英文原文
Connecting, Serving, and Giving: Civic Engagement Among Mid-Life and Older Adults
Since 1997, AARP periodically has tracked trends in social and community involvement and civic participation among mid-life and older adults. And, since that time, much has changed: 9/11, an aging society and growing multicultural population, a greater emphasis on international relations and security, economic recessions, increased use of mobile technology and social media, a workplace characterized by longer hours and telecommuting, and distrust and apathy with government leadership—especially at the national level. These trends can lead to decreased social and community involvement or provide the opportunity for greater connection and engagement with others both locally and nationally.
This study presents the findings of a 2014 survey of mid-life and older adults (age 50+) regarding several key areas of social and community involvement, including: their perceived level of influence in making a difference on problems that exist in their community, the number of groups and organizations to which they belong, their level of involvement in civic and community activities, the frequency with which they vote in Presidential and local elections, their rate of volunteering—for organizations and/or on their own, their rate of charitable giving, demographic and other factors that influence their level of civic engagement. This study also examines how these activities and perceptions have changed over time, by comparing findings from 2014 with that of prior years.
Key Findings: Socioeconomic status (i.e., total household income and education level) and holding a perception that one can make a difference on problems that exist in their community are top predictors of 50+ civic engagement. The more likely one feels that he or she has these resources and holds these perceptions, the higher his or her level of civic engagement is likely to be. Perceptions of influence have declined over the years among the 50+. Specifically, the share of the 50+ who believe that they have either a lot or a moderate amount of influence when joined with others declined 7 percentage points from 2012 and an overall total of 20 percentage points from 1997. Likewise, the share of people who feel that they have either a lot or a moderate amount of influence when acting alone declined 5 percentage points from 2012 and an overall total of 7 percentage points from 1997. Group Membership. Both the average number of membership types (3.0) and the total number of memberships overall, regardless of type (5.3) have increased among the 50+ since 2009. Civic and Community Involvement is fairly low among the 50+ (i.e., they participate in an average of 2.4 activities out of a possible 11 activities per year). This is a slight decline from 2012 (2.5). Volunteering. Since 2012, the rate of formal volunteering (i.e., volunteering for organizations) has decreased by 8 percentage points. In contrast, informal volunteering (i.e., volunteering on one’s own—not for an organization) has increased overall by 6 percentage points since 2012. Volunteering both for an organization and on one’s own has held steady since 2012, with 43 percent of 50+ adults reporting this in 2014. Charitable Giving. Charitable giving among the 50+ has declined slightly, although it is still a common occurrence among this age group. Seven in ten 50+ adults reported donating to charitable and/or religious causes in 2014. (This compares with 73 percent in 2012 and 72 percent in 2009.) Voting. Voting in both Presidential and local elections continues to decline among the 50+. Specifically, voting in Presidential elections declined 6 percentage points (from 81% in 2009 to 75% in 2014); and voting in local elections declined 7 percentage points (from 58% in 2009 to 51% in 2014).
