relationship between volunteering and subjective happiness in college students

VOLUNTEERING AND SUBJECTIVE HAPPINESS

Abstract

In this study, researchers aimed to examine the relationship between volunteerism and

subjective happiness in college-aged individuals. It was hypothesized that the number of hours

spent volunteering would positively correlate with subjective happiness. The participants were a

sample of 18-23 year old college students attending Bryant University. A survey measuring

subjective happiness and hours spent volunteering was administered. The results were

r(50) = 0.152, p = 0.292, thus showing a positive relationship, but no significance at the alpha

level setting (α = 0.05). There were several limitations to this study, including sampling factors

and wording of the survey. Further research needs to be conducted with a focus on younger

generations, including college-aged individuals, to determine if this beneficial relationship does

in fact exist in those populations as well as older populations.


Relationship Between Volunteering and Subjective Happiness in College Students

The notion that recipients of strong social support and love experience health benefits due

to these factors is already widely accepted in the professional community. In fact, there is a

paradigm for approaching psychopathology that is based on this concept. The humanistic model

contends that receiving unconditional positive regard is an integral part of mental health. But

what of the individuals who provide that social support and love? What effects do their actions

have upon their own health?

Various studies have found that volunteer work enhances all six generally accepted

aspects of well-being. These features are happiness, life satisfaction, self-esteem, sense of

control over life, physical health, and depression (Thoits & Hewitt, 2001). People who serve as

volunteers tend to score higher on questions regarding global well-being, including areas of

contentment, peace, joy, purpose and community acceptance (McIlvaine et al., 2013).

Furthermore, volunteers tend to have better combined global well-being reports than those who

do not or cannot serve (McIlvaine et al., 2013). Volunteering is associated with higher levels of

life satisfaction and also has a positive impact on average emotional states (Theurer & Wister,

2010); (Byles et al., 2010). Individuals who volunteer regularly also report better overall

physical health than those who do not (Borgonovi, 2008); (Byles et al., 2010). Participation in

volunteer activities additionally helps to promote positive affect while simultaneously reducing

depressive symptomology as well as negative affect (Bhatta et al, 2013). Although volunteering

does seem to lower baseline levels of depression, it has not been shown to predict trajectories of

depression in most age groups (Kim & Pai, 2009). Outside of these six factors of well-being,


volunteering has further been associated with an increased quality of life as well as higher levels

of social support (Byles, et al., 2010).

Interestingly, it has been observed that the act of volunteering regularly lowers

depression levels more significantly for individuals aged 65+ years old than for any other age

group, though no age-related correlation has been found for most of the other aspect of well-

being in relation to the act of volunteering (Musick & Wilson, 2003). Furthermore, volunteering

seems to affect the decline of depression in individuals 65+, yet such an effect on depression

trajectories is not found to any extent in any other age group (Kim & Pai, 2009). Some degree of

this effect may be attributable to the social integration volunteering encourages, but the

mediating effect of such social resources appears small (Musick & Wilson, 2003). Although it

does not seem to affect most of the six aspects of well-being, with the exceptions of depression

and life satisfaction, volunteering in old age predicts other qualities of life including better self-

rated health, functioning, and physical activity (A Review of Benefits of Formal Voluntary Work

Among Older People, 2011). The risk of contracting chronic diseases and admission rates to

nursing homes in old age, however, remain unchanged by the individual’s level of volunteerism

(A Review of Benefits of Formal Voluntary Work Among Older People, 2011). Formal

volunteerism in this age group not only predicts decreased depression levels, but also lower

mortality rates (A Review of Benefits of Formal Voluntary Work Among Older People, 2011).

On the basis of global well-being, volunteerism does seem to have a reciprocal relationship with

well-being in older individuals as well (Morrow-Howell, 2010). Not only does volunteering in

old age increase well-being scores, but the effect continues positively in proportion to the


number of hours engaged in volunteer work (Hinterlong et al., 2003); (McIlvaine et al., 2013).

Religion also seems to play a role in moderating the effectiveness of volunteering, but again only

for the elderly. In this population, volunteering for religious causes appears to be more beneficial

to mental health than volunteering for secular causes (Musick & Wilson, 2003). Additionally, it

has been seen that these beneficial effects are only applicable for cases of formal volunteering,

not for informal helping (Ferraro & Li, 2005).

