More Than Selection Effects: Volunteering Is Associated With Benefits in Cognitive Functioning

Ben Lennox Kail, Dawn C Carr and Deborah S Carr

The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 2020, vol. 75, issue 8, 1741-1746

Abstract: ObjectivesVolunteering is a lifestyle behavior that bolsters cognitive resilience. However, previous studies have not assessed the degree to which cognitive functioning is predictive of becoming a volunteer (i.e., selection into volunteering), and how this might contribute to the superior cognitive performance observed among volunteers. The purpose of this brief report is to address the role of cognition-related selection into becoming a volunteer in the association between formal volunteering and two cognitive measures: (a) overall cognitive function and (b) self-rated memory.MethodThe Health and Retirement Study was used to assess whether, net of cognitive selection into volunteering, formal volunteering is associated with cognitive function.ResultsSelection explained between 4.9% and 29% of the effect of volunteering on cognitive function (depending on the cognitive outcome and the level of volunteering). However, net of cognitive selection into volunteering, among all cognitive measures there are beneficial effects of formal volunteering on cognitive function.DiscussionThese findings suggest a proportion of the positive association between volunteering and cognitive function is explained by selection. However, net of selection, formal volunteering is associated with benefits to cognitive function. These findings offer promise for the development of volunteer-based interventions designed to bolster cognitive functioning.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; Cognition; Health promotion; Volunteer activity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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The Journals of Gerontology: Series B is currently edited by Psychological Sciences - S. Duke Han, PhD and Social Sciences - Jessica A Kelley, PhD, FGSA

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