A secondary analysis of a national sample of American adults is used to examine the correlation between membership in voluntary associations and life satisfaction. It is hypothesized that the influence of membership on overall life satisfaction is indirect: Membership influences organizational satisfaction; in turn, organizational satisfaction influences satisfaction with life as a whole. The findings suggest that the hypothesized pattern of relationships is not ubiquitously present for all four of the older age categories studied. Such differences suggest the critical importance of utilizing age-appropriate rather than generic indicators when studying these issues.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
CutlerN. E., Patterns of Membership in Voluntary Associations Among Older Persons in the United States, Social Policy Laboratory, Andrus Gerontology Center, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 1977.
2.
CutlerS. J., Age Differences in Voluntary Association Memberships, Social Forces, 55, pp. 43–58, 1976.
3.
CutlerS. J., Aging and Voluntary Association Participation, Journal of Gerontology, 32, pp. 470–479, 1977.
4.
CutlerN. E., Toward an Appropriate Typology for the Study of the Participation of Older Persons in Voluntary Associations, Journal of Voluntary Action Research, 9, pp. 9–19, 1980.
5.
CutlerN. E., Indicators of Life Satisfaction Among Older Persons: Does the Whole Equal the Sum of the Parts, Research Report, Social Policy Laboratory, Andrus Gerontology Center, University of Southern California, 1979.
6.
AndrewsF. and WitheyS., Social Indicators of Well-Being: Americans' Perceptions of Life Quality, Plenum Press, New York, 1976.
7.
CampbellA.ConverseP. and RodgersW., The Quality of American Life: Perceptions, Evaluations, and Satisfactions, Russell Sage, New York, 1976.
8.
BlalockH. M., Social Statistics, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1960.
9.
CutlerS. J., Voluntary Association Membership and Life Satisfaction: A Cautionary Note, Journal of Gerontology, 28, pp. 96–100, 1973.
10.
BullC. N. and AucoinJ., Voluntary Association Participation and Life Satisfaction: A Replication Note, Journal of Gerontology, 30, pp. 73–76, 1975.
11.
GeorgeL. K., The Happiness Syndrome: Methodological and Substantive Issues in the Study of Social-Psychological Well-being in Adulthood, The Gerontologist, 19, pp. 210–216, 1979.
