Effects of civic engagement on mental health in age comparison

Abstract

Aim. It appears to be common knowledge that civic engagement yields mental health benefits for the engaged individual, particularly if older adults are civically engaged. However, although such claims are consistent with theoretical considerations, empirical support for them is rather scarce and was often based on cross-sectional data. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the mental health benefits of civic engagement and potential differentiations in the effects of civic engagement (i.e., age differences, differences among nonpolitical and political engagement) using longitudinal data and a more robust methodological approach that focuses on within-person associations. Methods. The first two studies that are part of this thesis used data from the German Socioeconomic Panel (SOEP; Study I; N = 17,720) and the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS; Study II; N = 18,550) to investigate whether there are age differences in the effects of nonpolitical and political engagement on different mental health indicators. To separate within-person from between-person association, multilevel modeling was used. Study III used a sample of retired individuals from the SOEP (N = 9,043) to investigate associations between trajectories of nonpolitical engagement and life satisfaction across the retirement transition. To do so, multivariate latent growth curve modeling was employed. Results. In Study I and Study II, there were hardly any significantly positive associations between civic engagement and mental health indicators. If positive associations could be observed, they emerged mainly for associations between nonpolitical engagement and life satisfaction among older adults. In Study III, positive associations between trajectories of nonpolitical engagement and life satisfaction were more likely observed in retirement and among retirees with a lower level of life satisfaction. Conclusions. The results suggest that civic engagement generally does not yield considerable mental health benefits. However, individuals may indeed benefit from civic engagement after retirement as it may compensate for role losses following retirement.