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Objectives: The present study aims to identify distinct types of relationships between grandparents and their adult children, measure the associations between these relationship types and depressive symptoms among grandparents, and determine whether these associations vary by grandparent status. Method: This study uses data from a sample of 1,196 grandparents age 51 and older from the 2014 Health and Retirement Study. Latent class analysis (LCA) is applied and identifies types of grandparent–adult children relationships. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression models are used to estimate the association between relationship types and depressive symptoms by grandparent status. Results: LCA identified four grandparent-adult children relationship types: amicable, ambivalent, detached, and disharmonious. Custodial and co-parenting grandparents were most likely to report having an ambivalent relationship with their adult children. Among co-parenting and custodial grandparents, disharmonious relationships were associated with more depressive symptoms. Conclusion: Interventions are suggested to improve emotional relationships with adult children and dyadic family relationships among grandparent families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study tested a theoretical model of volunteering benefits and examined the mechanism through which volunteering benefits older adults. Design and Methods: This is a 2-wave study of 253 older adult volunteers serving in 10 volunteer programs. Older volunteers completed the mailed surveys in 2005 and 2006. Structural equation modeling was used to define the latent variables and to test direct and indirect relationships among organizational support, socioemotional benefits, and self-reported health. Results: Organizational support (measured by choice of volunteer activity, training, and ongoing support) had significant direct associations with 2 latent factors of socioemotional benefits, that is, perceived contribution and personal benefits. Perceived contribution was significantly related to mental health. Additionally, older volunteers with lower socioeconomic status (SES) committed more hours and perceived more personal benefits than higher SES peers. Implications: These findings suggest that volunteer programs can provide various organizational supports to older volunteers, especially to low-SES volunteers, in order to promote the socioemotional and health benefits of volunteering to older adults. Psychological well-being of older adults can be improved through engagement in meaningful volunteer activities and contribution to others. Key Words: Volunteerism & civic engagement, Organizational support, Socioemotional benefit, Health doi: 10.1093/geront/gnq020

This paper reports a United States study of the factors that influence the turnover of older adult volunteers. Based on a parent study of programmes that use older adult volunteers, the follow-up study examined the experience for 207 older volunteers who served in ten programmes in 2005 and 2o06, respectively. Telephone interviews and mail surveys were used to collect programme and personal information. The findings indicated that aspects of the volunteer experience, like duration of involvement, volunteering in other programme(s), type of activity, the adequacy of on-going support, and the availability of stipends influenced volunteering retention and turnover. Respondents who volunteered for a longer period were committed in other programmes, felt better supported, and received a stipend were less likely to quit volunteering in a designated programme. Also those volunteering in public safety programmes were least likely to quit. As reported by older adult volunteers themselves, the primary reasons for volunteer withdrawal included a higher priority of another productive activity or commitment, declining health, and problems with the programme administration. Volunteers with extensive experience were least likely to withdraw. The findings suggest that organisations with volunteer programmes can promote older adults' long-term engagement as volunteers by providing on-going support and stipends. Changes in programme characteristics would impact positively on volunteer retention, especially among low-income older Americans. KEY WORDS--older adult volunteer, volunteer turnover, organisational facilitation. doi: 10.1017/S0144686X10000140

The authors used the Andersen model to compare older adults' help seeking from clergy to help seeking from other sources of formal mental health services. Data were from the Naturally Occurring Retirement Community Demonstration Project. Multinomial logistic regression was used to compare sources from which help was sought. The results indicate that older adults sought help from clergy more frequently than from other formal sources. Increased stress levels, higher intrinsic religiosity, and being younger were related to seeking help from clergy. Greater stress and attendance at religious services were related to help seeking from other sources. Only greater frequency of attending religious services was associated with a greater likelihood of seeking help from clergy versus other formal providers. The increasing elderly population and the attendant crisis in mental health services might best be addressed through public-private partnerships in which mental health professionals assist clergy in identifying problems and making appropriate referrals. Keywords mental health services, older adults, help seeking, religion, religiosity, NORC, clergy DOI:10.1177/0164027509343539

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to document the benefits of volunteering perceived by older adults and to explain variation in these self-perceived benefits. Design and Methods: This is a quantitative study of 13 volunteer programs and 401 older adults serving in those programs. Program directors completed telephone interviews, and older volunteers completed mailed surveys. Volunteer-level and program-level data were merged. Results: Older volunteers reported a wide variety of benefits to the people they served, themselves, their families, and communities. More than 30% reported that they were 'a great deal better off' because of volunteering, and almost 60% identified a benefit to their families. When considering only individual characteristics, lower-income and lower-educated volunteers reported more benefit. Yet, aspects of the volunteer experience, like amount of involvement, adequacy of training and ongoing support, and stipends, were more important in understanding who benefits from volunteering. Implications: These findings suggest that characteristics of volunteer programs can be strengthened to maximize the benefits of volunteering to older adults. These characteristics are more mutable by public policies and organizational procedures than individual characteristics. Focusing on the recruitment of lower socioeconomic status older adults may result in an increase in benefits from the growth of volunteering. Key Words: Civic engagement, Older adults, Outcomes of volunteering

