Participation in volunteering or community service—doing unpaid work to help others and/or the environment—has been linked to improved health and well-being of older adults, yet little information exists on whether volunteering benefits youth. We are building the evidence base using data from the National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH), an annual survey that provides adult-reported data at the national- and state-level on numerous intersecting factors that relate to the physical and emotional health of youth.
Using 2019–2020 NSCH data from over 51,000 youth, we found that volunteering was associated with a higher likelihood of excellent or very good health and flourishing in children and adolescents, and with a lower likelihood of anxiety in adolescents and behavioral problems in children and adolescents, compared to youth who didn’t volunteer.1 In a separate study using 2022 NSCH data from over 16,000 adolescents, we found that those who volunteered were more likely to meet recommended guidelines for 24-hour movement behaviors—physical activity, sleep, and screentime—compared to those who didn’t.2
Findings point to volunteering potentially being a win-win, wherein youth help others and help themselves. We continue to explore the relationship between volunteerism and child and adolescent health thanks to support from the Sinai Urban Health Institute at Sinai Chicago. Stay tuned for updates on our findings.
1 Lanza K, Hunt ET, Mantey DS, Omega-Njemnobi O, Cristol B, Kelder SH. (2023). Volunteering, health, and well-being of children and adolescents in the United States. JAMA Network Open. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.15980
2 Pfledderer CD, Brown MY, Lanza K, Hunt ET, Porter CD, Parker H, Stoepker P, Brazendale K. (2024). Out-of-school activities and adherence to 24-hour movement guidelines. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2024.08.016