A Mixed-Method Social Network Analysis of Low-Income Diverse Older Volunteers

Although volunteering has been associated with numerous social benefits for diverse older adults, there is little information on how they establish relationships within a multicultural volunteering program outside of their co-ethnic communities. This convergent mixed-method social network study adop...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of applied gerontology 2023-12, Vol.42 (12), p.2335-2347
Main Authors: Cao, Qiuchang, Dabelko-Schoeny, Holly, Warren, Keith, Lee, Mo Yee
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Attachment
Ethnic groups
Focus Groups
Humans
Low income groups
Mixed methods research
Multiculturalism & pluralism
Older people
Organizational commitment
Poverty
Social capital
Social dynamics
Social interaction
Social Network Analysis
Social networks
Social systems
Surveys and Questionnaires
Volunteers
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Summary:Although volunteering has been associated with numerous social benefits for diverse older adults, there is little information on how they establish relationships within a multicultural volunteering program outside of their co-ethnic communities. This convergent mixed-method social network study adopts the bonding and bridging social capital theory to explore the structures and dynamics of social interactions within a multicultural volunteer program. Low-income Russian, Khmer, Somali, Nepali, and English-speaking older volunteers in the Senior Companions Program (SCP) in a Midwest metropolitan (N = 83) participated in the surveys and focus groups. Homophily coefficients (r) show that the SCP volunteers mostly interacted with people who identified with the same nationality (r = .86), race (r = .87), and gender (r = .50). Qualitative results suggested that volunteers strengthened their social networks through within-cultural social bonding while appreciating opportunities for cross-cultural social bridging. Compared with within-cultural social bonding, cross-cultural social bridging in multicultural volunteer programs require intentional facilitation, resources, and organizational commitment.
ISSN:0733-4648
1552-4523
1552-4523
DOI:10.1177/07334648231193292