Factors Associated with Ethnic Minority Volunteering: The Role of Personal and Social Resources and Acculturation

Background and purpose: Volunteering among older adults is a way of productive aging and has been shown to promote physical and emotional health of older adults. However, older adults from ethnic minority groups are not as likely to engage in volunteering activities and may forgo these benefits. To have better understanding of issues and barriers to volunteering in minority older adults, the present study explored the factors associated with volunteering among ethnic minority older adults. Specifically, this study explored the effect of personal and social resources and acculturation in volunteering among different groups of ethnic minorities.

Methods: We used data from the 2015 California Health Interview Survey. Our sample included adults age 50 and over who are non-Hispanic Whites (n=10,662), non-Hispanic Blacks (n=1,483), non-Hispanic Asians (n=1,832), and Hispanics (n=4,959). An outcome variable, volunteering, was dichotomized to indicate whether the person was involved in any kind of volunteering over the past year based upon three questions:(1) Have you done any volunteer work or community service that you have not been paid for? (2) Have you served as a volunteer on any local board, council, or organization that deals with community problems? (3) Have you gotten together informally with others to deal with community problems (e.g., with a neighborhood watch group)? Personal resources (income, education, self-rated health, functional health, mental health), social resources (marital status, employment), and acculturation (English proficiency, citizenship, length of stay, place of birth) were examined as predictors of volunteering. Descriptive statistics and a series of logistic regression models were calculated with each ethnic group using SPSS 23.

Results: Consistent with previous findings, more Whites volunteered (54.1%) followed by Blacks (47.2%), Asians (41.7%), and Hispanics (33%). Results showed similarities and differences in factors associated with volunteer participation among diverse racial/ethnic groups. Personal resources of income, education, and self-rated health were found to be the common factors of volunteering in all ethnic/racial groups. Other than the common factors, in the White-only group, all personal and social resources and English proficiency were significantly associated with volunteering. In the Asian-only group, being younger, US born citizen, and longer stay in US were significantly associated with more volunteering. In the Hispanic-only group, being female, having better mental health, having higher English-proficiency, and being naturalized citizen were significant factors. In the African-American-only group, only common factors were significant and any of the acculturation factors were not significant.

Implications: The present study provides an insight into organizational strategies on recruitment and retention of minority older volunteers. Agencies needs to develop targeted approach to various ethnic/racial groups. Especially, the findings of the present study implies that acculturation factors are important among Hispanic and Asian groups. Culturally competent practices in volunteer management such as diversifying volunteering activities, educational programs, and staff trainings should be sought.