Social Psychology and Interaction Commons^™

Volunteerism Among Older Adults In Singapore, Micah Tan, John Frederic Pedro Ortega, Nur Syafiqah Abdullah, Mindy Eiko Tadai, Rachel Wen Yi Ngu

ROSA Research Briefs

Volunteerism is recognised as a beneficial activity for individuals for many reasons. Beyond the potential of volunteerism to create new and meaningful communities (Hodge et al., 2013), it offers numerous benefits including improvement to one’s mental health (Willigen, 2000), self-esteem (Russell et al., 2018), and social connectedness (Hodge et al., 2013). Volunteering has also been found to provide a sense of purpose in one’s life (Schwingel et al., 2009). For these reasons and more, voluntary work among older adults may be a meaningful and effective pathway towards successful ageing, particularly for those in retirement. In Singapore, the National Volunteer and …