Several studies that have focused on the older population have looked at the relationship

between volunteerism and well-being through the lens of role theory. This theory essentially

says that individuals’ actions are typically aligned with the role or roles they occupy within

society (Haski-Lenventhal, 2009). Role enhancement is an important aspect of role theory,

meaning that the more roles one serves in helps to enhance power and social status, which

further translates to overall well-being (Haski-Leventhal, 2009). There is a limit to this idea

though. Role strain may occur if an individual takes on too many roles simultaneously, which

could actually lead to a decrease in well-being (Haski-Leventhal, 2009). Generally, it is thought

that since individuals tend to lose certain roles as they age, role strain is far less common for the

elderly (Haski-Leventhal, 2009). Thus the addition of the volunteer role(s) is more likely to have

mainly positive results for this generation (Haski-Leventhal, 2009). One study looking at this

relationship through this lens contends that volunteering is particularly beneficial to older people

because individuals in that population often experience the loss of other social roles (Theurer &

Wister, 2010). The reasoning used to support this claim is that volunteering provides

opportunities to increase well-being through role adoption, while simultaneously cultivating


generativity, the predominant issue facing this population according to Erik Erikson’s eight

stages of man (Theurer & Wister, 2010). As of yet, there has been no scientific support for this

theory, though. In fact, several have found age to not be a statistically significant factor,

including the Theurer & Wister experiment (2010). Other studies have proposed various other

explanations for the accentuated benefits of volunteering seen among the older generation. One

such possible explanation links the benefits to the increased vulnerability of the elderly

population. Individuals in this age group are particularly vulnerable to age-related illness, health

risks, and stressors such as role change and other significant life changes (Thomas, 1996).

Therefore, there is more room for improvement within these individuals and volunteering allows

for their well-being to be raised more than for younger individuals (Thomas, 1996).

Though research has been split as to whether age is an important factor in the effect

volunteering has on well-being, it has had consistent findings regarding the rates of volunteerism

in various populations. Volunteering behavior remains fairly consistent throughout the age

groups, with rates of volunteering not seeing any significant declines until the middle of the

seventh decade of life (Morrow-Howell, 2010). When older individuals do reduce or stop their

volunteering behavior, it is usually due to functional health problems presenting as a barrier

(Ferraro & Li, 2005). While volunteerism rates appear similar among the various generations,

older individuals who volunteer tend to commit more hours than their younger counterparts

(Morrow-Howell, 2010).

Volunteering has also been found to buffer the negative effects of stress on health,

depending upon certain personal characteristics. For example, for people ranked low in cynicism


and participating in low or nonexistent levels of volunteering, stress predicts mortality and for

those low in cynicism and volunteering at high levels, stress is not seen to have this effect. A

similar buffering effect has been seen for those high in world benevolence beliefs. For these

individuals, stress predicts elevated levels of distress at low and nonexistent levels of

volunteering, but not at high levels of volunteering (Poulin, 2014).

The aspect of well-being that has received the most research attention in the area of

volunteerism is happiness. Repeatedly studies have found that volunteering is strongly associated

with higher levels of happiness (Arminda, 2013); (Hicks, Krueger, & McGue, 2001); (Theurer

& Wister, 2010); (Dulin et al, 2012); (Borgonovi, 2008). Additionally, it has been observed that

more sustained volunteering is associated with increasingly better mental health (Musick &

Wilson, 2003). One study found that the odds of being happy increased for individuals who

volunteered 1-4 hours per month when compared to those who volunteered for less than 1 hour

per month or not at all (Theurer & Wister, 2010).

There have been many theories as to why volunteering may have this effect on happiness

levels. Borgonovi (2008) argued that the act of volunteering increases empathic emotions, shifts

aspirations, and moves “the salient reference group in subjective evaluations of relative positions

from the relatively better-off to the relatively worse-off”, so the volunteer becomes grateful for

what they have rather than jealous of what they do not have. Another theory proposed by Chui,

Kwok, & Wong (2013) contends that people satisfy an internal need when they participate in

volunteer activities and this is what motivates them to volunteer. It is also what causes them to


feel a general sense of life satisfaction when they participate in these activities (Chui, Kwok, &

Wong, 2013).

