24 September 2004

The Art of Happiness…Is volunteering the blueprint for bliss?

New research indicates that helping others raises quality of life for British Citizens.
When we volunteer our time to do something for others, such as helping out an elderly neighbour or taking part in a local community project, it can be good news for our health, our children’s education and even reduce the local crime rate too.

Recent research funded by the Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC) has revealed that people who live in areas that record high levels of informal voluntary activity in their neighbourhood, also enjoy better health, students achieve higher GCSE grades and their communities suffer fewer burglaries. Professor Paul Whiteley, Programme Director of the ESRC Democracy & Participation Research Programme that produced the findings explains “The research has revealed an interesting link between helping others and enjoying a good quality of life. It seems that when we focus on the needs of others, we may also reap benefits ourselves. It means that voluntary activity in the community is associated with better health, lower crime, improved educational performance and greater life satisfaction. Communities with lots of civic and community engagement are also communities that have environments that foster favourable outcomes such as these”.

Volunteering has a positive influence, irrespective of a community’s social class or wealth. “A relatively poor community with lots of voluntary activity can do better in relation to health, crime and education than a relatively affluent community which lacks such activity” explains Whiteley. The research also tested for links between voluntary activity and overall life satisfaction or happiness. Again there is a strong link between communities with lots of volunteering and those where people are very satisfied with their lives.

At the top of the happiness league, and who recorded high levels of volunteering activity, are residents of provincial cities such as Bristol, Chester, Aberdeen and Cardiff and those from Home Counties such as South Cambridge and Rutland. Sevenoaks in Kent recorded the highest percentage of those who are ‘very satisfied with life’. Whereas inhabitants of London suburbs such as Luton and Waltham Forest or northern cities like Salford, Carlisle and Hull were the least satisfied with their lot, recording the lowest scores in the life satisfaction stakes.

The Home Secretary, the Rt Hon David Blunkett comments “Volunteering is a growing activity. Government figures show that in 2003, 51 per cent of people in England participated in their community – around 20.3 million people. The equivalent contribution to the economy made by people volunteering formally and informally in their community was around 42.6 billion pounds in 2003. Volunteering clearly has benefits for citizens, families and communities. That is why the Government is developing and strengthening our partnership with the voluntary sector, especially in order to reach out to our most deprived communities”.

The research sample was based on 101 district authorities selected at random.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Professor Paul Whiteley, University of Essex on Tel: 01206 872 641
Email: paul.whiteley@essex.ac.uk

Amanda Barry, ABC on Tel: 01225 869222 or 07860 313576
Email: amanda@abcpr.com

Or Becky Gammon at ESRC on Tel: 01793 413122
Email: becky.gammon@esrc.ac.uk

(Copies of the Findings Summary handbook can also be obtained from the above)

Notes to editors:

A summary of the research data is published in A Health check of British Democracy: What do we know about participation and its effects in Britain? – Findings Summary Handbook – available from the ESRC on Tel: 01793 413032/413119
A comprehensive report of the full Citizen Audit is due to be published (end Sept 2004) in: Citizenship in Britain: Values, Participation and Democracy. Charles Pattie, Pat Seyd and Paul Whiteley 2004 (Cambridge University Press)

Below is the table of top and bottom District Authorities in Britain, recording ‘very satisfied with life’ scale*.

Name of District – Top 10	% who are ‘Very Satisfied’ with Life
Sevenoaks	37
Chester	28
South Cambridge	28
Teignbridge	27
Rutland	27
Tonbridge and Malling	25
Bristol	25
Aberdeen	25
Warwick	24
Cardiff	24

Name of District – Bottom 10	% who are ‘Very Satisfied’ with Life
Carlisle	12
Waltham Forest	12
Sheffield	12
East Ayrshire	11
Salford	11
Kingston upon Hull	11
Luton	11
Havering	10
South Derbyshire	10
Huntingdonshire	9

*Source: Civic Attitudes and Engagement in Modern Britain by Pattie, Seyd and Whiteley (ESRC Democracy & Participation Programme). The Citizen Audit is a stratified, clustered, random sample of adults in Great Britain aged 18 or over. 3,140 face to face interviews were completed (response rate 62 per cent) and over 9,000 completed postal questionnaires were returned. Fieldwork took place between Sept 2000 and May 2001.

The ESRC Democracy & Participation Programme ran from 1999 to 2003 and encompasses 21 projects from a range of disciplines, including politics, sociology, social policy, geography and education. www.essex.ac.uk/democracy/
The ESRC is the UK’s largest funding agency for research and postgraduate training relating to social and economic issues. It provides independent, high-quality, relevant research to business, the public sector and Government. The ESRC invest more than £93m every year in social science and at any time is supporting some 2,000 researchers in academic institutions and research policy institutes. It also funds postgraduate training within the social sciences to nurture the researchers of tomorrow. www.esrc.ac.uk
REGARD is the ESRC's database of research. It provides a key source of information on ESRC social science research awards and all associated publications and products. The website can be found at www.regard.ac.uk

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