Marital status and cause-specific mortality: A population-based prospective cohort study in southern Sweden.

The aim was to investigate associations between marital status and mortality with a prospective cohort study design. A public health survey including adults aged 18-80 was conducted with a postal questionnaire in southern Sweden in 2008 (54.1% participation). The survey formed a baseline that was linked to 8.3-year follow-up all-cause, cardiovascular (CVD), cancer and other cause mortality. The present investigation entails 14,750 participants aged 45-80. Associations between marital status and mortality were investigated with multiple Cox-regression analyses. A 72.8% prevalence of respondents were married/cohabitating, 9.1% never married, 12.2% divorced and 5.9% widows/widowers. Marital status was associated with age, sex, socioeconomic status (SES) by occupation, country of birth, chronic disease, Body Mass Index (BMI), health-related behaviors and generalized trust covariates. Never married/single, divorced, and widowed men had significantly higher hazard rate ratios (HRRs) of all-cause mortality than the reference category married/cohabitating men throughout the multiple analyses. For men, CVD and other cause mortality showed similar significant results, but not cancer. No significant associations were displayed for women in the multiple analyses. Associations between marital status and mortality are stronger among men than women. Associations between marital status and cancer mortality are not statistically significant with low effect measures throughout the multiple analyses among both men and women.

Trust Is for the Strong: How Health Status May Influence Generalized and Personalized Trust.

In the trust-health relationship, how trusting other people in society may promote good health is a topic often examined. However, the other direction of influence-how health may affect trust-has not been well explored. In order to investigate this possible effect, we employed the Bayesian Mindsponge Framework (BMF) analytics to go deeper into the information processing mechanisms underlying the expressions of trust. Conducting a Bayesian analysis on a dataset of 1237 residents from Cali, Colombia, we found that general health status is positively associated with generalized trust, but recent experiences of illnesses/injuries have a negative moderating effect. Personalized trust is largely unchanged across different general health conditions, but the trust level becomes higher with recent experiences of illnesses/injuries. Psychophysiological mechanisms of increasing information filtering intensity toward unfamiliar sources during a vulnerable state of health is a plausible explanation of found patterns in generalized trust. Because established personal relationships are reinforced information channels, personalized trust is not affected as much. Rather, the results suggest that people may rely even more on loved ones when they are in bad health conditions. This exploratory study shows that the trust-health relationship can be examined from a different angle that may provide new insights.

Religious service attendance and mortality: A population-based prospective cohort study in southern Sweden.

Aims: The aim is to investigate associations between attendance in religious service during the past year and all-cause, cardiovascular (CVD), cancer and other cause mortality. Study design: Prospective cohort study. Methods: A public health survey with three reminders was sent to a stratified random sample of the adult 18-80 population in southernmost Sweden in 2008. The response rate was 54.1%, and 24,855 participants were included in this study. The cross-sectional baseline survey was connected to mortality data with 8.3-year follow-up. Analyses were conducted in Cox regression models. Results: 13.9% had attended religious service at least once during the past year, and 86.1% had not attended. The group with religious attendance contained significantly higher proportions of women, high and medium position non-manual employees, participants born abroad, never alcohol consumers, respondents with high trust in others and respondents with high social participation. It also contained significantly lower proportions with low leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) and daily smokers. Religious service attendance during the past year was significantly associated with lower hazard rate ratios (HRRs) of all-cause mortality compared to non-attendance until social participation items were introduced in the final model. HRRs of CVD mortality were significantly lower for religious attendance in the multiple models until BMI and health-related behaviors were introduced. No significant results were observed for cancer and other cause mortality. Conclusions: The results suggest that religious service attendance in a highly secularized country such as Sweden is significantly associated with lower all-cause mortality, which may be explained by a social network pathway in this highly secularized population.

Iranian women's attitude toward childbearing and its' association with generalized trust, social support, marital satisfaction and governmental childbearing incentives.

