This study tests the hypothesis that the latent deprivation model (LDM) can be extended to volunteer work, by exploring the extent to which two potential latent benefits of volunteer work—purpose in life and perceived social status—mediate the negative relationship between volunteerism and mental health (measured as depressive symptoms). Structural equation modeling with the full-information maximum likelihood (FIML) was adopted to model a sample of 5887 respondents from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). The outcome was depressive symptoms; the independent variable was volunteering; and the mediators were “purpose in life” and “perceived social status.” Findings show that purpose in life and perceived social status partially mediated the relationship between volunteering and depressive symptoms, with purpose in life having a more substantial effect than perceived social status. Implications for future research and practice are also discussed.

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This article discusses the importance of considering communities to be important social contexts for working families. The Nurturing Families Study gathered data from 357 working parents and their children in Grades 6 to 8 who lived in six different U.S. communities. The study protocols included items that measured parents' subjective assessments of important social contexts, including families' communities of residence. Data were collected about parents' perceptions of programs and services in their communities, neighborhood relationships, family-supportive community policies, community values that welcome diverse families, and overall satisfaction with neighborhoods and communities. Analysis of data collected about parents' subjective assessments of their neighborhoods and communities indicate relationships between parents' assessments of different dimensions of their communities and important work-family outcome measures, such as general family functioning and life satisfaction.A ccording to Pitt-Catsouphes and Googins (2005), three paradigms have dominated American conceptualizations of work-family issues to date. These paradigms are not mutually exclusive. Each has shaped our thinking in different ways about research and the possibilities for social change relative to work-family issues, and they have become increasingly nuanced over the decades.at WESTERN OREGON UNIVERSITY on June 3, 2015 abs.sagepub.com Downloaded from

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Prior research has documented the health and well-being effects of volunteerism in later life, and that positive outcomes increase in the first 100 volunteer hours/year and slightly increase between 100-200 hours. Given this, it seems that using an intersectional lens to explore disparities in volunteer behaviors and what might explain them is important from a health equity standpoint. Using data from 268,194 individuals aged 65-85 from the most recently available Volunteer Supplement of the Current Population Survey, this study found that White older adults were most likely to spend any time in volunteer activities, while Asian and Hispanic older adults were least, across all racial/ethnic groups. Further, the percentage of older Asian women volunteering in the 100-200 hour range (27%) was significantly higher than that of older Asian men (19%). Social and cultural factors that may explain these racial/gender differences and implications for recruiting older adults as volunteers are discussed.