Serving in College, Flourishing in Adulthood: Does Community Engagement During the College Years Predict Adult Well‐Being?
Abstract
Colleges and universities are placing a renewed emphasis on the importance of service and community engagement. Although the short‐term effects of these college experiences are fairly well understood, little is known about the long‐term impact of college volunteering and participating in engaged forms of learning (e.g. service‐learning). This longitudinal study examines 416 participants during their freshman year of college, their senior year, and 13 years after graduation. Results show that both college volunteering and service‐learning have positive, indirect effects on several forms of well‐being during adulthood, including personal growth, purpose in life, environmental mastery, and life satisfaction. Specifically, these college experiences are associated with subsequent behaviors (adult volunteering) and attitudes and values (prosocial orientation), which in turn are positively associated with well‐being. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
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Four of five cohorts assessing life satisfaction reported benefit from volunteering.
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From Is volunteering a public health intervention? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the health and survival of volunteers (2013) · cites this paper as [28]
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“Further, the present study investigated these associations through recruitment of a young adult sample – a developmental period known to be crucial for social and political identity formation, and a group that has been largely understudied amidst the civic engagement literature.(9,10,45) Using crosssectional data from…”
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- Authors
- Bowman, N., Brandenberger, J., Lapsley, D., Hill, P., & Quaranto, J.
- Affiliations
- University of Notre Dame (US)
- Corresponding author
- Bowman, Nicholas
- Venue
- Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2010-02-02
- Volume
- 2
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 14-34
- ISSN
- 1758-0846 (ISSN-L)
- 1758-0854
- OpenAlex
- W2140998198
- Cited by
- 98
- References
- 64
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 16.62
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Applied Psychology Health and Well-Being (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Service-Learning and Community Engagement
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Nonprofit Sector and Volunteering
- Keywords
- community participation, service-learning, adult well-being, life satisfaction, meaning of life, environmental mastery, personal growth, prosocial orientation, coming of age
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