Background: Having a child is important event for families worldwide. Attitudes toward childbearing are influenced by many factors. The aim of the present study was to investigate Iranian women's attitude toward childbearing and its association with generalized trust, social support, marital satisfaction, mental health, and socio-economic characteristics in Qazvin province. Methods: A cross-sectional survey study was conducted between April and July 2022. Using convenience sampling, 347 women with no children or one child in Qazvin province (Iran) participated in the study. Data were collected via the Iranian online platform Porsline. The survey included a demographic and fertility characteristics questionnaire, Attitudes Toward the Government's Childbearing Incentives Scale (ATGCIS), Attitudes Toward Fertility and Childbearing Scale (ATFCS), ENRICH Marital Satisfaction Scale (ENRICH MSS), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-4), Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), and Generalized Trust Scale (GTS). Findings: The average age of participants was 35.66 years (SD = 6.89). The score of attitudes toward fertility and childbearing was 84.66 out of 134 (SD = 19.17). The average number of expected children by the couple was 2.36 (SD = 1.35). Multivariable linear regression found a positive and significant relationship between participants' attitudes toward fertility and childbearing (ATFC) and (i) governmental childbearing incentives (ß = 0.365, p < 0.001, with 1.37 increase in ATFC with each unit increase in this scale) (ii) generalized trust (i.e., individual's expectation of others' trustworthiness), (ß = 0.155, p < 0.003, with 0.60 increase in ATFC with each unit increase in generalized trust) and (iii) marital satisfaction (ß = 0.146, p < 0.005, with 0.26 increase in ATFC with each unit increase marital satisfaction). The multivariable linear regression model also showed that attitudes toward fertility and childbearing was the only predictor of couples' expected number of children in the future (ß = 0.214, p < 0.001, with 0.38 increase in couples' expected number of children with each unit increase in ATFC). Conclusion: Government incentives were the strongest independent predictor of participants' attitudes toward childbearing which can indirectly influence couples' expected number of children in the future. Consequently, governments may be able to influence couples' childbearing decisions by providing appropriate incentives. Generalized trust and marital satisfaction were other significant predictors of attitudes toward childbearing. Therefore, implementing programs to improve generalized trust, and increasing marital satisfaction might be other influential measures in couples' childbearing decisions.

Trust in regional politicians and mortality: A population-based prospective cohort study.

The aim was to study associations between trust in regional politicians responsible for the healthcare system and mortality in survival analyses. A public health survey in southern Sweden with a 54.1% response rate based on a postal questionnaire and three postal reminders was conducted in 2008. The baseline survey was linked to 8.3-year follow-up all-cause, cardiovascular (CVD), cancer and other causes mortality register data. The present prospective cohort study includes 24,699 respondents. Relevant covariates/confounders from the baseline questionnaire were included in the multi-adjusted models. Hazard rate ratios (HRRs) of all-cause mortality were consistently lower for the rather high trust and not particularly high trust respondent categories compared to the very high trust reference category. CVD, cancer and other causes mortality did not display statistically significant results, but all contributed to the significant patterns for all-cause mortality. In some political and administrative settings with longer queueing times for investigation and treatment of some medical conditions including some cancer and CVD diagnoses than officially affirmed, rather high and not particularly high trust in politicians responsible for the healthcare system may be associated with lower mortality compared to the very high trust group.

Generalized trust and military attitudes in Russia: The role of national and global human identification.

Generalized trust is an optimistic view of human nature that influences people's attitudes and behaviour. Most studies focus on the positive effects of generalized trust. However, there is evidence suggesting that generalized trust may be associated with both positive and negative outcomes. In the present study, we focus on the ambivalent associations of generalized trust with the Russians' attitudes towards the Russian invasion in Ukraine. We used cross-sectional design in three online samples of Russian residents (N = 799, 745 and 742) collected in March, May and July 2022. The participants were anonymous volunteers who completed measures of generalized trust, national identity, global human identity and military attitudes. The study has shown that generalized trust was a positive predictor of both national identity and global human identity. National identity, however, predicted positive attitudes towards the invasion and the use of nuclear weapons, whereas global human identity was a negative predictor of those outcomes. Mediation analysis revealed that the indirect effects of generalized trust mediated by the two types of identification had an inverse direction. We interpret the results with reference to the differences in the content of national identity and global human identity.

Institutional trust and prosocial behavior in China: an experimental approach.