Several additional factors have been proposed as being moderators of the relationship

between volunteering and happiness or overall well-being. As was discussed earlier, personal

characteristics such as cynicism levels and world benevolence beliefs act as moderators in the

elderly population, but not in other generations (Poulin, 2014). A study of older adults looked at

social integration, race and gender as moderating factors in this relationship (Hinterlong et al.,

2003). The study found no statistically significant evidence to support any of these factors as

moderators of the relationship between volunteerism and well-being in older adults (Hinterlong

et al., 2003). They further discovered that the number of organizations the individual

volunteered for, the type of organization, and the perceived benefit of the work to others also had

no significant effect on the relationship (Hinterlong et al., 2003). Furthermore, no differential

benefits were seen according to the personal characteristics of the volunteer (Hinterlong et al.,

2003). Arminda (2013) suggested the existence of different motivations for participating in the

volunteer activity as an intervening variable for all populations, but results of that study did not

find any statistically significant relationship between various motivations and well-being.

Another study proposed two other factors as moderators: ethnicity and economic living standards

(Dulin et al, 2012). Although ethnicity was not found to be a statistically significant intervening

variable, the results suggested that the level of access to economic resources may moderate the

relationship between volunteering and happiness (Dulin et al, 2012). It was found that


individuals with low economic living standards had a stronger relationship between the two

measured variables than those with high economic living standards (Dulin et al, 2012).

Although much research has been focused specifically on the older population, no such

focus has yet been placed upon the younger generation. Thus, with the aim of discovering

whether there is any relationship between the act of volunteering and subjective happiness of

college students, the following research hypothesis was formulated:

The number of hours spent volunteering will positively correlate with subjective

happiness such that participants who report larger amounts of time spent volunteering

will also score high on the Subjective Happiness Scale.

This hypothesis was formed on the basis of prior research indicating a strong positive

relationship between volunteerism and well-being in other populations.

Methods

Participant Characteristics

The participants were a sample of students aged 18 to 23 from the student population at

Bryant University, with the mean age being 19.6 years old (standard deviation = 1.13). They

were recruited through word of mouth by peers and faculty of Bryant University. They received

no compensation directly from the study, but many received extra credit in certain college

courses.


The sample included 50 members of this community, 22 male (44%) and 28 female

(56%). Their ethnic background was overwhelmingly Caucasian, with 82% of participants

describing themselves as such. The remaining 18% of participants were dispersed amongst the

categories of Black/African American (8%), Asian/Asian American (6%), and Hispanic/Latino

(4%). Catholicism was the most prevalent religion within the sample at 50% of the participants.

The other half was spread among Protestantism (16%), Judaism (10%), Agnosticism (6%),

Atheism (4%) and other religious beliefs (14%).

Materials

Included in the materials needed for this study is a survey (Appendix A) that includes

demographic questions, the Subjective Happiness Scale, and a measure of time spent

volunteering. The Subjective Happiness Scale consists of four fairly broad statements regarding

individual’s perception of their own happiness level. This scale has been found to have great

internal consistency and stability over time and samples, as well as construct validity

(Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999). The scale has high correlation with other measures of

happiness and moderate levels of correlation with constructs theoretically and empirically related

to happiness as well as to well-being in general (Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999). Displaying this

convergent validity, it had substantial correlations ranging from 0.52 to 0.72 (M=0.62).

Furthermore, it has good test-retest reliability with a range from 0.55 to 0.9 (M=0.72)

(Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999). Through using Cronbach’s Alpha Reliability test, Lyubormirsky

and Lepper (1999) found that the Subjective Happiness Scale demonstrated good to excellent


internal consistency with the alphas ranging from 0.79 to 0.94 (M=0.86). This data shows that it

is consistent across various ages, occupations, languages and cultures.

Also included is the SPSS statistical software needed to run a statistical analysis of the

data gathered in the survey.

Procedure

A survey that gathers data regarding participants’ demographics, time spent volunteering,

and subjective happiness was administered to the sample group of Bryant University students. A

statistical analysis was then performed using the data gathered in this survey to determine what

relationship exists, if any, between time spent volunteering and subjective happiness.

Results

The participants were recruited and participated in the study between March 16th, 2015

and March 24th, 2015. 50 individuals were recruited, and all 50 stayed to complete the study.

Additionally, all participants answered every survey question, thus there is no missing data.

