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

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Abstract

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.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Work, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Sha Tin, NT, Hong Kong, China

    Chau-kiu Cheung (research assistant professor)

  2. the Department of Applied Social Studies, City University of Hong Kong, China

    Alex Yui-huen Kwan (professor)

Authors
  1. Chau-kiu Cheung
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  2. Alex Yui-huen Kwan
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Correspondence to Chau-kiu Cheung.

Additional information

He has recently published articles on services for older people, business ethics, work restructuring, citizenship, and modernization and postmodernization in China. His current research addresses issues of youth development, dancing drug abuse, acceptance of social work services, urban renewal, and new immigrants’ path to success.

He is an active researcher in the social gerontology field, and has published journal articles on elderly suicide, elderly abuse, QoL, filial piety, positive aging, caregiver behavior, and comparative studies on aging. Alex is the author of several books (mainly in Chinese) on the social and psychological care of the aged, and has edited several practical work manuals and training manuals on these subjects.

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Cheung, Ck., Kwan, A.Yh. Inducting older adults into volunteer work to sustain their psychological well-being. Ageing Int. 31, 44–58 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12126-006-1003-9

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