Peer-reviewed article
Solid or Flexible? Social Trust from Early Adolescence to Young Adulthood
2018Abdelzadeh, A., & Lundberg, E.Scandinavian Political Studies
What is this study about?
The study examines how social trust – people's general trust in others – develops from early adolescence into young adulthood. Using longitudinal data that follow the same individuals over several years, both stability and change in trust are analysed. The study thereby tests whether social trust is primarily a stable orientation established early in life or whether it continues to be shaped by experiences during the adolescent years.
What did we find?
How stable is our trust in other people? By following young people from early adolescence into young adulthood, the study shows that social trust can both change and stabilize over time. The changes are greatest during the early adolescent years and then diminish, pointing to adolescence as an important period for the development of social trust.
Why does it matter?
Social trust matters for people's relationships with one another and is also regarded as an important resource for social cohesion and democracy. If trust were fully stable from early in life, later social experiences would have limited significance. Instead, the study shows that there is a period during adolescence when social trust is still particularly malleable, before it gradually becomes more stable. This makes the adolescent years central for understanding both how trust develops and which experiences and environments can contribute to long-term differences between people.
Citation
Abdelzadeh, A., & Lundberg, E. (2018) Solid or Flexible? Social Trust from Early Adolescence to Young Adulthood. Scandinavian Political Studies 40(2) 207–227
Research area
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