TY - JOUR
T1 - Can Volunteering Buffer the Negative Impacts of Unemployment and Economic Inactivity on Mental Health? Longitudinal Evidence from the United Kingdom
AU - Wang, Senhu
AU - Ling, Wanying
AU - Lu, Zhuofei
AU - Wei, Yuewei
AU - Li, Min
AU - Gao, Ling
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2022/6/2
Y1 - 2022/6/2
N2 - Previous research suggests that volunteering can mitigate the negative mental health impacts of unemployment but has yielded mixed results. This study extends the previous literature by examining whether volunteering can buffer the negative impacts of both unemployment and economic inactivity on mental health. Using nationally representative panel data from the United Kingdom Longitudinal Household Study (2010–2020) and fixed effects models, this study yields three important findings: First, volunteering cannot mitigate the adverse effects of unemployment, regardless of gender. Second, frequent volunteering (at least once per month) can benefit the mental health of economically inactive groups (e.g., family care and long-term sickness). Third, the study reveals the gendered patterns of the impacts of volunteering. Specifically, frequent volunteering can buffer the negative impacts of family care or long-term sickness for men, and the negative impacts of unpaid work for women. Overall, these findings contribute towards a more nuanced understanding of the buffering role of volunteering and its gendered patterns. Policymakers should offer more volunteering opportunities and training to these economically inactive groups to reduce their risk of mental issues.
AB - Previous research suggests that volunteering can mitigate the negative mental health impacts of unemployment but has yielded mixed results. This study extends the previous literature by examining whether volunteering can buffer the negative impacts of both unemployment and economic inactivity on mental health. Using nationally representative panel data from the United Kingdom Longitudinal Household Study (2010–2020) and fixed effects models, this study yields three important findings: First, volunteering cannot mitigate the adverse effects of unemployment, regardless of gender. Second, frequent volunteering (at least once per month) can benefit the mental health of economically inactive groups (e.g., family care and long-term sickness). Third, the study reveals the gendered patterns of the impacts of volunteering. Specifically, frequent volunteering can buffer the negative impacts of family care or long-term sickness for men, and the negative impacts of unpaid work for women. Overall, these findings contribute towards a more nuanced understanding of the buffering role of volunteering and its gendered patterns. Policymakers should offer more volunteering opportunities and training to these economically inactive groups to reduce their risk of mental issues.
KW - economically inactive groups
KW - employment
KW - gender
KW - mental health
KW - volunteering
U2 - 10.3390/ijerph19116809
DO - 10.3390/ijerph19116809
M3 - Article
C2 - 35682391
SN - 1660-4601
VL - 19
JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
IS - 11
M1 - 6809
ER -