Volunteering and Quality of Life

Group's website has an interesting article on studies done with senior adult and teenage volunteers.

"A study published by Aging and Mental Health in 2003 showed that seniors who volunteered were significantly more likely than those who didn't to report having high energy, concentration, and engagement."

and

"A study published in The Science of Altruism and Health followed 1,000 teenagers over a five year period, tracking their attitudes and behaviors. Those who spent the most time in various community service efforts were least likely to be involved in violence and pregnancy. They also were least likely to express negative feelings (!) or describe themselves as feeling stressed. As described in Gross National Happiness, "Provocatively, the investigators found that charity and faith tended to interact for extra benefit. Religious, giving teens had higher self-esteem, confidence, and optimism than nonreligious, giving teens."

Good stuff, stuff that people of faith already know, but it is nice to see it verified.

You can read the whole article here.