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Introduction
There has been a growing interest in the influence of helping others on well-being and life satisfaction among older adults (Bonhote, Tomano-Egan and Cornwell 1999; Brown, Consedine and Magai 2005; Chappell et al. 2004; Dunlin and Hill 2003; Poortinga 2006; Warburton and McLaughlin 2005). This work has been framed by the literature in gerontology on activity and role theory, which argues that successful adaptation to ageing processes necessitates role replacement to maintain the level of activity and to enhance well-being (Havighurst and Albrecht 1953). A recent contribution conceptualises roles as resources for action and agency (Piliavin, Grube and Callero 2002). Providing assistance to others in the form of volunteer activities and informal support of neighbours are the key forms of helping behaviour understood to be based on a sense of altruism and assumed to have positive effects on the helper's emotional well-being. Additionally, these types of giving have been shown to strengthen a sense of belonging to one's community, an aspect of social capital, which in turn can have a positive effect on health (Brown, Consedine and Magai 2005; Dunlin and Hill 2003; Lomas 1998). Associations among altruism, social capital and positive health outcomes may help us understand how social and subjective dimensions of behaviour make us healthier in old age under different social and economic circumstances (Brown, Consedine and Magai 2005; Statistics Canada 2004).
An extensive literature has connected psychological well-being and various aspects of social-network functioning (Garcia-Martin, Gomex-Jacinto and Martimportugues-Goyenechea 2004; Goodwin, Cook and Yung 2001; Kellen 2003; Quails 2005). Evidence indicates that the socially active consistently report higher levels of well-being (Quails 2005). Increased social interaction has been linked to increased altruistic behaviour (Okun, Pugliese and Rook 2007), and helping others has been shown to have a positive impact on an individual's emotional state and to raise life satisfaction (Yuen 2002). Furthermore, a growing body of research has established that people with stronger social capital experience health benefits as a result of community connectedness (for reviews seePoortinga 2006; Statistics Canada 2004). There is nonetheless a need to extend our understanding about which social activities have the most influence on health, how they inter-relate, and how they affect individuals at different stages of the lifecourse,...