Old soldiers never die: Explaining the disproportionate aging of volunteers in the Netherlands between 1985 and 2000

In this article, two possible explanations for the disproportionate aging of volunteers are tested using the Dutch Time Budget Studies 1985-2000. The first explanation holds that increasing time pressure among, especially, couples aged between 25 and 55, keeps this group from participating. This could not be corroborated by the data, as voluntary work declined among all population segments observed, irrespective of their combined workload of paid and unpaid labour or their family situation (living alone or with a partner). The second explanation assumes that differences in socialization are responsible for the observed divergence between generations. This was confirmed for most fields of voluntary work. Both men and women tend to keep up their level of voluntary activity well into old age.