Theoretically, the more important a role-identity is to a person, the more it should provide a sense of purpose and meaning in life. Believing one’s life to be purposeful and meaningful should yield greater mental and physical well-being. These hypotheses are tested with respect to the volunteer role, specifically, Mended Hearts visitor, in which former heart patients visit current heart patients and their families in the hospital. Analyses of survey data from Mended Hearts visitors (N = 458) confirm that a sense of meaningful, purposeful life mediates the positive influences of role-identity salience on mental and physical health. The results hint at an unfolding process: the more time spent in volunteer activities, the more important the volunteer identity. The greater the identity importance, the more one perceives one matters to other people, which in turn enhances purpose and meaning. The more life seems purposeful and meaningful, the better one’s well-being.
AhrensChristina J. ChrouserRyffCarol D.2006. “Multiple Roles and Well-Being: Sociodemographic and Psychological Moderators.” Sex Roles55:801–15.
2.
AllenNatalie J.RushtonJ. Philippe1983. “Personality Characteristics of Community Mental Health Volunteers: A Review.” Journal of Voluntary Action Research12:36–49.
3.
BarnettRosalind ChaitHydeJanet Shibly. 2001. “Men, Women, Work, and Family: An Expansionist Theory.” American Psychologist56:781–96.
4.
BerbrierMitchSchulteAileen. 2000. “Binding and Nonbinding Integration: The Relational Costs and Rewards of Social Ties on Mental Health.” Research in Community and Mental Health11:3–27.
5.
BondGary R.BormanLeonard D.BankoffElizabethDaiterStevenLiebermanMorton A.VidekaLynn. 1979. “Mended Hearts: A Self-Help Case Study.” Social Policy9:50–7.
6.
BurtonRussell P. D.1998. “Global Integrative Meaning as a Mediating Factor in the Relationship between Social Roles and Psychological Distress.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior39:201–15.
7.
CalleroPeter L.1985. “Role-Identity Salience.” Social Psychology Quarterly48:203–15.
8.
CharngHong WenPiliavinJane AllynCalleroPeter L.1988. “Role Identity and Reasoned Action in the Prediction of Repeated Behavior.” Social Psychology Quarterly51:303–17.
9.
CooleyCharles Horton. 1902. Human Nature and Social Order. New York: Scribner’s.
10.
CoserLewis A. (with CoserRuth L.). 1974. Greedy Institutions: Patterns of Undivided Commitment. New York: Free Press.
11.
DeauxKay. 1991. “Social Identities: Thoughts on Structure and Change.” Pp. 77–93 in The Relational Self: Theoretical Convergences in Psychoanalysis and Social Psychology, edited by CurtisR. C.New York: Guilford.
12.
DebatsDominique L.1996. “Meaning in Life: Clinical Relevance and Predictive Power.” British Journal of Clinical Psychology35:503–16.
13.
DerogatisLeonard R.SpencerPhillip M.1982. The Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI): Administration, Scoring and Procedures Manual-I. Baltimore: Clinical Psychometric Research, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
14.
DienerEdSuhEunkook M.LucasRichard E.SmithHeidi L.1999. “Subjective Well-Being: Three Decades of Progress.” Psychological Bulletin125:276–302.
15.
FinkelsteinMarcia A.PennerLouis A.BrannickMichael T.2005. “Motives, Role Identity, and Prosocial Personality as Predictors of Volunteer Activity.” Social Behavior and Personality33:403–18.
16.
GoodeWilliam J.1960. “A Theory of Role Strain.” American Sociological Review25:483–96.
17.
GottliebBenjamin H.GillespieAlayna A.2008. “Volunteerism, Health, and Civic Engagement among Older Adults.” Canadian Journal on Aging27:399–406.
18.
GreenbergerEllenO’NeilRobin. 1993. “Spouse, Parent, Worker: Role Commitments and Role-Related Experiences in the Construction of Adults’ Well-Being.” Developmental Psychology2:181–97.
19.
GrubeJean A.PiliavinJane Allyn. 2000. “Role Identity, Organizational Experiences, and Volunteer Performance.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin26:1108–19.
20.
JacksonPamela Braboy. 1997. “Role Occupancy and Minority Mental Health.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior38:237–55.
21.
