Want to live a long and happy life? Try trusting friends, strangers, and government, new study says

Yahoo

a day ago

Trust in your neighbours, institutions, and society writ large may be a key ingredient to a long and happy life, new research suggests.
A study in the journal Psychological Bulletin found that people who are generally more trusting tend to report greater well-being, which measures people's mental health and how content they are with their lives – and is in turn tied to longevity and health.
'Our findings show that trust plays a key role in how happy and satisfied people feel, across all ages, especially so for children, adolescents, and older adults,' Catrin Finkenauer, one of the study's authors and a professor at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, said in a statement.
Related
Indonesians are flourishing. People in the UK, Germany, and Spain? Not so much, global survey finds
For the new study, Finkenauer's team looked at three types of trust: interpersonal trust between people who know each other, trust in institutions like the government and banks, and social trust, or the belief that most people are 'honest, reliable, and benevolent'.
They found that people who were more trusting – regardless of the type of trust – tended to report greater well-being. However, the link was stronger among children and teenagers than among adults up through middle age.
Trust and well-being also appear to reinforce each other over time, according to the study, a meta-analysis that compiled data from more than 2.5 million people worldwide.
Related
This small island in Denmark lets stressed students unplug from distractions and study in nature
'Whether it's trust in others, in society, or in institutions, all types matter for well-being,' Finkenauer said.
It's not clear whether well-being directly causes health outcomes, but it has been linked to longer lifespans – four to 10 extra years, one analysis from the UK's Ministry of Health found – as well as better mental health and a lower risk of death from heart disease and cancer.
Notably, not everyone appears to benefit from trust's boost to well-being.
Last year, another study in 38 European countries found that racial and ethnic minorities report lower levels of trust, which can make them more unhappy and dissatisfied with life.
Related
Where in Europe do teenagers have the best and worst mental health?
But that same report found that building trust among minorities helps to boost their well-being, leading researchers to conclude that promoting trust can 'narrow the well-being gap' among people of different backgrounds.
'Trust can't be forced – it has to be earned,' Finkenauer said, adding that families, schools, and governments all bear responsibility for creating supportive, trusting environments.
'When we build trust, we also support mental health and stronger communities,' she said.