Improving well-being after traumatic brain injury through volunteering: a randomized controlled trial.
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ABSTRACT: Objective
To evaluate the efficacy of a novel intervention facilitating volunteer activity to improve well-being in individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI).Design
Randomized two-arm controlled trial, with a wait-list control condition (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT#01728350).Setting
Community-based setting.Participants
Seventy-four community-dwelling individuals at least 1-year post TBI, who had completed inpatient or outpatient TBI rehabilitation.Interventions
A novel intervention, HOPE - Helping Others through Purpose and Engagement, involving orientation/training and a 3-month volunteer placement for the participant, along with training for community agencies regarding TBI.Main outcome measure(s
): Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS); Flourishing Scale (FS); Brief Symptom Inventory-18 (BSI-18); Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE); Purpose in Life subscale (one of six in the Ryff Scale of Psychological Well-Being - 54 item version).Results
There were significantly greater improvements in life satisfaction (SWLS) and self-perceived success (FS) in the intervention group compared to the control group. There were no significant treatment effects on the additional secondary measures of well-being, although they trended in a positive direction.Conclusions
This study supports our primary hypothesis that individuals who take part in a volunteer intervention will demonstrate greater psychological well-being in comparison to a control group.
SUBMITTER: Payne L
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8628307 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:ObjectivesVolunteering is associated with improved physical and psychological well-being; volunteers feeling more respect for their work may have better well-being than their counterparts.MethodsThis study investigated the effects of felt respect for volunteer work on volunteering retention, daily affect, well-being (subjective, psychological, and social), and mortality. The study analyzed survey and mortality data from a national sample of 2,677 volunteers from the Midlife in the United States Study over a 20-year span. Daily affect data were obtained from a subsample of 1,032 volunteers.ResultsCompared to volunteers feeling less respect from others, those feeling more respect (a) were more likely to continue volunteering 10 and 20 years later, (b) had higher levels of daily positive affect and lower levels of daily negative affect, and (c) had higher levels of well-being over a 20-year period. The effect of felt respect on mortality was not statistically significant.DiscussionGreater level of felt respect for volunteer work is positively related to volunteers' retention rates, daily affective experience, and well-being.
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