Perceived social value of volunteering, social capital and volunteer participation in later life: evidence from Slovakia

Purpose This study aims to examine how older adults structure their perceptions of the social value of volunteering, how these perceptions relate to cognitive and structural social capital and to what extent these factors, together with sociodemographic characteristics, predict volunteering participation in later life. The study is set in a post-socialist country. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a quantitative approach, drawing on data from a representative survey conducted in 2023. The research sample consisted of 372 respondents aged 55 and over. Findings Exploratory factor analysis confirmed a single-factor emancipatory perception of volunteering (a = 0.84; 58.9% explained variance). The results showed that older adults who volunteered achieved significantly higher scores on the emancipation perception scale than those who were not involved. Hierarchical logistic regression showed that, although emancipatory perception and general trust are important prerequisites, the strongest predictors of later-life volunteering are, above all, membership in organisations and age. Originality/value The study empirically tests a model linking the perceived social value of volunteering with cognitive and structural dimensions of social capital to explain volunteering participation among older adults in a post-socialist context.