Abstract
The purpose of this study is to explore the significances of and issues in senior citizens’ volunteer activ-ities, particularly clarifying a link between their motives for volunteer activities and their satisfaction with them, and between benefits from them and volunteers’ life satisfaction. The research method that the study employed was a mail survey of approximately 500 senior citizens aged 60 or older who engaged in volun-teer activities in eastern Shimane prefecture. The study adopted correlation analysis and multiway ANO-VA to analyze the survey results.
The number of valid responses was 229, which accounted for a 43% response rate. The analysis result indicated a significant association between senior citizens’ satisfaction with volunteer activities, benefits from them, and the extent to which their motives for volunteer activities were self-oriented or other-ori-ented. The higher both orientations were, the greater were the senior citizens’ satisfaction with volunteer activities and their benefits from them, while the lower both orientations were, the lower were the volun-teers’ satisfaction and benefits. In addition, it was revealed that those who had started volunteer activity over 10 years before (volunteer activity start date was made the control variable) enjoyed greater benefits from them. There was no significant association found between senior citizens’ life satisfaction and their motives for volunteer activities.
