Prosocial activities, such as volunteering, predict better mental and physical health in late adulthood, but their proximal links to well-being in daily life are largely unknown. The current study examined day-to-day associations of prosocial activities with emotional and physical well-being, and whether these associations differ with age. We used daily diary data from the National Study of Daily Experiences (NSDE) II (n = 2,016; ages 33-84) and NSDE Refresher Study (n = 774; ages 25-75). Participants completed telephone interviews on 8 consecutive evenings regarding their prosocial activities (formal volunteering, providing unpaid assistance, providing emotional support), well-being (negative affect, stressors, positive events), and physical symptoms. On days when individuals participated in more formal volunteering or provided more unpaid assistance than usual, they experienced more stressors and positive events but no difference in the number of physical symptoms. Negative affect was reduced on volunteering days for older adults but increased for younger adults (NSDE Refresher). Providing emotional support was associated with higher same-day negative affect, more stressors, more positive events, and elevated physical symptoms. Compared to younger and middle-aged adults, older adults experienced less of an increase in stressors and positive events (NSDE II) and negative affect (NSDE Refresher) on days when they provided more emotional support than usual. These findings demonstrate that prosocial activities are associated with both costs (negative affect, stressors, physical symptoms) and benefits (positive events) for same-day well-being. Older age may protect against negative ramifications associated with prosocial activities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

中文翻译：

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日常亲社会活动和幸福感：两项国家研究中的年龄适度。

志愿服务等亲社会活动预示着成年后会有更好的身心健康，但它们与日常生活中幸福感的近端联系在很大程度上是未知的。目前的研究检查了亲社会活动与情绪和身体健康的日常关联，以及这些关联是否随年龄而变化。我们使用了国家日常体验研究 (NSDE) II（n = 2,016；33-84 岁）和 NSDE 进修研究（n = 774；25-75 岁）的每日日记数据。参与者在连续 8 个晚上完成了关于他们的亲社会活动（正式志愿服务、提供无偿帮助、提供情感支持）、幸福感（负面影响、压力源、积极事件）和身体症状的电话采访。在个人参加比平时更正式的志愿服务或提供更多无偿帮助的日子里，他们经历了更多的压力源和积极事件，但身体症状的数量没有差异。老年人志愿服务日的负面影响有所减少，但年轻人的负面影响有所增加（NSDE Refresher）。提供情感支持与更高的同一天负面影响、更多的压力源、更多的积极事件和更高的身体症状有关。与年轻人和中年人相比，老年人在提供比平时更多的情感支持的日子里，压力源和积极事件 (NSDE II) 和消极情绪 (NSDE Refresher) 的增加较少。这些发现表明，亲社会活动与两种成本（负面影响、压力源、身体症状）和当天幸福感的好处（积极事件）。年龄较大可以防止与亲社会活动相关的负面影响。（PsycInfo 数据库记录 (c) 2021 APA，保留所有权利）。