“Charity Begins at Home”: Informal Caring Barriers to Formal Volunteering Among Older People

Abstract

Formal volunteering is an important economic and social activity. In many countries, prevalence of volunteering is decreasing overall, including among older people who constitute a major volunteering resource. This qualitative study explored reasons for non-volunteering among seniors, with a focus on those who attribute their non-volunteering to their existing helping commitments. Forty-nine Australian interviewees aged 60 + years described a range of social, psychological, and temporal factors that resulted in their prioritization of informal rather than formal volunteering activities. These factors are mapped onto a theoretical framework matrix, with social identity and social capital theo..