| Summary: | This investigation examined persons 60 or over concerning their volunteer activity. Volunteering was defined as contributing one's time without pay to non-profit organizations in the community. A list of older volunteers was compiled and subjects were randomly selected from that list. A non-volunteer group was similarly formed to serve as a basis of comparison and accord a fuller understanding of the volunteers. === Volunteers were found to have more income, to be younger, more educated, more likely to be white and more likely to be married than their counterparts who do not volunteer. The volunteers had higher measures of self-esteem and peer relations than the non-volunteers. Subjects who volunteered prior to age 60 were more likely to be presently volunteering, but 19 percent of the present volunteers had never volunteered before the age of 60. The 75 volunteers interviewed were found to be more active in volunteering now than before the age of 60. This is probably due to an increase in leisure time as a result of retirement or other role loss. === Of the 56 non-volunteers, a startling 59 percent expressed a willingness to volunteer and a main reason given for not volunteering was simply that no one has asked them. Both volunteers and non-volunteers preferred volunteering in a setting that served members of their own age group. === Older persons have historically underutilized and/or have been underserved by the social service network in the community. Results of this and other investigations indicate that there is a significant group of older volunteers and potential volunteers waiting to be asked who can be used to bridge this service gap. In addition to providing a service, it was learned that volunteers may benefit themselves in terms of higher self-esteem and peer relations. === Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 43-02, Section: A, page: 0549. === Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1982.
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