KikuzawaSaeko. 2006. “Multiple Roles and Mental Health in Cross-Cultural Perspective: The Elderly in the United States and Japan.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior47:62–76.
22.
LiYunqingFerraroKenneth F.2005. “Volunteering and Depression in Later Life: Social Benefit or Selection Processes?”Journal of Health and Social Behavior46:68–84.
23.
LiYunqingFerraroKenneth F.2006. “Volunteering in Middle and Later Life: Is Health a Benefit, Barrier, or Both?”Social Forces85:497–519.
24.
LittlefieldGus. 2011. “Executive Vice President’s Report 2010.” Presented at the Mended Hearts annual convention, June, New Orleans, LA.
25.
LumTerry Y.LightfootElizabeth. 2005. “The Effects of Volunteering on the Physical and Mental Health of Older People.” Research on Aging27:31–55.
26.
MarcusFred M.1991. “Mattering: Its Measurement and Theoretical Significance for Social Psychology.” Presented at the annual meeting of the Eastern Sociological Association, Cincinnati, OH.
27.
MarcussenKristenRitterChristianSafronDeborah J.2004. “The Role of Identity Salience and Commitment in the Stress Process.” Sociological Perspectives47:289–312.
28.
MarksStephen R.1977. “Multiple Roles and Role Strain: Some Notes on Human Energy, Time, and Commitment.” American Sociological Review42:921–36.
29.
MartireLynn M.StephensMary Ann ParrisTownsendAloen L.2000. “Centrality of Women’s Multiple Roles: Beneficial and Detrimental Consequences for Psychological Well-Being.” Psychology and Aging15:148–56.
30.
MascaroNathanRosenDavid H.2005. “Existential Meaning’s Role in the Enhancement of Hope and Prevention of Depressive Symptoms.” Journal of Personality73:985–1013.
31.
McCallGeorge J.SimmonsJ. L.1978. Identities and Interactions: An Examination of Human Associations in Everyday Life. New York: Free Press.
32.
MeadGeorge H.1934. Mind, Self, and Society: From the Standpoint of a Social Behaviorist. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
33.
MellorDavidHayashiYokoStokesMarkFirthLucyLakeLucyStaplesMichaelChambersSueCumminsRobert. 2009. “Volunteering and Its Relationship with Personal and Neighborhood Well-Being.” Non-Profit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly38:144–59.
34.
Mended Hearts, Inc. 2002. “The Mended Hearts, Inc.: The First 50 Years.” The Mended Hearts, Inc., Dallas, TX. Unpublished manuscript.
35.
MertonRobert K.1957. “The Role Set: Problems in Sociological Theory.” British Journal of Sociology8:106–20.
36.
MusickMarc A.WilsonJohn. 2003. “Volunteering and Depression: The Role of Psychological and Social Resources in Different Age Groups.” Social Science & Medicine56:259–69.
37.
PavalkoEliza K.WoodburyShari. 2000. “Social Roles as Process: Caregiving Careers and Women’s Health.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior41:91–105.
38.
PearlinLeonard I.MenaghanElizabeth G.LiebermanMorton A.MullanJoseph T.1981. “The Stress Process.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior22:337–56.
39.
PennerLouis A.FinkelsteinMarcia A.1998. “Dispositional and Structural Determinants of Volunteerism.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology74:525–37.
40.
PennerLouis A.MidiliAlison R.KegelmeyerJill. 1997. “Beyond Job Attitudes: A Personality and Social Psychological Perspective on the Causes of Organizational Citizenship Behavior.” Human Performance10:111–32.
41.
PiliavinJane A.CalleroPeter. 1991. Giving Blood: The Development of an Altruistic Identity. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
42.
PiliavinJane AllynSieglErica. 2007. “The Health Benefits of Volunteering in the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior48:450–64.
43.
ReidJenniferHardyMelissa. 1999. “Multiple Roles and Well-Being among Midlife Women: Testing Role Strain and Role Enhancement Theories.” Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences 54B:S329–38.
44.
ReitzesDonald C.MutranElizabeth J.1994. “Multiple Roles and Identities: Factors Influencing Self-Esteem among Middle-Aged Working Men and Women.” Social Psychology Quarterly57:313–25.
45.
ReitzesDonald C.MutranElizabeth J.2002. “Self-Concept as the Organization of Roles: Importance, Centrality, and Balance.” Sociological Quarterly43:647–67.
