Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Volunteering and Happiness: Examining the Differential Effects of Volunteering Types According to Household Income

  • Research Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Happiness Studies Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Although it is well known that volunteering is associated with happiness, little has been examined regarding associations between volunteering and happiness according to the type of volunteering and the volunteer’s economic standing. The data used in this study were drawn from the 2012 Korean General Social Survey, a nationally representative survey. Multiple regression techniques were used to examine associations between three volunteering types (for a residential community, with an educational purpose, or for socially vulnerable groups) and happiness, and if and how their associations vary by the volunteers’ household income. The findings showed that volunteer activities for a residential community and for socially vulnerable groups were positively associated with happiness after controlling for sociodemographic factors, but they were not significant after controlling for personality traits, generalized trust, and self-rated health. An examination of the interactions between each volunteering type and household income revealed that the association between volunteering for socially vulnerable groups and happiness varied by income. Volunteering for socially vulnerable groups was more positively associated with happiness as income level increased. However, it turned out to be negatively associated with happiness for low-income volunteers. The findings suggest that the effects of volunteering on happiness are complicated by the characteristics of volunteering and the social conditions of the volunteers.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Education may also be an important moderator given that it is a critical factor shaping the socioeconomic status of respondents. However, there were no significant interactions between education and type of volunteering in the supplementary analyses (data not shown).

References

  • Allison, P. (1999). Multiple regression: A primer. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bekkers, R. (2005). Participation in voluntary associations: Relations with resources, personality and political values. Political Psychology, 26(3), 439–454.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Binder, M. (2015). Volunteering and life satisfaction: A closer look at the hypothesis that volunteering more strongly benefits the unhappy. Applied Economics Letters, 22(11), 874–885.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Borgonovi, F. (2008). Doing well by doing good. The relationship between formal volunteering and self-reported health and happiness. Social Science and Medicine, 66, 2321–2334.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2016). Volunteering in the United States, 2015. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/volun.nr0.htm. Accessed 17 March 2017.

  • Cheng, H., & Furnham, A. (2003). Personality, self-esteem, and demographic predictions of happiness and depression. Personality and Individual Differences, 34, 921–942.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, Edward F., & Oishi, S. (2000). Money and happiness: Income and subjective well-being across nations. In E. F. Diener & E. M. Suh (Eds.), Cross-cultural psychology of subjective well-being across nations (pp. 185–218). Cambridge: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Do, J. S. (2011). The effects of youth voluntary service on subjective happiness. Journal of Adolescent Welfare, 13(4), 21–45 (in Korean).

    Google Scholar 

  • Dulin, P. L., Gavala, J., Stephens, C., Kostick, M., & McDonald, J. (2012). Volunteering predicts happiness among older Maori and non-Maori in the New Zealand health, work, and retirement longitudinal study. Aging & Mental Health, 16(5), 617–624.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Durkheim, E. (1951[1897]). Suicide: A study in sociology (J. A. Spaulding & G. Simpson, Trans.). New York: Free Press.

  • Easterlin, R. A. (1974). Does economic growth improve the human lot? Some empirical evidence. In P. A. David & M. W. Reder (Eds.), Nations and households in economic growth: essays in honor of Moses Abramovitz (pp. 89–125). New York: New York Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Easterlin, R. A., McVey, L. A., Switek, M., Sawangfa, O., & Zweig, J. S. (2010). The happiness-income paradox revisited. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 107(52), 22463–22468.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fagg, J., Curtis, S., Standsfeld, S. A., & Congdon, P. (2006). Psychological distress among adolescents, and its relationship to individual, family and area characteristics in east London. Social Science and Medicine, 63, 636–648.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gebauer, J. C., Riketta, M., Broemer, P., & Maio, G. R. (2008). Pleasure and pressure based prosocial motivation: Divergent relations to subjective well-being. Journal of Research in Personality, 42, 399–420.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gosling, S. D., Rentfrow, P. J., & Swann, W. B., Jr. (2003). A very brief measure of the big-five personality domains. Journal of Research in Personality, 37, 504–528.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gudmundsdóttir, D. G., Ásgeirsdóttir, B. B., Huppert, F. A., Sigfúsdóttir, I. D., Valdimarsdóttir, U. A., & Hauksdóttir, A. (2016). How does the economic crisis influence adolescents’ happiness? Population-based surveys in Iceland in 2000–2010. Journal of Happiness Studies, 17, 1219–1234.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ha, S. E., & Kim, S. (2013). Personality and subjective well-being: Evidence from South Korea. Social Indicator Research, 111, 341–359.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Han, S. (2014). Social capital and subjective happiness: Which contexts matter? Journal of Happiness Studies, 16, 241–255.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Howes, M. J., Hokanson, J. E., & Lowenstein, D. A. (1985). Induction of depressive affect after prolonged exposure to a mildly depressed individual. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49, 1110–1113.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jang, Y., Ko, K., Lee, Y., Kim, J., Oh, M., Kang, J., Jin, J., & Hahm, S.  (2015). Giving report 2014. Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (in Korean). http://www.prism.go.kr/homepage/main/retrieveMain.do. Accessed 27 July 2017.