Guided by a convoy model of social relations, this study explores the complex relationships between loneliness, age at immigration, familial relationships, and depressive symptoms among older immigrants. This study used 2010 Health and Retirement Study data from a sample of 575 immigrants (52% female, age range 65–99 years). Ordinary least squares regression models were estimated. The findings indicate that for older immigrants who came to the United States at age 45 or older, loneliness was significantly positively associated with depressive symptoms. Further, perceived negative strain and hours spent helping family moderated this relationship such that the effect of loneliness on depressive symptoms was stronger among respondents who perceived more negative family strain and spent fewer hours helping family. Familial relationships are crucial for the psychological well-being of older immigrants because they can be a source of either stress or support. The results have implications for how research and practices can support the immigrant families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the longitudinal association of depressive symptoms with grandchild care intensity and whether the association varies by household structure, residential area, and gender for Chinese grandparents. Using data from three waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS, 2011–2015), we applied multilevel mixed effects models to examine changes in depressive symptoms and the associations with caregiving intensity and to test the moderation effects of residence, living arrangement, and gender. After controlling for sociodemographic and health covariates, we found that providing a medium level of grandchild care was associated with fewer baseline depressive symptoms compared with non-caregivers. Providing low-level care among those living with spouse/partner and among those living with child(ren)/others was associated with fewer depressive symptoms relative to non-caregivers with similar living arrangements. Findings indicate that a medium level of involvement in childcare was associated with better mental wellness and low levels of caregiving may benefit nonresidential caregivers. More prospective longitudinal studies are needed to improve the operationalization of grandparent caregiving, validate the associated health outcomes, and apply a contextual approach to examine socioeconomic, cultural, and policy-related contexts of caregiving in the changing world of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social isolation has been recognized as a critical public health problem. As the most vulnerable population, older adults are disproportionately affected by social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purposes of this study were to examine the association between social isolation and loneliness among U.S. older adults and to explore the moderating effect of solitary activity by using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). Social isolation was measured by six indicators, including marital status, living arrangement, social participation in any clubs or social organizations, and the frequency of social contact with children, family members, and friends. Loneliness was assessed by eleven questions derived from the UCLA Loneliness Scale. Solitary activity included 11 types of activities that respondents could perform alone with limited or no social interaction. Results from the multivariate regression analyses indicated that unmarried status and lower frequency of social contact were associated with more perceived loneliness. Solitary activity significantly moderated the negative effects of the low frequency of social contact with family members on loneliness. The findings implicate that social work programs and interventions can aim to expand social networks and provide more opportunities for solitary activities, particularly for isolated older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines how older adults access organizational volunteer roles and what socio-structural factors are associated with the access. Using the data from the Current Population Survey (U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 2002), bivariate analyses show that there are variations in access to volunteer roles across types of organizations. Results from multinomial logistic regressions indicate that education, income, age, and race are associated with the ways that older adults access volunteer roles. Voluntary organizations are advised to approach older adults directly, use current volunteers to recruit potential ones, publicize their organizational goals, and disseminate relevant information in efforts to improve access of older adults to volunteer roles. KEYWORDS. Organizational volunteer, access, older adults, organization type, socio-structural factor

This study describes support service utilization of persons with multiple sclerosis, identifies factors that best predict service use, and discusses implications of current service utilization for professional and policy practice. Random sample survey data were collected (N=580). Analyses using ANOVA, chi square, binary and ordinal logistic and multivariate regressions were completed. Results indicate personal assistance and assistive technology are heavily used and highly correlated; formal service is limited. Demographic, disability, and health insurance variables are predictive of service use. Results suggest persons with MS are reliant primarily on technology and family members to help meet daily living needs. Sustaining informal supports is discussed in relation to aging with MS., There are approximately 400,000 individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) living in the United States and approximately 2,500,000 persons with MS around the world (National Multiple Sclerosis Society, 2004). These individuals [...]

Objectives. This study tests the effects of volunteering on the well-being of older adults, including the effect of level of engagement, the moderating effects of demographic and social factors, and the effects of the nature of the volunteer experience. Methods. This is a secondary data analysis of three waves of data from the Americans' Changing Lives Study. Self-rated health, functional dependency, and depression are regressed on the well-being measures from the previous waves, other control variables and volunteer status, volunteer hours, type and number of volunteer organizations, and the perceived benefit to others of the volunteer work. Results. Older adults who volunteer and who engage in more hours of volunteering report higher levels of well-being. This positive effect was not moderated by social integration, race, or gender. There was no effect of the number of organizations for which the older adult volunteered, the type of organization, or the perceived benefit of the work to others. Discussion. This work contributes to a knowledge base that points to the development of social programs and policies that maximize the engagement of older adults in volunteer roles. The findings suggest that targeting efforts may not be warranted, in that there are not differential benefits according to personal characteristics of the volunteer. Future studies have to address the nature of the social institutions that will maximize the number of elders in these roles and the benefits that they accrue.

Guided by a convoy model of social relations, this study investigates the relationships between grandparenting status, social relations, and mortality among community-dwelling grandparents age 65 and older who are caring for their grandchildren. The data were drawn from the 2008 and 2016 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (N = 564). Latent class analysis was used to identify the social network structure based on six indicators of interpersonal relationships and activities. A series of hierarchical Weibull hazard models estimated the associations between grandparent caregiving, social relations, and mortality risk. Results of survival analyses indicate that co-parenting and custodial grandparents had higher all-cause mortality risk than grandparents who babysat occasionally; however, for custodial grandparents, the association was not significant once social relation variables were added to the model. This study suggests that community-based support may be beneficial to older grandparents and improved relationship quality is integral to the well-being of older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]