Internalized age stereotypes as a mediator between volunteering and psychosocial health for adults 50+

Abstract The productive aging literature describes a wide range of psychosocial benefits of volunteerism for older adults. A growing, compelling body of literature drawing from stereotype embodiment theory identifies significant, negative public health impacts of internalized age stereotypes. Yet, little research has explored which activities may reduce internalized ageism and enhance psychosocial health as people age. This cross-sectional study examined whether internalized age stereotypes mediate the relationship between volunteering and social connectedness for adults 50+. A convenience sample of volunteers (n = 112) 50+ years of age residing in the U.S. Mountain West were recruited. A 15-minute, online survey was utilized. The independent variable was number of volunteer hours per week (mean = 6.25, SD = 4.85). The dependent variable was social connectedness measured by five items positively worded from the five-point, Likert-type UCLA loneliness scale (α = .85; mean = 4.26, SD = 0.59). Drawing from the self-stereotypes of aging scale, the indirect effects of five internalized positive (e.g., “wise” and “capable”) and five negative (e.g., “grumpy” and “helpless”) age stereotypes were tested. Results indicate that increased internalized positive, not negative, age stereotypes partially mediated the relationship between volunteer hours and increased social connectedness, while holding constant age, gender, race, functional limitation, education, employment, length of volunteering, and previous volunteer experience. Although positive age stereotypes have long been considered a form of ageism, the results of this study suggest that internalizing positive age stereotypes may function as a form of esteem to promote enhanced psychosocial health as people age.

potentially relevant skills (63 diabetes, 57 medication, 11 blood pressure and 25 nutrition related), of which 22 skills met inclusion criteria.Apps were excluded if it was only informational, not relevant to the topic, had zero user rating, available in language other than English, and required an external device or a subscription to a specific health plan or service.22 skills (4 diabetes, 8 medication, 3 blood pressure and 7 nutrition) were evaluated with Echo Show 8 device.The skills were evaluated using the modified version of IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics app functionality scores and the score (0 to 11) was calculated accordingly.The median number of functionalities was 3.5 and 68% of skills (15/22) had 4 or fewer functions.The highest rated skill was a medication management app named myNurseBot having 6 out of 11 functionalities.The poor functionality score highlights a need for a more robust and comprehensive smart speaker skill to support the health management of older adults.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT IN RETIREMENT AND THE SOCIOEMOTIONAL EXPERIENCE OF PANDEMIC TIME
Boroka Bo, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, United States This research integrates literature from the sociology of the life course, sociology of emotions and the sociology of time to examine how Socioeconomic Status (SES) influenced retiree civic engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic.I find that SES framed both the social experience of time and the prevalent emotions experienced by retirees while physically distancing during the early days of the pandemic.These individual-level experiences translated to markedly different blueprints for civic engagement.High-SES retirees were more likely to 'go global', organizing to advocate for their interests.Conversely, low-SES retirees were more likely to 'turn in', minimizing their civic engagement.My findings reveal how existing sociopolitical inequalities may become further entrenched in public health crises.Policies aimed at combating inequalities in later life also need to consider socioemotional and sociotemporal factors.The productive aging literature describes a wide range of psychosocial benefits of volunteerism for older adults.A growing, compelling body of literature drawing from stereotype embodiment theory identifies significant, negative public health impacts of internalized age stereotypes.Yet, little research has explored which activities may reduce internalized ageism and enhance psychosocial health as people age.This cross-sectional study examined whether internalized age stereotypes mediate the relationship between volunteering and social connectedness for adults 50+.A convenience sample of volunteers (n = 112) 50+ years of age residing in the U.S. Mountain West were recruited.A 15-minute, online survey was utilized.The independent variable was number of volunteer hours per week (mean = 6.25,SD = 4.85).The dependent variable was social connectedness measured by five items positively worded from the five-point, Likert-type UCLA loneliness scale (α = .85;mean = 4.26, SD = 0.59).Drawing from the self-stereotypes of aging scale, the indirect effects of five internalized positive (e.g., "wise" and "capable") and five negative (e.g., "grumpy" and "helpless") age stereotypes were tested.Results indicate that increased internalized positive, not negative, age stereotypes partially mediated the relationship between volunteer hours and increased social connectedness, while holding constant age, gender, race, functional limitation, education, employment, length of volunteering, and previous volunteer experience.Although positive age stereotypes have long been considered a form of ageism, the results of this study suggest that internalizing positive age stereotypes may function as a form of esteem to promote enhanced psychosocial health as people age.