We present three studies to demonstrate the important role of institutional trust in promoting prosocial behavior in China. In study 1, we used a Chinese national survey and found that institutional trust significantly predicted people's donation and volunteer activities. In study 2, we experimentally examined the effects of institutional trust in public goods games. Participants allocated more money to public accounts when a positive impression of institutions was implicitly activated than when a negative impression or no concepts were activated. In study 3, we tested the effects of institutional trust in a field experiment with a "pay what you want" strategy. In a charity bazaar, participants who received leaflets that implicitly activated institutional concepts paid more money.

Mediating role of generalized trust between attachment and depression in female adolescents with depression / 四川精神卫生

BackgroundCompared with male adolescents， depression among female adolescents is of higher prevalence and greater severity. The level of generalized trust correlates with the severity of depression， and attachment correlates with the level of generalized trust. Therefore， based on the mediating role of generalized trust between attachment and depression， this study explores the pathogenesis of depression in female adolescents. ObjectiveTo explore the mediating role of generalized trust between paternal， maternal and peer attachment and depression in female adolescents， so as to provide references for improving the depression of female adolescents. MethodsThis study included 73 female adolescents who met the diagnostic criteria for depressive disorder in the International Classification of Diseases， tenth edition（ICD-10） as well as received outpatient and inpatient treatment in Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital between March 2022 and October 2022. Investigation was conducted by use of Revised Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment （IPPA-R）， the Inclusive General Trust Scale （IGTS） and Children's Depression Inventory （CDI）. Pearson correlation analysis was used to explore the correlation between each scale score. The Bootstrap method was used to test the mediating role of generalized trust between attachment and depression. Results① CDI score in female adolescents with depression was negatively correlated with scores of paternal， maternal and peer attachment in IPPA-R （r=-0.463， -0.459， -0.447， P<0.01）. Scores of paternal， maternal and peer attachment in IPPA-R were positively correlated with IGTS score （r=0.372， 0.318， 0.395， P<0.01）. IGTS score was negatively correlated with CDI score （r=-0.531， P<0.01 ）. ②The test of mediating role showed that the direct effect of paternal， maternal and peer attachment on depression level was significant in female adolescents with depression （effect size=-0.138， -0.136， -0.107， 95% CI： -0.236~-0.039， -0.242~-0.029， -0.203~-0.012）. ③The mediating role of generalized trust between paternal， maternal peer attachment and depression level was significant （effect size=-0.069， -0.066， -0.071， 95% CI： -0.127~-0.021， -0.137~-0.010， -0.145~-0.018）. ConclusionPaternal， maternal and peer attachment can influence the depression level of female adolescents both directly and indirectly through the generalized trust.

Socioeconomic stratification and trajectories of social trust during COVID-19.

Extant theory suggests that crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic may change people's trust in others. A crisis-to-solidarity model suggests that people become more trusting, while a crisis-to-negative experience theory suggests that people lose trust, and a stability perspective predicts that social trust will largely remain unchanged. We argue that, when a crisis occurs, trust is likely to fall into distinct trajectories of change that will conform to these different perspectives, and placement into contrasting trajectories of change will be predicated on socioeconomic position. To test our argument, we use data from multiple waves of Canadian national surveys conducted from September 2019 to February 2021 and examine how two major forms of social trust-generalized trust and neighborhood trust-changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. A longitudinal latent class analysis (LLCA) shows increasing, decreasing, and stable trajectories of trust, which conform to each of the proposed patterns. We further show that individuals' baseline socioeconomic position is a strong indicator of the placement in these trajectories. Both forms of trust increased among individuals with higher socioeconomic positions while decreased among individuals with lower socioeconomic positions. This research contributes to the literature on the social context of trust by reconciling contrasting views of the consequences of crises for trust, and also in showing that the segmentation of changes in trust are proscribed by structures of social stratification.

Generalized trust and traffic violations: The moderating role of the individualism dimension.

Traffic crashes take well over a million lives every year and are mainly caused by driver behavior and traffic violations. Drivers' attitudes and beliefs are at the root of whether traffic violations will be committed, making it important to explore what contributes to disobedience of traffic law. Generalized trust is one of the most influential factors in interpersonal behavior but has not yet been studied empirically in the context of driving behavior in general, and traffic violations in specific. Using data from about 30,000 participants from 20 European countries, this study examines the relationship between generalized trust and committing traffic violations while paying attention to differences between countries scoring high and low in individualism. A multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression analysis shows that in countries with high individualism scores, the probability to commit traffic violations increases significantly as generalized trust increases, while the association between generalized trust and traffic violations decreases as the country's individualism level decreases. The findings and their implications are discussed with suggestions for future research.