  • Joo, S., Lee, S., & Lee, E. (2004). A study on volunteering policy and Korean government and the development of women’s volunteering. Ministry of Gender Equity (in Korean).

  • Kalmijn, W. M., & Arends, L. R. (2010). Measures of inequality: Application to happiness in nations. Social Indicators Research, 99(1), 147–162.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, S., Kim, J., Moon, Y., & Shin, S. (2013). Korean General Social Survey, 2012. Seoul: Sungkyunkwan University Press (in Korean).

    Google Scholar 

  • Koenig, H. G. (2007). Altruistic love and physical health. In S. G. Post (Ed.), Altruism & health (pp. 422–441). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Konrath, S. (2014). The power of philanthropy and volunteering. In F. A. Huppert & C. L. Cooper (Eds.), Wellbeing: A complete reference guide, Volume VI, Interventions and policies to enhance wellbeing (pp. 387–426). Hoboken: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, M. (2009). Neighborhood residential segregation and mental health: A multilevel analysis on Hispanic Americans in Chicago. Social Science and Medicine, 68, 1975–1984.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, Y., & Ferraro, K. F. (2005). Volunteering and depression in later life: Social benefit or selection processes? Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 46, 68–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs. (2016). Volunteering statistics (in Korean). https://www.nanumkorea.go.kr/vols/1472177522467/srvcgud/volsStats.do. Accessed 10 April 2017.

  • Morrow-Howell, N., Hong, S., & Tang, F. (2009). Who benefits from volunteering? Variations in perceived benefits. The Gerontologist, 49(1), 91–102.

    Google Scholar 

  • Musick, M. A., & Wilson, J. (2003). Volunteering and depression: The role of psychological and social resources in different age groups. Social Science and Medicine, 56, 259–269.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nam, E. Y., Yee, J., & Kim, M. (2012). Doe leisure activities make people happier? The role of social capital and social leisure. Korean Journal of Sociology, 46(5), 1–33 (in Korean).

    Google Scholar 

  • OECD. (2016). OECD Better Life Index. http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/topics/life-satisfaction. Accessed 15 Sep 2017.

  • Piliavin, J. A., & Siegl, E. (2007). Health benefits of volunteering in the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 48, 450–464.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pollock, N. C., Noser, A. E., Holden, C. J., & Zeigler-Hill, V. (2016). Do orientations to happiness mediate the associations between personality traits and subjective well-being? Journal of Happiness Studies, 17, 713–729.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Puntscher, S., Hauser, C., Walde, J., & Tappeiner, G. (2015). The impact of social capital on subjective well-being: A regional perspective. Journal of Happiness Studies, 16, 1231–1246.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodríguez-Pose, A., & Berlepsch, V. (2014). Social capital and individual happiness in Europe. Journal of Happiness Studies, 15, 357–386.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shin, K. (2012). Economic crisis, neoliberal reforms, and the rise of precarious work in South Korea. American Behavioral Scientist, 57(3), 335–353.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Theurer, K., & Wister, A. (2010). Altruistic behavior and social capital as predictors of well-being among older Canadians. Ageing & Society, 30(1), 157–181.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thoits, P. A., & Hewitt, L. N. (2001). Volunteer work and well-being. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 42(2), 115–131.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Pragg, B. M. S., & Ferrer-i-Carbonell, A. (2008). Happiness quantified: A satisfaction calculus approach. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Willigen, M. (2000). Differential benefits of volunteering across the life course. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 55(B), 308–318.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vecina, M. L., & Fernando, C. (2013). Volunteering and well-being: Is pleasure-based rather than pressure-based prosocial motivation that which is related to positive effects? Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 43, 870–878.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Veenhoven, R. (1996). Developments in satisfaction research. Social Indicators Research, 37, 1–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Volunteering Culture Korea. (2015). 2014 Korean volunteering, giving and helping (in Korea).

  • Weinstein, N., & Ryan, R. (2010). When helping helps: Autonomous motivation for pro-social behavior and its influence on well-being for the helper and recipient. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98, 222–244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wheeler, J. A., & Gorey, K. M. (1998). The beneficial effects of volunteering for older volunteers and the people they serve: A meta-analysis. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 47(1), 69–79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilkinson, R. G. (2005). The impact of inequality: How to make sick societies healthier. New York: The New Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, Chung-Ang University, 84 Heukseok-ro, Dongjak-gu, Seoul, 06974, Korea

    Min-Ah Lee

Authors
  1. Min-Ah Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Min-Ah Lee.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Lee, MA. Volunteering and Happiness: Examining the Differential Effects of Volunteering Types According to Household Income. J Happiness Stud 20, 795–814 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-018-9968-0

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-018-9968-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation