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Religion, Volunteerism and Health: Are Religious People Really Doing Well by Doing Good?

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  • Jerf W. K. Yeung

    (City University of Hong Kong)

Abstract

While the religion-health connection has been accumulatively established by research findings in one hand, the contribution of volunteering to health is well confirmed empirically on the other hand. Nevertheless, although religion has been long accepted as a feeder system and source of volunteerism, paucity of research has attempted to investigate religious effects on health benefits through the mediation of volunteering. In this study, I examined religious effects on the health outcomes of mental and physical health and life satisfaction through the mediation of other-oriented and self-oriented volunteering based on a statewide representative sample of general adults in Texas. Results showed that both other-oriented and self-oriented volunteering significantly mediated the relationships between participants’ religiosity and health outcomes, but more robust indirect effects through other-oriented volunteering were noted by bootstrap estimates. In addition, the direct effects of religiosity on health outcomes were significantly remained even taking the mediation of volunteering into account, connoting the distinctive role of religion in health that cannot be explained away by secular pathways. Implications of the findings, limitations, and future research directions are also discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Jerf W. K. Yeung, 2018. "Religion, Volunteerism and Health: Are Religious People Really Doing Well by Doing Good?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 138(2), pages 809-828, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:138:y:2018:i:2:d:10.1007_s11205-017-1671-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-017-1671-8
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Emily A. Greenfield & Nadine F. Marks, 2004. "Formal Volunteering as a Protective Factor for Older Adults' Psychological Well-Being," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 59(5), pages 258-264.
    2. Jerf Yeung & Yuk-Chung Chan, 2014. "Parents’ Religious Involvement, Family Socialization and Development of Their Children in a Chinese Sample of Hong Kong," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 117(3), pages 987-1010, July.
    3. White, A.M. & Philogene, G.S. & Fine, L. & Sinha, S., 2009. "Social support and self-reported health status of older adults in the United States," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 99(10), pages 1872-1878.
    4. Robert Hummer & Richard Rogers & Charles Nam & Christopher Ellison, 1999. "Religious involvement and U.S. adult mortality," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 36(2), pages 273-285, May.
    5. Lindsey McDougle & Femida Handy & Sara Konrath & Marlene Walk, 2014. "Health Outcomes and Volunteering: The Moderating Role of Religiosity," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 117(2), pages 337-351, June.
    6. Borgonovi, Francesca, 2008. "Doing well by doing good. The relationship between formal volunteering and self-reported health and happiness," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(11), pages 2321-2334, June.
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