Effect of Social Trust on Worry about the Future in Comparative Cross-Cultural Perspective

Objective. Analysis of the effect of social trust on anxiety regarding the occurrence of various negative circumstances in the future.
Background. Experiences of instability and uncertainty prompt us to reconsider the role of social trust. It is important to determine whether social trust is an independent factor that reduces anxiety about the future, or only an effect of the possession of other resources.
Study design. The study examined the main effects of social trust on anxiety regarding the occurrence of various negative circumstances and the interaction effects of trust with other resources. The presence of significant effects and their direction were tested using multilevel ordinal logistic regression analysis. Participants. Data from Wave 7 of the World Values Survey, collected 2017-2021 in 62 countries. Country sample sizes range from 1000 to 3200.
Measurements. Items from the World Values Survey are indicators of generalized social trust and anxiety regarding various negative circumstances, as well as sociodemographic variables. GDP per capita at purchasing power parity.
Results. Social trust reduces anxiety about the future. This effect is independent and manifests itself when controlling for the level of possession of other resources. There also exists a negative interaction effect between social trust and other resources.
Conclusions. Social trust reduces anxiety about the future and enhances a similar effect for indicators of the possession of other resources.

1. Dontsov A.I., Perelygina E.B., Zotova O.Yu., Mostikov S.V. Doverie kak faktor psihologicheskoj bezopasnosti v mezhnacional'nom vzaimodejstvii [Trust as a factor of psychological security in interethnic interaction]. Sotsial’naia psikhologiia i obshchestvo = Social Psychology and Society, 2018. Vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 21–34. DOI:10.17759/sps.2018090202 (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.).
2. Rasskazova E.I., Tkhostov A.Sh. Otnoshenie k zdorov'ju i gotovnost' k lecheniju v situacii pandemii [Attitude to health and readiness for treatment in the situation of pandemic]. Vestnik Moskovskogo uiversiteta. Sereiia 14. Psikhologiia [Lomonosov Psychology Journal], 2023. Vol. 1, pp. 3–30. DOI:10.11621/vsp.2023.01.01 (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.).
3. Tatarko A.N. Mezhlichnostnoe doverie kak faktor social'no-jekonomicheskogo razvitija [Interpersonal Trust as a Factor of Socio|Economic Development]. Sotsial’naia psikhologiia i obshchestvo = Social Psychology and Society, 2014. Vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 28–41. (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.).
4. Almakaeva A., Welzel C., Ponarin E. Human empowerment and trust in strangers: The multilevel evidence. Social Indicators Research, 2018. Vol. 139, pp. 923–962. DOI:10.1007/s11205-017-1724-z
5. Brandt M.J., Wetherell G., Henry P.J. Changes in income predict change in social trust: A longitudinal analysis. Political Psychology, 2015. Vol. 36, no. 6, pp. 761–768. DOI:10.1111/pops.12228
6. Cerqueti R., Ficcadenti V. Anxiety about the pandemic and trust in financial markets. The Annals of Regional Science, 2023, pp. 1–52. DOI:10.1007/s00168-023-01243-0
7. Chen Y., Wu J., Ma J., Zhu H., Li W., Gan Y. The mediating effect of media usage on the relationship between anxiety/fear and physician–patient trust during the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychology & Health, 2022. Vol. 37(7), pp. 847–866. DOI:10.1080/08870446.2021.1900573
8. Delhey J., Newton K., Welzel C. How general is trust in “most people”? Solving the radius of trust problem. American sociological review, 2011. Vol. 76, no. 5, pp. 786–807. DOI:10.1177/0003122411420817
9. Faqih K.M. Internet shopping in the Covid-19 era: Investigating the role of perceived risk, anxiety, gender, culture, and trust in the consumers’ purchasing behavior from a developing country context. Technology in Society, 2022. Vol. 70, pp. 1–15. DOI:10.1016/j.techsoc.2022.101992
10. Fersch B., Schneider-Kamp A., Breidahl K.N. Anxiety and trust in times of health crisis: How parents navigated health risks during the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic in Denmark. Health, Risk & Society, 2022. Vol. 24, no. 1-2, pp. 36–53. DOI:10.1080/13698575.2022.2028743
11. Gualano M.R., Moro G.L., Voglino G., Bert F., Siliquin R. Is the pandemic leading to a crisis of trust? Insights from an Italian nationwide study. Public Health, 2022. Vol. 202, pp. 32–34.
12. Khalaf M.A., Shehata A.M. Trust in information sources as a moderator of the impact of COVID-19 anxiety and exposure to information on conspiracy thinking and misinformation beliefs: a multilevel study. BMC psychology, 2023. Vol. 11, no. 1. DOI:10.1186/s40359-023-01425-7
13. Knack S., Keefer P. Does social capital have an economic payoff? A cross-country investigation. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 1997. Vol. 112, no. 4, pp. 1251–1288. DOI:10.1162/003355300555475
14. Kondo J., Li D., Papanikolaou D. Trust, collaboration, and economic growth. Management Science, 2021. Vol. 67, no. 3, pp. 1825–1850. DOI:10.1287/mnsc.2019.3545
15. La Porta R., Lopez-de-Silanes F., Shleifer A., Vishny R.W. 1996. Trust in large organizations. American Economic Review, 1996. Vol. 87, no. 2, pp. 333–338.
16. Mikucka M., Sarracino F., Dubrow J.K. When does economic growth improve life satisfaction? Multilevel analysis of the roles of social trust and income inequality in 46 countries, 1981–2012. World Development, 2017. Vol. 93, pp. 447–459. DOI:10.1016/j.worlddev.2017.01.002
17. Quintal V., Sung B., Lee S. Is the coast clear? Trust, risk-reducing behaviours and anxiety toward cruise travel in the wake of COVID-19. Current Issues in Tourism, 2022. Vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 206–218. DOI:10.1080/13683500.2021.1880377
18. Saygili M., Numanoglu R. Trust in the healthcare system and social coronavirus anxiety; a study in the Turkish society. Journal of Basic and Clinical Health Sciences, 2022. Vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 528–538.
19. Spadaro G., Molho C., Van Prooijen J.W., Romano A., Mosso C.O., Van Lange P.A. Corrupt third parties undermine trust and prosocial behaviour between people. Nature human behavior, 2023. Vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 46–54. DOI:10.1038/s41562-022-01457-w
20. Yue H., Huang Y., Zhang H., Fang M., Chen G. Insights from China: Understanding the Impact of Community Resilience and Government Trust in Psychological Resilience and Anxiety during COVID-19. Frontiers in Public Health. Vol. 11. DOI:10.3389/fpubh.2023.1298269