The Importance of Consumer Authorities for the Production and Maintenance of Trust and Social Capital in Consumer Markets.

Trust is a valuable resource that varies between countries. This paper suggests that consumers' trust in retailers and service providers, facilitating interactions and transactions between sellers and buyers in impersonal markets, is best understood as generalized trust. The paper is based on 28 037 respondents' evaluations of consumer conditions in 30 European countries. The material reveals large country-to-country variations in the percentages of residents who trust public authorities to protect their consumer rights. Moreover, there are large differences in the percentages who trust retailers and service providers to respect their rights as consumers. A multilevel path analysis supports the paper's main hypothesis that fair and effective consumer authorities enhance generalized trust in the markets. The analyses also demonstrate that fair and effective consumer institutions contribute to more equality in the markets. It is argued that consumer markets are important arenas for the maintenance and production of trust and social capital. And that generalized trust produced in markets will probably extend to, and be valuable for, the wider society.

Trust in the healthcare system and mortality: A population-based prospective cohort study in southern Sweden.

Aims: To investigate associations between trust in the healthcare system and all-cause, cardiovascular, cancer and other causes mortality. Study design: Prospective cohort study. Methods: A public health questionnaire was conducted in 2008 in Scania, the southernmost part of Sweden, with a 54.1% participation rate with a postal questionnaire and three reminders. In this study 24,833 respondents were included. The baseline questionnaire study was linked to prospective 8.3-year follow-up cause-specific mortality register data. Survival (Cox) regression analyses were conducted. Results: A 15.2% proportion of respondents reported very high, 59.1% rather high, and 21.7% not particularly high trust in the healthcare system, while 3.2% reported no trust at all and 0.9% did not know. The groups with rather high and not particularly high trust in the healthcare system had significantly lower all-cause mortality than the reference group with very high trust in the healthcare system. These statistically significant results remained throughout the multiple analyses, and were explained by lower cancer mortality in both the rather high and not particularly high trust respondent groups, and lower cardiovascular mortality in the not particularly high trust respondent group. No significant results were observed in the adjusted models for other causes mortality. No significant results were observed for the no trust and don't know categories in the multiple adjusted models, but these groups are small. Conclusions: The results suggest a comparative advantage of moderate trust compared to very high trust in this setting of long waiting times for cancer and CVD treatment.

Suicidal Ideation during the COVID-19 Pandemic among A Large-Scale Iranian Sample: The Roles of Generalized Trust, Insomnia, and Fear of COVID-19.

The novel 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is still not under control globally. The pandemic has caused mental health issues among many different cohorts and suicidal ideation in relation to COVID-19 has been reported in a number of recent studies. Therefore, the present study proposed a model to explain the associations between generalized trust, fear of COVID-19, insomnia, and suicidal ideation during the COVID-19 pandemic among a large-scale Iranian sample. Utilizing cluster sampling with multistage stratification, residents from Qazvin province in Iran were invited to participate in the present study. Adults aged over 18 years (n = 10,843; 6751 [62.3%] females) completed 'paper-and-pencil' questionnaires with the assistance of a trained research assistant. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was applied to understand the associations between generalized trust, fear of COVID-19, insomnia, and suicidal ideation. Slightly over one-fifth of the participants (n = 2252; 20.8%) reported suicidal ideation. Moreover, the SEM results indicated that generalized trust was indirectly associated with suicidal ideation via fear of COVID-19 and insomnia. Furthermore, generalized trust was not directly associated with suicidal ideation. The proposed model was invariant across gender groups, age groups, and participants residing in different areas (i.e., urban vs. rural). Generalized trust might reduce individuals' suicidal ideation during the COVID-19 pandemic period via reduced levels of fear of COVID-19 and insomnia. Healthcare providers and policymakers may want to assist individuals in developing their generalized trust, reducing fear of COVID-19, and improving insomnia problems to avoid possible suicidal behaviors.