Implications for the decline in perceptions of influence and the rise of discount stores/club memberships on 50+ civic engagement are presented in the report.
To see how data from this study can help brands reframe aging, check out our data story, Is Your Brand Missing Out on the 50+ Market?
Methodology: The telephone interviews were conducted in English and Spanish by SSI for AARP during August 3-26, 2014. Respondents included a national address-based sample of 3,003 adults age 50 years and older. Survey responses were weighted by age, gender, race/ethnicity and other key characteristics. For more information contact Alicia Williams at ARWilliams@aarp.org.
Suggested Citation: Williams, Alicia R. Connecting, Serving, and Giving: Civic Engagement Among Mid-life and Older Adults. Washington, DC: AARP Research, March 2016. https://doi.org/10.26419/res.00119.001
中文翻译
连接、服务与给予：中老年公民参与
自1997年以来，AARP定期追踪中老年人在社会和社区参与以及公民参与方面的趋势。自那时起，许多事情发生了变化：9/11事件、老龄化社会和多元文化人口的增长、对国际关系和安全的更加强调、经济衰退、移动技术和社交媒体的使用增加、工作时间更长和远程办公的工作场所，以及对政府领导的不信任和冷漠——尤其是在国家层面。这些趋势可能导致社会和社区参与减少，或为在本地和全国范围内与他人建立更多联系和参与提供机会。
本研究展示了2014年对中老年人（50岁以上）在社会和社区参与几个关键领域的调查结果，包括：他们对自己在社区问题中产生影响的能力的感知水平、他们所属的团体和组织数量、他们在公民和社区活动中的参与水平、他们在总统和地方选举中的投票频率、他们的志愿服务率——为组织和/或独立进行、他们的慈善捐赠率、影响他们公民参与水平的人口统计和其他因素。本研究还通过比较2014年与之前年份的调查结果，探讨了这些活动和感知如何随时间变化。
关键发现：社会经济地位（即家庭总收入和教育水平）以及认为自己可以在社区问题中产生影响的感知是50岁以上公民参与的主要预测因素。一个人越觉得自己拥有这些资源并持有这些感知，其公民参与水平可能越高。50岁以上人群的影响力感知多年来有所下降。具体来说，认为自己在与他人合作时具有很大或中等影响力的50岁以上人群比例从2012年下降了7个百分点，从1997年总体下降了20个百分点。同样，认为自己在单独行动时具有很大或中等影响力的人群比例从2012年下降了5个百分点，从1997年总体下降了7个百分点。团体成员资格。自2009年以来，50岁以上人群的平均成员类型数量（3.0）和总体成员总数（5.3）均有所增加。公民和社区参与在50岁以上人群中相当低（即他们每年平均参与2.4项活动，而可能的活动有11项）。这比2012年（2.5）略有下降。志愿服务。自2012年以来，正式志愿服务率（即为组织志愿服务）下降了8个百分点。相比之下，非正式志愿服务（即独立志愿服务——不为组织）自2012年以来总体增加了6个百分点。同时为组织和独立志愿服务自2012年以来保持稳定，2014年有43%的50岁以上成年人报告了这一点。慈善捐赠。50岁以上人群的慈善捐赠略有下降，尽管在这一年龄段中仍然常见。2014年，十分之七的50岁以上成年人报告向慈善和/或宗教事业捐款。（相比之下，2012年为73%，2009年为72%。）投票。50岁以上人群在总统和地方选举中的投票率持续下降。具体来说，总统选举投票率下降了6个百分点（从2009年的81%降至2014年的75%）；地方选举投票率下降了7个百分点（从2009年的58%降至2014年的51%）。
报告中讨论了影响力感知下降以及折扣店/俱乐部会员资格增加对50岁以上公民参与的影响。
要了解本研究数据如何帮助品牌重新定义老龄化，请查看我们的数据故事《您的品牌是否错过了50岁以上市场？》
方法论：电话访谈由SSI为AARP在2014年8月3日至26日期间以英语和西班牙语进行。受访者包括基于全国地址的3,003名50岁及以上成年人样本。调查回应按年龄、性别、种族/民族和其他关键特征加权。更多信息请联系Alicia Williams，邮箱ARWilliams@aarp.org。
建议引用：Williams, Alicia R. Connecting, Serving, and Giving: Civic Engagement Among Mid-life and Older Adults. Washington, DC: AARP Research, March 2016. https://doi.org/10.26419/res.00119.001
文章概要
本文基于AARP 2014年的调查，探讨了50岁以上中老年人在公民参与方面的趋势，包括团体成员资格、社区活动参与、志愿服务、慈善捐赠和投票行为。研究发现，社会经济地位和影响力感知是公民参与的关键预测因素，但影响力感知有所下降，志愿服务和慈善捐赠略有减少，投票率持续下降。文章强调了这些变化对中老年人社会连接和慷慨实践的影响，并提供了方法论和引用信息。
高德明老师的评价
用12岁初中生可以听懂的语音来重复翻译的内容：这篇文章讲的是50岁以上的叔叔阿姨们怎么参与社区活动，比如加入团体、做志愿者、捐款和投票。研究发现，如果他们觉得自己有钱、有教育，并且相信能改变社区问题，他们就更愿意参与。但最近，很多人觉得自己的影响力变小了，做志愿者和捐款的人也少了一点，投票的人也在减少。这就像在学校里，如果你觉得自己能帮助班级变得更好，你就会更积极参加活动；但如果觉得没人在乎你的想法，可能就不想参与了。
佛学的各个宗派视角评价，突出《显密圆通成佛心要集》的视角：从佛学视角看，中老年人的公民参与体现了大乘佛教的利他精神，如布施（dāna）和慈悲（karuṇā）。《显密圆通成佛心要集》强调显密圆融，其中准提法作为密宗法门，提倡通过咒语和观想来净化心性、积累福德。在显宗层面，志愿服务和慈善捐赠可视为布施波罗蜜的实践，帮助众生离苦得乐。从密宗视角，准提法能增强修行者的愿力和行动力，支持他们在中年阶段以慷慨心服务社会，克服冷漠和无力感。整体上，文章中的参与行为符合大乘佛教的菩萨道，鼓励自利利他，而准提法的修持可深化这种实践，促进心性圆融。
在修行实践上可以应用的和可以解决人们的十个问题：从佛教显宗和大乘视角，结合准提法的优点，中年志愿者实践慷慨精神可以应用于修行并解决以下十个问题：1. 增强慈悲心，减少自我中心；2. 积累福德资粮，改善人际关系；3. 培养布施习惯，克服吝啬和贪婪；4. 通过服务他人，减轻孤独感和抑郁；5. 提升社会影响力，增强自信心；6. 实践忍辱，应对志愿服务中的挑战；7. 促进社区和谐，减少冲突；8. 支持环保和公益，体现护生精神；9. 增强正念，在活动中保持觉知；10. 圆成佛道，以利他行迈向菩提。准提法的咒语修持可加持这些实践，帮助修行者保持清净心和坚定愿力。