational Issues in Health. Springer Publishing Company, New York, 1954.Google Scholar
Nagelkerke, N. J. D. 1991. Miscellanea: a note on a general definition of the coefficient of deturnover. Biometrika, 78, 3, 691–2.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Narushima, M. 2005. ‘Payback time’: community volunteering among older adults as a transformative mechanism. Ageing & Society, 25, 4, 567–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Okun, M. A. 1993. Predictors of volunteer status in a retirement community. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 36, 1, 5774.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O'Reilly, P. and Caro, F. G. 1994. Productive aging: an overview of the literature. Journal of Aging and Social Policy, 6, 3, 3971.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sherraden, M., Morrow-Howell, N., Hinterlong, J. and Rozario, P. 2001. Productive aging: theoretical choices and directions. In Morrow-Howell, N., Hinterlong, J. and Sherraden, M. (eds), Productive Aging: Concepts and Challenges. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland, 260–84.Google Scholar
Stevens, E. S. 1991. Toward satisfaction and retention of senior volunteers. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 16, 1, 3341.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Strom, R. and Strom, S. 1994. Grandparent volunteers in the school: building a partnership. Journal of Institutional Psychology, 21, 4, 329–39.Google Scholar
Tang, F., Morrow-Howell, N. and Hong, S. 2009 a. Inclusion of diverse populations in volunteering: the importance of institutional facilitation. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 38, 5, 810–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tang, F., Morrow-Howell, N. and Hong, S. 2009 b. Institutional facilitation in sustained volunteering among older volunteers. Social Work Research, 33, 3, 172–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
US Bureau of the Census 2005. Current Population Survey, September 2005: Volunteer Supplement File. Bureau of the Census, Washington DC. Available online at http://www.census.gov/apsd/techdoc/cps/cpssep05.pdf [Accessed 20 March 2007].Google Scholar
Warburton, J. and McDonald, C. 2009. The challenges of the new institutional environment: an Australian case study of older volunteers in the contemporary non-profit sector. Ageing & Society, 29, 1, 118.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, J. and Musick, M. A. 1999. Attachment to volunteering. Sociological Forum, 14, 2, 243–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zorn, C. 2001. Generalized estimating equation models for correlated data: a review with applications. American Journal of Political Science, 45, 2, 470–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar