The Influence of the Participation in Volunteer Activities upon Ego Integrity and Life Satisfaction in the Elderly

Objectives This study is meaningful in providing data for activating volunteer activities in the future by analyzing the relationship between self-integration and life satisfaction according to volunteer activities of the elderly and deriving the results that participation in volunteer activities has a positive effect on self-integration and life satisfaction. Methods To this end, 130 elderly people (73 women and 57 men) aged 60 or older living in area k were surveyed. SPSS 25.0 was used for analysis of the collected data, and frequency analysis, t-test, and one-way ANOVA were performed for analysis. Results The main results shown in the analysis were that first, the motivation to participate in volunteer activities was helpful, so the type of volunteer work was the most vulnerable group, the frequency of participation was 1-2 times a month, the participation time per session was 1-3 hours, and the total duration of activity was 1-5 years. Second, the sense of self-integration was higher in higher education, religion, spouse, and health. Third, life satisfaction was higher for women than men, higher education, religion, spouse, and health. Conclusions Participation in volunteer activities in old age has been shown to have a positive effect on the elderly's self-integration and life satisfaction, so active and diverse volunteer support measures should be taken at the government level for successful retirement.