Want to Live Longer? Try Volunteering With Good Motive

A fresh look at people who volunteer to help others shows they may live longer than those who don’t – depending on their reasons to help, according to a recent report published in the journal Health Psychology.

This is the first time research has shown volunteers' motives can have a significant impact on life span.

“Volunteers lived longer than people who didn't volunteer if they reported altruistic values or a desire for social connections as the main reasons for wanting to volunteer,” said the report titled “Motives for Volunteering Are Associated With Mortality Risk in Older Adults,” published in the American Psychological Association-affiliated Health Psychology journal.

Experts report people who said they volunteered for their own personal satisfaction had the same mortality rate four years later as people who did not volunteer at all, according to the study.

“This could mean that people who volunteer with other people as their main motivation may be buffered from potential stressors associated with volunteering, such as time constraints and lack of pay,” said the study’s lead author Dr. Sara Konrath of the University of Michigan.

Researchers used data from the 1992, 2004, and 2008 Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, which followed a random sample of 10,317 Wisconsin high school graduates from their graduation in 1957 until the present. The WLS asked respondents about their volunteer habits. The researchers also considered the respondents’ physical health, socioeconomic status, marital status, health risk factors, mental health and social support. To read more, click here.