The aim of the proposed five-year study is to examine the predictors of volunteer behavior and the effects which volunteer behavior has on the mental health of elderly people. People who engage in volunteer behavior and those who do not participate will be studied, allowing for important comparisons of their mental health. Data would be collected at three points in time from 400 community or congregate living resident males and females over age 65. The research is designed to empirically examine volunteer participation conceptualized as a productive role for older persons, and is based on a model of the determinants of role behavior. Volunteerism is defined as active participation in any non-paid work or activity connected with an organization or institution. Hypotheses derived from the model allow for exploration of four sets of predictors of volunteerism: structural factors, cultural factors, personality factors, and situational factors. The longitudinal design of the research allows for an examination of the conditions under which volunteerism affects mental health. In addition to examining current volunteer behavior, the volunteer behavior of the respondents during the life course will be explored through a typology of possible behavior patterns, including continuous volunteers, continuous non-volunteers, new volunteers and lost volunteers. Given the combined trends of decreasing numbers of traditional volunteers (i.e., middle and upper middle class women) and the increasing numbers of people over the age of 65, this information would be useful to social service providers who utilize volunteer staffing, as well as to mental health professionals seeking to increase the functioning of the elderly segment of the population.
