Trust in Your Neighbors Could Benefit Your Health, MU Study Shows

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://munews.missouri.edu/news-releases/2011/0831-trust-in-your-neighbors-could-benefit-your-health-mu-study-shows/

Trust in Your Neighbors Could Benefit Your Health, MU Study Shows

Aug. 31, 2011

Story Contact(s):
Steven Adams, [e-mail], 573 882-8353

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Here’s an easy way to improve your health: trust your neighbors. A new study from the University of Missouri shows that increasing trust in neighbors is associated with better self-reported health.

“I examined the idea of ‘relative position,’ or where one fits into the income distribution in their local community, as it applies to both trust of neighbors and self-rated health,” said Eileen Bjornstrom, an assistant professor of sociology in the MU College of Arts and Science. “Because human beings engage in interpersonal comparisons in order to gauge individual characteristics, it has been suggested that a low relative position, or feeling that you are below another person financially, leads to stress and negative emotions such as shame, hostility and distrust, and that health suffers as a consequence. While most people aren’t aware of how trust impacts them, results indicated that trust was a factor in a person’s overall health.”

In the study, Bjornstrom examined the 2001 Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey. Contrary to expectations, she found that respondents with a higher income, relative to their community, were more likely to be distrustful of their neighbors. Simultaneously, while taking into account factors such as level of education, income, and age, people who reported that “their neighbors can be trusted” also reported better health on average.

“I was surprised about the direction in which relative position was linked to distrust. If affluent individuals are less likely to trust their poorer neighbors, it could be beneficial to attempt to overcome some of the distrust that leads to poor health,” Bjornstrom said. “It is possible that shared community resources that promote interaction, such as sidewalks and parks, could help bridge the neighborhood trust gap, and also promote health and well-being. Residents of all economic statuses might then benefit if community cohesion was increased. Additional research can address those questions.”

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[valerief]

1. I'm just afraid of the damn killer pit bulls. nt

[zanana1]

2. I'm lucky to live in my neighborhood.

The author based trust on income level, but I don't agree. I trust my neighbors because I know them all and they're good, friendly people. We also respect each other. (If their dogs poop on our lawns, they pick it up!) The occasional party that goes on into the night doesn't bother us, and nobody cares what color you paint your house.

[OKIsItJustMe]

3. She didn't base trust on income level

… Contrary to expectations, she found that respondents with a higher income, relative to their community, were more likely to be distrustful of their neighbors. …

i.e. That’s what the survey showed.

If your income is about normal for your community, then (in keeping with the survey results) you’re more likely to trust your neighbors.

[zanana1]

4. That's comparing income levels.

My neighborhood is a mixed bag in that department.

[OKIsItJustMe]

5. Right but…

It’s not as if she started out with the assumption that wealthier people distrust their neighbors, that’s what she found in the data. (Although I can’t say I’m surprised.)

[zanana1]

6. Um....

Are you the author?

[OKIsItJustMe]

8. No, I am not the author

However (unless the paper is written deceptively) the author did not start with the assumption that wealthier people distrusted their poorer neighbors.

[SheilaT]

7. Interesting.

I live in a somewhat high crime part of my city, and I feel quite safe where I live. I know my neighbors, although not incredibly well, and they seem to be good people.

This strikes me as a version of the basic notion of being optimistic, having a good attitude about things, seems (to me) to lead to generally better outcomes. Some people love to wallow in victimhood, or focus tightly on even trivial illness or misfortune, and for them things get worse and worse. Yes, I understand that bad things really do happen, and people get sick through absolutely no fault of their own, but in the long run how you choose to deal with things really matters.