Characteristics of Volunteer in Older Adult Males in the Okhotsk Region of Hokkaido

Abstract

Aim: To elucidate the characteristics of elderly males’ volunteer in the Okhotsk region of Hokkaido.

Method: An anonymous, self-administered questionnaire investigating differences in attributes, volunteer motivation scale, helping effects scale and volunteering frequency was distributed to 629 elderly males currently registered as volunteers.

Results: Response rate of 33.4%, with 174 responses being subject to analysis. 81.6% partook volunteer activities for the elderly. A weak positive correlation between these activities and age was found (ρ=0.212, p<0.01), and findings indicate that the old-old participated in volunteering more frequently than young-old individuals（U=2358.5, p<0.01）． Moreover, individuals over 75 years of age scored significantly higher on the helping scale total score (p=0.003).

Discussion: Compared to young-old individuals, old-old individuals were more likely to participate in volunteer activities for the elderly. This suggests that participation in the activities was possible regardless of age. Further, it is believed that old-old individuals obtained helping effects, such as a sense of reward and fulfillment from participating in volunteer activities.