Disengaged and Untrusting? Young Adults’ Feelings of Social Integration and Trust Amid an Economic Recession

• In Event: 349 - Section on Aging and the Life Course Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 05. Inequality and Insecurity

Abstract

Navigating the transition to adulthood is often fraught with challenges. It is a time when individuals rely on support from existing social networks and establish social capital through the deepening and expanding of social ties. Investing in social ties likely depends on levels of social trust, and vise-versa. How has the economic recession introduced further uncertainty during the transition to adulthood and influenced the relationship between social trust and social integration?
Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) from 2005 (n = 728), 2007 (n = 638), 2009 (n = 634), and 2011 (n = 606), we utilize a cross-lagged model to assess the causal relationship between feelings of social trust and social integration before and during an economic recession among individuals’ at the threshold of the transition to adulthood (ages 17-27). While we find that most young people are not engaged in traditional civic activities, many report feeling that they belong to a community and have something of value to contribute to society. We also find persistent optimistic feelings of social trust over time, which suggests that the economic downturn has not substantially and negatively affected young adults’ outlooks on society and their own futures. Most importantly, we find a mutually causal relationship between feelings of social integration and trust. We discuss the implications of this causal relationship and how it fluctuates over time, perhaps in response to larger social forces such as the economic recession.

Authors

• Jack Day, Oregon State University

• Richard A. Settersten, Oregon State University