Association between COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and generalized trust, depression, generalized anxiety, and fear of COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: Although numerous studies have been published on the predictors of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, some possible predictors remain underexplored. In this study, we explored the associations of unwillingness and indecisiveness regarding COVID-19 vaccination with generalized trust, mental health conditions such as depression and generalized anxiety, and fear of COVID-19. METHODS: Data of wave 1 (from October 27 till November 6, 2020) and wave 3 (from April 23 till May 6, 2021) of a longitudinal online study conducted in Japan were used for the analyses. Unvaccinated participants were asked at wave 3 about their willingness to be vaccinated, with possible responses of willing, unwilling, or undecided. These three responses were used as the outcome variable, and multinomial logistic regression analyses were conducted with willingness to be vaccinated as the reference group. Explanatory variables included generalized trust, depression, generalized anxiety, and fear of COVID-19 both at wave 1 and 3, and sociodemographic and health-related variables. RESULTS: Of the 11,846 valid respondents, 209 (1.8%) answered that they had already been vaccinated against COVID-19, 7089 (59.8%) responded that they were willing to be vaccinated, 3498 (29.5%) responded that they were undecided, and 1053 (8.9%) responded that they were unwilling to be vaccinated. After adjusting for covariates, we found that: (1) participants with lower levels of generalized trust at wave 1 and 3 were more likely to be undecided or unwilling at wave 3; (2) respondents with moderately severe or severe depression at wave 1 and 3 were more likely to be undecided at wave 3; (3) participants with moderate or severe levels of generalized anxiety at wave 3 but not at wave 1 were more likely to be unwilling at wave 3; and (4) respondents with high levels of fear of COVID-19 at wave 1 and 3 were less likely to be undecided and unwilling at wave 3. CONCLUSIONS: Generalized trust, mental health conditions such as depression and generalized anxiety, and low level of fear of COVID-19 are associated with unwillingness or indecision regarding being vaccinated against COVID-19.

Neighborhood as a place to foster generalized trust among young adults in Hong Kong.

AIMS: Generalized trust is a crucial determinant of individual and social well-being and is the fundamental element of a healthy society. However, a decline in generalized trust was observed among Hong Kong young adults, despite local neighborhoods, and placed-based experiences gaining popularity among Hong Kong young people. Hence, this paper examines the effect of neighborhood-level factors on promoting generalized trust. METHOD: Cross-sectional data were obtained from 1635 young adults aged 17-23 through mixed-mode surveys-a computer-assisted telephone interviewing CATI telephone survey, an online survey, and a mail survey. RESULTS: Logistic regression results showed that neighborhood cohesiveness, being an active member of a religious organization, being an active member of a local youth organization, acceptance of ethnic diversity, and having a good parental relationship were related to higher odds of reporting generalized trust. CONCLUSION: Research and practice implications and the international relevance of the findings are discussed.

The mediational role of trust in the healthcare system in the association between generalized trust and willingness to get COVID-19 vaccination in Iran.

For some individuals, there appears to be some level of unwillingness in getting a COVID-19 vaccine which may be due to trust issues. The present study used a mediation model to investigate how trust is associated with an individual's willingness to get COVID-19 vaccination among Iranians. A total of 10,843 Iranian adults were recruited in Qazvin province using a multistage stratified cluster sampling method. The survey was completed between February 19 and April 9, 2021. The findings showed that generalized trust was positively associated with trust in the healthcare system, trust in the healthcare system was positively associated with willingness to get COVID-19 vaccination, and generalized trust was positively associated with willingness to get COVID-19 vaccination. Also, trust in the healthcare system mediated the association between generalized trust and willingness to get COVID-19 vaccination. There were some significant demographic differences in COVID-19 vaccination willingness. The findings suggest that generalized trust plays a significant role in directly or indirectly influencing individuals' willingness to get COVID-19 vaccine. Therefore, government bodies and health officials may utilize these findings to appeal in a more transparent and professional manner in encouraging individuals to get a COVID-19 vaccine. However, for those with lower trust levels (in general and in the healthcare system), the focus may be to re-build and/or regain the individuals' trust through carefully planned transparent communication, information dissemination, and ethical education to help increase the uptake of COVID-19 vaccination.

