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B. Participation/social inclusion, including engagement
in voluntary work and mental health
Socially embedded older people who are in frequent contact with family, close friends, and neighbours
tend to have better physical health than those who are less involved. 8 Involvement in neighbourhood and
community activities is in addition associated with better social support, greater physical activity and lower
levels of stress. A danger in getting older and retiring however, is the loss of such social networks.
According to the EU Thematic Conference on mental health of older people (see Box 9), many older people
may suffer from social exclusion and isolation. A large proportion of older people report feelings of loneliness
(35% in one Swedish study, with 45% showing reduced subjective health) and women report more loneliness
than men. Loneliness can have a negative impact on health; a major predictor of loneliness in older age
is poor mental health and depression, psychiatric morbidity, increased physical impairment, small social
networks, low life satisfaction and reduced quality of life.
Volunteering or other forms of professional activity can be an antidote to social exclusion and loneliness, in
that it can help keep people active and involved and can provide a sense of meaning and purpose. In its call
for action, the Conference calls for volunteering initiatives to be organised and supported at the local and
individual level with the aims of “ensuring social participation, transfer of knowledge and intergenerational
dialogue”. 32
A paper based on data from the SHARE study (See Box 12) analysed the relation between volunteering
and well-being among 30,023 Europeans aged 50 and above in 12 countries. Overall, a positive correlation
between volunteering and perceived health, life satisfaction, and self-life expectancy was found, and a
negative correlation to depression. 33 Another SHARE study, that reviewed data from the 2004 SHARE
study on characteristics and rates of participation in voluntary work in ten European countries, found that
the number of older people engaging in volunteer work varies across the EU. Overall, 10% of the 65–74
age group does volunteer work. In Scandinavia, as well as the Netherlands, this percentage is even twice
as high, while in other countries, like Spain and Greece, less than 4% report doing volunteer work in all
age groups. The analysis shows that age, education, health and involvement in other social activities
strongly influence an individual’s inclination to engage in volunteer work. Findings suggest that policies and
programmes to encourage older citizens to make greater use of their productive capacities are feasible. 34
The SHARE study also looked at volunteer transitions among older adults aged 55 – 65 at study
baseline. They tried to understand their motivation by looking at the duration of volunteer activities, the
probability that older adults start and stop, and the factors that significantly predict volunteer transitions.
They analysed entries into, and exits from, formal volunteer activities between 1996 and 2004 by adults,
in an effort to gain insight into how the potential productive energies of baby boomers approaching
retirement might be mobilised. Amongst the findings was that volunteers least likely to quit were those
who contribute intensely and for many years and who were married to another volunteer. They concluded
that there is a need to focus efforts on retaining older volunteers to maximise volunteer engagement
during later years, and to recruit older adults in volunteer activities early on, ideally before they retire.
32 Position of Mental Health Europe on Mental Health and Well-being of older people.
http://ec.europa.eu/health/mental_health/docs/mhe_position_older.pdf
33 Elderly Volunteering and Well-Being: A Cross-European Comparison Based on SHARE Data Debbie Haski-Leventhal Voluntas (2009) 20:388–404
34 Erlinghangen M and Hank K. The participation of older Europeans in volunteer work.
Ageing & Society 26, Cambridge University Press, 2006, pgs 567–584
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