Statistical analysis of the survey data was run through SPSS using a Pearson Correlation

with the alpha level set at 0.05. The results of the descriptive statistics are shown in Appendix B.

As can be seen in the table, the age range of participants was 18 to 23 years old, with an average

age of 19.6 years old and a standard deviation of 1.12 years. Volunteer times ranged from no

volunteering to 1,800 minutes. The mean time spent volunteering in the past month was 360.6

minutes, with a standard deviation of 410.47 minutes. The Subjective Happiness Scale scores


revealed a range from 12 to 27. The average score for Subjective Happiness was 21.42 with a

standard deviation of 3.28. The results of the inferential statistics are shown in Appendix C. It

was found that r(50) = 0.152, p = 0.292. Therefore, there was a positive correlation found

between the amount of time volunteering and the subjective happiness scores, but it is not

significant at this alpha level.

Discussion

The results of the Pearson Correlation do not support the original hypothesis of a positive

correlation between the number of hours spent volunteering and Subjective Happiness Scale

scores. Although the test revealed a positive correlation of 0.152, the p-value at an alpha level of

0.05 was 0.292, leaving the results far from significant. Due to this, no generalization to a larger

population can be made from these results.

The sample size is moderately small at only 50 participants. Furthermore, many of the

individuals were participating in order to receive extra credit in a college course and thus may

have wanted to complete the survey as quickly as possible. This may have led to minimal

attention being paid to the questions, and possible inaccuracy in the data gathered. Also, all the

data collected was self-reported, which lends itself to inaccuracy. This study’s sample was also

fairly homogeneous, with little diversity in the realms of ethnicity and religion. The vast majority

of the individuals were both white and Catholic. Every participant was a student at Bryant

University, a school which primarily recruits from the New England Region of the United states


and tends to enroll students of a higher socioeconomic status. All of these factors may have

created a bias in the results.

Another limitation to the study was also the time of year it was conducted. The measure

of volunteer time on the survey asked participants “In the past month, how much time have you

spent volunteering?” Because the study was conducted in March, during the academic year,

students may have been less involved in volunteer activities than they are typically. If this study

is repeated, it is suggested that the wording be changed to “In the average month, how much time

do you spend volunteering?” in order to eliminate any affects the time of year may have on the

results.

Although the study does have limitations, it is possible that the results are accurate in

refuting a relationship between subjective happiness and volunteer time in college students. Most

research in this area has addressed aging or elderly populations, thus the empirical findings that

support such a positive relationship may be limited to those populations. Further research must

be done with a focus on younger generations, including college-aged individuals, to determine if

this beneficial relationship does in fact exist in those populations as well.


References

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Appendix A – Survey

Effect of Volunteerism on Subjective Happiness in College Students1. What is your sex?

a. Maleb. Female

2. How do you describe yourself?a. American Indian or Alaska Nativeb. Hawaiian or Pacific Islanderc. Asian or Asian Americand. Black or African Americane. Hispanic or Latinof. White/Caucasiang. Other (please specify)

3. What is your religious preferencea. Atheistb. Agnosticc. Jewishd. Catholice. Muslimf. Protestantg. Other (please specify)

4. How old are you?___________

5. In the past month, how much time have you spent volunteering (in hours)?

6. In general, I consider myself:1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Not a very A veryhappy person happy person

7. Compared with most of my peers, I consider myself: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Less happy More happy

8. Some people are generally very happy. They enjoy life regardless of what is going on, getting the most out of everything. To what extent does this characterization describe you?1 2 3 4 5 6 7


Not at all A great deal

9. Some people are generally not very happy. Although they are not depressed, they never seem as happy as they might be. To what extent does this characterization describe you?1 2 3 4 5 6 7

A great deal Not at all

Appendix B – Descriptive Statistics Results

N Minimum Maximum Mean Standard Deviation

Age (years) 50 18.00 23.00 19.60 1.12Volunteer

Time (minutes)

50 0.00 1800.00 360.60 410.47

Subjective Happiness

Score

50 12.00 27.00 21.42 3.28

Valid N (listwise)

50

Appendix C – Inferential Statistics Results

VolTime SH Score

VolTime Pearson Correlation

Sig. (2-tailed)

N

1

50

0.152

0.292

50

SH Score Pearson Correlation

Sig. (2-tailed)

N

0.152

0.292

50

1

50

relationship between volunteering and subjective happiness in college students

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