Inducting older adults into volunteer work to sustain their psychological well-being

摘要

The ways in which social worker induction into volunteer work sustain the older person’s well-being is the focus of this study which surveyed 719 Chinese people aged 60 or above in Hong Kong, China. Results show the significant contribution of social worker induction to the older person’s self-esteem, life satisfaction, and self-assessed health. Moreover, social worker induction magnified the benefit of volunteering. On the other hand, social worker induction was less salutary to older people with higher incomes and more illness. Social worker input is therefore most beneficial to people in a condition compatible with the input.