Children and teenagers who volunteer are likely to flourish mentally and physically, in response to a recent study from UTHealth Houston.

The study, led by Kevin Lanza, PhD, assistant professor of epidemiology, human genetics, and environmental sciences at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health, was published recently in JAMA Network Open.

Overall, the research team found that youths who had volunteered prior to now 12 months were in higher physical health, had a more positive outlook on life, and were less prone to have anxiety, depression, or behavioral problems in comparison with their peers who didn’t volunteer.

“These study results bring optimism that youth volunteering could possibly be a win-win, where youth are serving society to their very own profit,” said Lanza, who relies in Austin. “Further, youths could also be joined by household members and others while volunteering, strengthening social bonds while constructing community.”

The positive effects of volunteering on the health and well-being of adult volunteers is well-established, and two past studies with small sample sizes have shown that teen volunteers could also be in higher health, and more engaged at college, than their peers. Nonetheless, Lanza said the effect of volunteering on youths remained largely unknown, inspiring him to launch the study.

Lanza’s team analyzed parent-reported data from a long-running national survey tracking the health and well-being of U.S. children and teenagers, specializing in nearly 52,000 children and youths ages 6 to 17 who were surveyed from 2019-2020. Of those respondents, one-third of youngsters and just over half of teens had done volunteer work prior to now 12 months.

Parents whose kids volunteered were 33% more prone to say their child was in “excellent” to “excellent” health compared to folks whose kids didn’t volunteer. Those parents were also between 18% and 35% less prone to say their child had battled depression or anxiety, or had behavioral problems, prior to now 12 months.

Furthermore, children and youths who did volunteer work were 66% more prone to be “flourishing” – defined based on how parents answered questions on their kids’ curiosity, willingness to finish tasks, and talent to remain calm when faced with challenges.

One limitation of the study is potential response bias from parent-reported data. Moreover, researchers noted, the study results don’t answer the query of whether kids who were already healthy and flourishing were more prone to volunteer. Lanza hopes to explore the cause-and-effect relationship of volunteering on kids’ health and well-being more in the long run.

There may be a wealth of volunteering options for youth in several settings – parks, schools, hospitals – and with different purposes, corresponding to environmental conservation or health promotion. Volunteer experiences may help shape values and interests in youth that track into maturity.”

Kevin Lanza, PhD, assistant professor of epidemiology, human genetics, and environmental sciences at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health

Co-authors with UTHealth Houston School of Public Health included Austin-based researchers Ethan Hunt, PhD; Dale Mantey, PhD; Onyinye Omega-Njemnobi, MBBS; Benjamin Cristol, MPH; and Steven Kelder, PhD.

Source:

University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

Journal reference:

Lanza, K., et al. (2023) Volunteering, Health, and Well-being of Children and Adolescents in america. JAMA Network Open. doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.15980.