The Power of Social Trust in Shaping Later Life Well-Being

Our well-being is shaped by the social and cultural environments in which we live. Studies in psychology have highlighted the power of support on the quality of later life. Since 2016, I have led my university's AARP Livable Communities Project, designed to improve the quality of life in a community for its residents. My work has focused on exploring supports that promote well-being for older adults of diverse backgrounds. Community support takes many forms: instrumental, emotional, and or informational. What appears to be the most powerful indicator of the effect of support is an individual’s perception of the support available to them.

These perceptions are based on social trust. There are many definitions of social trust. According to the Pew Research Center (PEW Research Center, 2020), social trust is a belief in the honesty, integrity, and reliability of others; this trust is based on having faith in people. Being safe and comfortable is essential for community engagement. When people feel a sense of social trust, such trust lays the foundation, enabling them to be more cooperative and collaborative in their communities and societies. Social trust is based on community support and services provided to its residents. A community that supports members' livelihood, engages with people, and fulfills their day-to-day needs and obligations is happier and healthier.

Free public transport promotes later life independence

Source: Jasmin B. Tahmaseb

I am currently living in a small city in Germany. The community where I live provides green spaces, walking trails with benches, free bus services to town, and markets in the square where fresh organic produce can be reasonably purchased. There is an extensive train system where, for a small monthly fee, residents can travel anywhere in the country; this same fee allows me to use bicycles and scooters available anywhere in town. Many services are available at no cost or for a nominal price. There is an honor system for many services and purchases, farmers offer self-service stands for eggs and vegetables. A gardener sells tulips that customers can pick and pay for in a container. For such a system to work, there should be trust in people, services, and the system. This is social trust. Support from the community positively affects physical and psychological health. Social and instrumental support enhances well-being, and social trust reduces stress, loneliness, and isolation. Societies and nations that exhibit high levels of social trust foster integrity, ease, and public security.

Historically, theories of social trust tended to have a bottom-up approach focusing on individual personality characteristics associated with trust, such as optimism and resilience. More recent approaches tend to view social trust from a top-down perspective. This view is focused on societies and how those living in a particular society are treated. People develop social trust from living in a “just” society where they feel a sense of safety and security. Societies encourage trusting attitudes and behavior through ethical and humanistic treatment of their citizens and the development of supportive social structures, livable communities, and health-promoting services. Studies have shown that in societies where social trust is high, residents also tend to behave in more trusting ways. They are more helpful, more honest, more giving, and happier. Social trust results from the lived experience in a community and society, and the interpretation of the trustworthiness of a society and the leaders who run that society. Perceptions of social trust are dynamic and continuously evolve in response to current personal, social, and political circumstances.

According to the 2024 World Happiness Report, Finland, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden were the happiest. The Annual World Happiness Report ranks countries based on multiple well-being factors such as life satisfaction, income, support, the perception of freedom, and the perception of corruption. Countries that rank high on the list typically also exhibit higher levels of social trust. People tend to be happier in a country that provides services and aid to its citizens, a country that takes care of its green space, where residents can walk safely, provides medical care, and has available public transportation. Support from our communities and societies shapes our personal and social well-being. Social trust built on support also helps manage late-life challenges, fear, anxiety, and uncertainty. As we face the end of life, viewing humanity positively and believing we have treated others fairly leads to a satisfying evaluation of life.

Walking trails promote well-being

Source: Jasmin B. Tahmaseb