THE MEDIATING EFFECT OF SOCIAL SUPPORT OF OLDER KOREAN ADULTS' VOLUNTEERING ON THE RELATIONAL AND LIFE SATISFACTION Meeryoung Kim, Daegu University, Daegu, Kyongsangbukto, Republic of Korea
For older adults wanting to maintain good health and stay active after retirement, volunteering is an important activity.Social capital is important factor for volunteering.Social support as a social capital, is a contributing factor that is important and needed by older adults who volunteer.Also as a result from volunteering, older adults can increase their social support through volunteering.This study examined whether emotional and instrumental social support mediate volunteering on both relational and life satisfaction.This study used the 6th additional wave of the Korean Retirement and Income Study (2016).Subjects for this study are over 60 years old and the sample size is 280.For data analysis Baron and Kenny's triangular regression analysis and the Sobel test were used for data analysis.Demographic variables were controlled.Volunteer variables such as volunteering asked by others or self-motivated, whether only one type of volunteering or more, professional volunteering, and volunteer hours were used as independent variables.Emotional and instrumental social support were used as mediators.Relationship satisfaction and life satisfaction variables were used as dependent variables.Emotional and instrumental support partially mediate volunteering asked by others to influence relational and life satisfaction.In addition, emotional support and instrumental support mediate "more than one kind of volunteering" to influence relationship satisfaction.As such, emotional and instrumental support through volunteering has a mediating effect on relationship satisfaction and life satisfaction.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OCCUPATION TYPES, EDUCATION, AND VOLUNTEER BEHAVIORS AMONG OLDER AMERICANS
Patrick Ho Lam Lai, 1 Cal Halvorsen, 2 and Christina Matz, 2 1. Boston College School of Social Work,Chestnut Hill,Massachusetts,United States,2. Boston College,Chestnut Hill,Massachusetts,United States Research shows that productive engagement in later life, such as paid work and volunteering, is associated with health and wellbeing.From a life-course approach, personal history and experiences developed from occupations earlier in life may affect individual's willingness and ability to volunteer in later life; reciprocally, volunteering tends to extend networks and roles from their previous work after retirement.Further, education, which influences career development, indirectly affects late-life volunteering.Using data from 329,938 individuals aged 50 to 85 in more than 700 occupations from the Volunteer Supplement of Current Population Survey since 2010, this study found that older adults had higher volunteer rates (40%) when their current or latest jobs require more human interactions, compared to those jobs were mainly characterized as office work (31%) and jobs not requiring much human interaction (21%).More specifically, occupations with higher volunteering rates were more likely to be related to social, educational, or spiritual sectors.Some careers seem to provide skills and networks needed in volunteer roles, such as accounting clerks (ranked 12th in volunteering) and museum technicians (ranked 13th).Diverse educational levels make the relationship between occupation and volunteering more complex.For instance, those older adults without a high school diploma and who have office work as their current or latest job (16%) have higher volunteering rates than those occupations requiring (14%) or not requiring much human interaction (10%).Policymakers can take the human interactions and skills needed in careers and educational levels into account when thinking of strategies to promote volunteering.

THE RELATIONSHIP OF CAREERS WITH PEOPLE INTERACTIONS AND VOLUNTEERING BETWEEN GENDER-RACIAL GROUPS IN LATE-LIFE Patrick Ho Lam Lai, Boston College School of Social Work, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States
Prior research showed that ethnic minorities in latelife tended to participate less in volunteering, compared to Whites.Older women, in general, spent more time volunteering than older men in the United States.Previous studies showed that occupational statuses, but have not yet discussed occupation categories, affected older adults' volunteering.The Current Population Survey dataset was utilized in this study to explore the relationship between careers with or without people interactions and volunteering of Americans aged 50 to 85 in an intersectionality lens.Regarding races, older African Americans who worked in occupations requiring human interactions, had almost double volunteering rate than those occupations not requiring these interactions.In respect of genders, compared to older men who worked in jobs requiring human interactions, the volunteer rate of those not requiring human interactions was 81% less.Either older African Americans or older men had more associations between their human interactions in career and their volunteering rate, than other racial groups or gender groups individually.Considering races and genders together, comparing to older Asian men who worked in fields needed interactions with others, the volunteering rate of those who did not work in these fields was 52% less.The association of