Table 7.
Social Benefits
| Review | Positive outcomes (number of studies) | Negative or non-significant outcomes | AMSTAR 2 rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson et al. (2014) | Social support/network (7 descriptive, 2 cross-sectional) | No association with social network (1 descriptive, 1cross-sectional) | − 10 |
| Blais et al. (2017) |
Built relationships and friendships (1) New-found friendships motivated continued volunteering (1) |
− 18 | |
| Cattan et al. (2011) |
Social networks/support/integration (6) Social/human/cultural capital (1) Social productivity/contrib. to organisation (6) |
||
| Chen et al. (2020) |
Reduced isolation (1) Increased social interaction (1) Improved compassion for others (1) Increased social connectivity (3) |
9 | |
| Farrell & Bryant (2009) |
Improved social integration and well-being (4) Increased opportunities for social engagement (1) Increased social networks for people with mental health problems (2) |
− 15 | |
| Goethem et al., (2014) | Small but significant effect on social competence (social efficacy, abilities, skills) (23) | − 4 | |
| Gualano et al. (2018) | Significant maintenance of intergenerational interactions (1) | 9 | |
| Höing et al. (2016) |
Increased social support and interaction (1) Improved quantity and quality of social networks (5) Improved feelings of connectedness (2) Enjoyment of receiving support from other volunteers (4) Increased sense of belonging (1) Increased emotional attachment to others (1) |
− 7 | |
| Hyde et al., (2014) |
Appreciation from staff and families (1) Increase in social ties (1) |
Only 44.6% of volunteers reported forming close social connections with other volunteers (1) | − 2 |
| Kragt & Holtrop (2019) |
Improved social well-being (1) Increased social connectedness (3) Forming relationships (1) Increased sense of community (1) |
− 15 | |
| Lovell et al. (2015) | Increased social function (1) | 0 | |
| Marco-Gardoqui et al. (2020) | Greater social engagement (most cited outcome) | 5 | |
| Milbourn et al. (2018) |
Increase in social domain of quality of life (1) Increase in social support from friends and neighbours (2) Increase in positive exchanges and social ties (2) |
Volunteering predicted negative social ties (1) | − 8 |
| O’Flynn et al. (2021) |
Increased sense of community (4) Increase in valued relationships (1) |
− 14 | |
| Willems et al. (2020) | Increased connectedness (2) (which in turn increased motivation (3)) | 1 |