The Relationship Between Social Class and Generalized Trust: The Mediating Role of Sense of Control.

The success and well-being theory of trust holds that higher social class is associated with higher generalized trust, and this association has been well documented in empirical research. However, few studies have examined the processes that might explain this link. This study extends this assumption to explore the mediating mechanism in the association. We hypothesized that social class would positively predict generalized trust, and the relationship would be mediated by people's sense of control. Self-report data were collected from 480 adults (160 males, 320 females; ages 18-61) who participated through an online crowdsourcing platform in China. The results of multiple regression and mediation analyses supported the hypothesized model. This research provides further support for the success and well-being theory of trust, and builds on it by identifying greater sense of control as a possible explanation for the link between high social class and generalized trust. Limitations and possible future research are discussed.

Trusting Others During a Pandemic: Investigating Potential Changes in Generalized Trust and Its Relationship With Pandemic-Related Experiences and Worry.

Generalized trust, the belief that most other people can be trusted, has positive consequences for health and wellbeing. An increased sense of community is often seen in times of crisis or disaster, but it is unclear whether this is the case in the COVID-19 pandemic. The objectives of the current study were to assess whether generalized trust increased in an early pandemic phase compared to pre-pandemic levels, and whether trust was lower in individuals who felt particularly threatened or burdened in the pandemic. We compared levels of generalized trust in a population-representative Norwegian sample (n = 1,041) with pre-pandemic levels from the European Social Survey (ESS). Age- and gender-adjusted expected scores were compared to observed scores, using weighted data. Secondly, we tested whether indicators of pandemic-related strain, perceived health risks, or pandemic-related worry were associated with a lower level of generalized trust. This cross-sectional study was conducted in an early opening-up phase (May, 2020). The observed levels of generalized trust in an early pandemic phase did not differ significantly from expected levels based on pre-pandemic measures. Higher trust was found among individuals who reported personal experience with the COVID-19 disease (tested positive, admitted to hospital, or lost someone to the disease). Pandemic-related worry and a high perceived health threat were both associated with a lower level of generalized trust. These results indicate that personal experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic could influence trust in others, although this link may be context-dependent. Generalized trust is considered to be an important asset in society, and promote health and well-being. As the pandemic evolves, there is a risk that we may lose, or a chance that we could gain, trust, with potential consequences for our health.

Perceived Social Support from Different Sources and Adolescent Life Satisfaction Across 42 Countries/Regions: The Moderating Role of National-Level Generalized Trust.

Although previous research established a positive association between perceived social support and adolescent life satisfaction, little is known about the relative importance of different sources of support for adolescent life satisfaction and cross-country variations in this respect. Using large-scale representative samples from the 2017/18 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study, this study examined to what extent the association between social support and life satisfaction in early adolescence varied across different social sources and countries. Also, it examined whether cross-country variations are explained by national-level generalized trust, a sociocultural factor that shapes adolescent socialization. National-level data were linked to data from 183,918 early adolescents (Mage = 13.56, SD = 1.63, 52% girls) from 42 European and North American countries/regions obtained from HBSC. Multilevel regression analyses yielded a positive association between support from different sources and life satisfaction. The strongest associations were found for support from families, followed by teachers and classmates, and weakest for support from friends. Associations varied across different countries/regions. National-level trust amplified the association between perceived classmate support and adolescent life satisfaction. The revealed cross-country differences open avenues for future cross-cultural research on explanations for cross-cultural differences in the association between social support from different sources and life satisfaction in early adolescence.

Epidemics and trust: The case of the Spanish Flu.

Recent studies argue that major crises can have long-lasting effects on individual behavior. While most studies focused on natural disasters, we explore the consequences of the global pandemic caused by a lethal influenza virus in 1918-19: the so-called "Spanish Flu." This was by far the worst pandemic of modern history, causing up to 100 million deaths worldwide. Using information about attitudes of respondents to the General Social Survey, we find evidence that experiencing the pandemic likely had permanent consequences in terms of individuals' social trust. Our findings suggest that lower social trust was passed on to the descendants of the survivors of the Spanish Flu who migrated to the United States. As trust is a crucial factor for long-term economic development, our research offers a new angle from which to assess current health threats.