Title: Americans and Social Trust: Who, Where and Why | Pew Research Center
Headings: Americans and Social Trust: Who, Where and Why
Americans and Social Trust: Who, Where and Why
An International Perspective
Why Do We Trust?
Where Do We Trust?
At What Age Do We Trust?
Other Groups that Have a Distinctive Take on Trust
Group Traits that Matter Just a Little – or Not at All
About the Survey
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Content: A new Pew Social Trends Survey is far from the last word on a subject that has bedeviled philosophers and social scientists through the ages, but it can provide base-line answers to some questions and tantalizing hints about others. The telephone survey asked a nationally representative sample of 2,000 adults three questions designed to measure their level of social trust. It found that whites are more trusting than blacks or Hispanics. 1 People with higher family incomes are more trusting than those with lower family incomes. The married are more trusting than the unmarried. The middle-aged and the elderly are more trusting than the young. People who live in rural areas are more trusting than those who live in cities. By contrast, the survey also found that there are some demographic and political traits that have little or no correlation to levels of social trust. Men and women; Republicans and Democrats;