*** ARCHIVED ***
This ScotPHO web section has been archived and is no longer being updated or checked for accuracy, out of date information, broken links, etc. Its content should not be considered current or complete. This web section was archived on 9th May 2023. It was previously published under the Wider Determinants main menu heading.
Community wellbeing: trust - ARCHIVED
Trust in others is associated with improved wellbeing and may also be related to health outcomes and life satisfaction (Parkinson, 2007). Since 2009, the Scottish Health Survey has asked two questions on trust in its biennial module, one on whether adults agreed most people could be trusted and one on whether adults thought most people in their neighbourhood could be trusted.
In 2019, 40% of adults aged 16 plus in Scotland agreed that most people could be trusted. General levels of trust in Scotland appear to have declined between 2015-17 and 2019, with decreases seen across almost all age groups but especially among young adults (data not shown).
Chart 1 shows that general trust in Scotland varies by deprivation quintile. In the least deprived areas in 2019, 44% of adults agreed that most people can be trusted, but this fell to 31% in the most deprived quintile.
In 2019, 55% of adults aged 16+ in Scotland agreed that most of the people in their neighbourhood can be trusted. The proportion of adults agreeing with this statement also varied by deprivation status, from 72% in the least deprived quintile to 31% in the most deprived quintile (Chart 2).
Please note: If you require the most up-to-date data available, please check the data sources directly as new data may have been published since these data pages were last updated. Although we endeavour to ensure that the data pages are kept up-to-date, there may be a time lag between new data being published and the relevant ScotPHO web pages being updated.
