Trust in institutions went along with feeling safer
In surveys from Italy and 16 European countries, it also went along with greater trust in strangers. An experiment found no direct change.
The key idea
In the surveys, trust in institutions went along with feeling safe and greater trust in others. In the experiment, there was no direct increase.
The study, in plain language
Trust in institutions and trust in someone we do not know may seem like different things. The team asked whether feeling safe connects them and brought together three studies to explore the question.
In the Italian survey and responses from 16 European countries, those who trusted institutions more also tended to feel safer and trust other people more. In the third study, an experiment that deliberately changed information about institutions, there was no direct change in trust toward strangers, although feeling safe again appeared in an indirect association. The three samples differed greatly in size, from 94 to more than 180,000 responses.
What they found
- In the Italian survey, those who trusted institutions more felt safer and trusted other people more.
- A survey across 16 European countries showed a similar pattern.
- The experiment showed no direct change in trust toward strangers. Safety appeared in an indirect relationship.
How they studied it
Three complementary studies: a survey of 181 people in Italy; an analysis of the European Social Survey with 180,051 responses from 16 countries; and an experiment with 94 participants in which information about institutions was deliberately changed. The researchers measured perceived safety and trust toward strangers.
What the study cannot show
- Relationships observed in surveys do not prove that institutional trust causes interpersonal trust in everyday life.
- The surveys and experiment took place in different contexts.
Something to think about
The next time you hear people talk about trust, ask which kind they mean: trust in institutions, feeling safe, or trusting other people.
The original study
Enhancing feelings of security: How institutional trust promotes interpersonal trust
Source under CC BY 4.0. English adaptation and explanation by PaperFlow, with AI assistance. The text has been reorganized for a general audience; it is not the complete paper and does not imply endorsement by its authors.
One study alone does not represent a field's consensus. Educational content does not replace professional advice. Report a possible error.