46.
RosenbergMorris. 1979. Conceiving the Self. New York: Basic Books.
47.
RosenbergMorrisMcCulloughB. Claire. 1981. “Mattering: Inferred Significance and Mental Health among Adolescents.” Research in Community and Mental Health2:163–82.
48.
RosenbergMorrisSchoolerCarmiSchoenbachCarrieRosenbergFlorence. 1995. “Global Self-Esteem and Specific Self-Esteem: Different Concepts, Different Outcomes.” American Sociological Review60:141–56.
49.
RotoloThomas. 2000. “A Time to Join, a Time to Quit: The Influence of Life Cycle Transitions on Voluntary Association Membership.” Social Forces78:1133–61.
50.
RyffCarol D.1989. “Happiness Is Everything, or Is It? Explorations on the Meaning of Psychological Well-Being.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology57:1068–81.
51.
RyffCarol D.KeyesCorey Lee M.1995. “The Structure of Psychological Well-Being Revisited.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology69:719–27.
52.
SieberSam. 1974. “Toward a Theory of Role Strain.” American Sociological Review39:567–78.
53.
StataCorp. 2009. Stata Statistical Software: Release 11. College Station, TX: StataCorp LP.
54.
StrykerSheldon. 1980. Symbolic Interactionism: A Social Structural Version. Menlo Park, CA: Benjamin/Cummings.
55.
StrykerSheldonSerpeRichard T.1982. “Commitment, Identity Salience, and Role Behavior: Theory and Research Example.” Pp. 199–218 in Personality, Roles, and Social Behavior, edited by IckesW.KnowlesE.New York: Springer-Verlag.
56.
StrykerSheldonSerpeRichard T.1994. “Identity Salience and Psychological Centrality: Equivalent, Overlapping, or Complementary Concepts?”Social Psychology Quarterly57:16–35.
57.
TaylorJohnTurnerR. Jay. 2001. “A Longitudinal Study of the Role and Significance of Mattering to Others for Depressive Symptoms.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior42:310–25.
58.
ThoitsPeggy A.1983. “Multiple Identities and Psychological Well-Being: A Reformulation and Test of the Social Isolation Hypothesis.” American Sociological Review48:174–87.
59.
ThoitsPeggy A.1986. “Multiple Identities: Examining Gender and Marital Status Differences in Distress.” American Sociological Review51:259–72.
60.
ThoitsPeggy A.1992. “Identity Structures and Psychological Well-Being: Gender and Marital Status Comparisons.” Social Psychology Quarterly55:236–56.
61.
ThoitsPeggy A.2003. “Personal Agency in the Accumulation of Multiple Role-Identities.” Pp. 179–94 in Advances in Identity Theory and Research, edited by BurkeP. J.OwensT. J.SerpeR.ThoitsP. A.New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum.
62.
ThoitsPeggy A.2011. “Mechanisms Linking Social Ties and Support to Physical and Mental Health.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior52:145–61.
63.
ThoitsPeggy A.HewittLyndi N.2001. “Volunteer Work and Well-Being.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior42:115–31.
64.
TurnerR. JayTaylorJohnVan GundyKaren. 2004. “Personal Resources and Depression in the Transition to Adulthood: Ethnic Comparisons.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior45:34–54.
65.
Van WilligenMarieke. 2000. “Differential Benefits of Volunteering across the Life Course.” Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences 55B:S308–18.
66.
VidekaLynn M.1979. “Psychosocial Adaptation in a Medical Self-Help Group.” Pp. 362–86 in Self-Help Groups for Coping with Crisis: Origins, Members, Processes, and Impact, edited by LiebermanM. A.BormanL. D.San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
67.
WeigertAndrew J.TeitgeJ. SmithTeitgeDennis W.1986. Society and Identity: Toward a Sociological Psychology. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
68.
WilsonJohn. 2000. “Volunteering.” Annual Review of Sociology26:215–40.
69.
WilsonJohnMusickMarc. 1997. “Who Cares? Toward an Integrated Theory of Volunteer Work.” American Sociological Review62:694–713.
70.
ZikaSherylChamberlainKerry. 1992. “On the Relation between Meaning in Life and Psychological Well-Being.” British Journal of Psychology83:133–45.
