Research Proposal. The Effects of Widowhood on Volunteerism in Baby-Boomers

Transcription

1 Research Proposal The Effects of Widowhood on Volunteerism in Baby-Boomers Herbert Schmidt PAD 689 Page 1

2 Research Methods in Public Administration Introduction It is well known that volunteerism flourishes a great deal more in the United States than in other parts of the world. As demographics change and certain generations advance in age, it is important for society to know and understand the dynamics that each generation will bring to the future of volunteerism. Volunteers serve as a backbone in countless agencies within the nonprofit sector. As government agencies rely on non-profits more through contracting of services because of growing budgetary needs the ramifications will be even greater. The largest retirement in history caused by the Baby Boomers will have dramatic effects in just about every sector from mandatory government programs like Medicare and Medicaid to non-profit pursuits like the Boy Scouts of America. The research question presented in this proposal is How Does Widowhood Affect Volunteerism in Baby-Boomers? As the Baby Boomers advance in age, their life partners will begin to pass away. The fact that there will be an expected growth in the number of widows and widowers has never been experienced before. The ramifications of this population shift have also been studied little. How will these people react to change? How will they interact with others? These are other potential questions that will likely arise in years to come. The research is needed because the inevitable growth in the numbers of retirees will result in a growth of widows who will still need to be included as part of society. These widows and widowers will need services and volunteer opportunities to maintain meaningful lives. Nonprofit organizations will need to be in tune with the possible shifts in this population to be able to form a connection in order to create an important and much needed volunteer base. These people can fill a large need in the non-profit sector and, if utilized properly, will contribute a great need to volunteerism. Page 2

3 The Baby-Boomers will also need to be understood in order to serve them as effectively and efficiently as possible. The widows and widowers of the Baby-Boomer population may be similar to previous populations. However, they may also be very dissimilar. The answers to these statements will build upon previous generations. The research must continue with each generation in order to stay current to the needs of the populations. Page 3

4 Summary of the Literature One in every five Americans perform some sort of volunteer work (Hayghe 1991). This one in five ratio represents about 38 million volunteers making about 20.4% of the population. Of this 38 million volunteers, 15.3% are widowed. 16.9% of American volunteers are aged 65 and older (Hayghe 1991). Volunteering is at a 30-year high, Baby Boomers are creating the highest mid-life (ages 45 to 64) volunteer rate in 30 years. Volunteering among older adults (ages 65 and older) has increased 64 percent since 1974 (Grimm 2006). These figures represent a significant portion of the population. Changes in marriage and childbearing behavior may have increased opportunities to recruit mid-life adults, most of whom are currently Baby Boomers. For nonprofits to remain competitive they must utilize every resource available. Knowing how to better utilize this population will result in more service hours. In 2003, 27.6% of the population is volunteering representing 59 million people (Boraas 2003). The Volunteerism in United States article goes on to state that volunteers are a major source of labor in the United States. However, populations contribute differently to the overall volunteer base. Parents tend to be distracted by children and family commitments but will engage is school-related groups. Teens are becoming increasingly involved in volunteerism because of the need to fulfill community service requirements. People in the early years of retirement are much more inclined to volunteer because of the newly found free time and the void of work. This spike in volunteerism then declines until the end of life. It is understood that humans slow down toward extreme old age, but is society doing enough to provide opportunities for volunteerism to occur? Are social stigmas retarding the opportunities for involvement? This is a question that needs further exploration. Page 4

5 Widowhood plays a large role in someone s decision to stay or become an active volunteer. It eliminates a major source of spousal support. This is most likely a major trigger provoking an increase in social activities and volunteer participation. (Donnelly 2009). Of the volunteerism that did occur, it was mostly focused on informal social participation as opposed to formal social participation. When a spouse is lost the remaining person increases their needs for sources of other social support but will not change their volunteer activities. Widowhood supports the continuation of volunteerism to maintain a level of normalcy. It is also appropriate and beneficial to promote continued and increased levels of volunteerism. The article, Reduction in Leisure Activity and Well-Being During the Transition to Widowhood it states, There is a lack of substantial evidence available about leisure involvement changes resulting from the death of a spouse (Janke 2008). The results showed that widows reduced their involvement in spite of a need to maintain or increase involvement as stated in an above study. The factors that lead to increased or decreased volunteerism stem from levels of depression and the ability to recover after traumatic loss. Well-being is the lead factor in influencing the increase of leisure. Page 5

6 Research Design We will be examining the relationships of widowhood on volunteerism within the Baby- Boomer population. The Baby-Boomers comprise the largest generations in American history. This population is now in the midst of retirement. Understanding how this generation will respond to certain obstacles will allow society, specifically the non-profit sector, to better serve and engage this population for the betterment of all. The research will take place using a variety of sample groups within the Baby-Boomer social and working spheres. These spheres of activity represent the active baby-boomers who are engaging in recreation and leisure pursuits, which include volunteerism as well as nonelective pursuits of the working world. The groups who will contribute to the research will include: Over 50 Magazine- A source for active adults in their mature years. Fraternal Unions- These are organizations who provide financial resources for retirement as well as life insurance. Leisure Organizations- These include cultural clubs, car clubs, social clubs, service clubs, sports clubs, etc. Retirement Communities- These include assisted living and full service facilities. Labor Unions- These include individuals from each career associated with the Union. The research will be conducted through a true experimental research design with Widowhood being the Independent Variable and Volunteerism being the Dependent Variable. The hypothesis is that becoming a widow or widower will reduce the likelihood that a volunteer will engage in activity. This reduction in volunteerism will most likely be caused by a person s Page 6

7 inability to recover from the traumatic effects of the loss of a loved one as well as the inability to find continued self satisfaction in volunteer pursuits. Indicators used to represent the variables will be the number of volunteer hours before and after the loss of a partner. The primary tools for data collection will be through basic surveys to determine the types of activities engaged in before and after the loss. Random samples within the study groups stated above will be used to develop a true sampling of the population. Secondary data will be used and collected from the participating agencies. Data Analysis will occur thorough the tabulation of the results based upon the following table. Over 50 Magazine Fraternal Unions Leisure Organizations Retirement Communities Labor Unions TOTALS Hours Before Loss Hours After Loss + - Difference % Page 7

8 Implications and Limitations If support hypothesis is found it will support a need to further understand why widows and widowers reduce their volunteerism. Knowing why they reduce their activity will allow for volunteer and governmental agencies to be able to better support and serve this population. This will be important in order to get the most out of this valuable volunteer resource. By fostering this population to become healthier and more productive, volunteer based organizations will improve their volunteer base and the volunteers will gain a higher quality of life. The research will not be addressing the why in regards to why recently widowed volunteers reduce their volunteering. These are also valuable answers to questions that will be invaluable in serving this population. The short comings of this research are linked to several challenges. The first is that the Baby-Boomer population is only just starting to enter retirement and increased widowhood levels. This research is in the beginning when studying this particular population. The next is the scope of this research. It is limited to the Western New York region. The last major short coming is that the surveys are mostly based upon voluntary feedback. This will potentially skew the results. Page 8