Tracking the Association between Health and Generalized and Institutional Trust over Time and Space

Objective: We tracked the association between generalized and institutional trust and health in 26 countries from 2006 to 2016 by covering periods before, during, and after the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. Methods: Our data are from 3 waves of the Life-in-Transition survey coverings 26 countries in 3 waves (2006, 2010, and 2016). Thus, in our analysis persons are simultaneously nested in countries and through time without a pure hierarchy, because our data contains 3 waves of the survey for analysis, where each wave includes 26 countries. To address these variations, we estimate a cross-classified, varying-intercept, ML linear regression model with the following 4 levels – individual, countries, time, and countries multiplied by time. Results: There was a strong positive association between both generalized and institutional trusts and health. This effect was consistent for the whole sample, regional subsamples, and for female/male subsamples. This effect was also consistent for the whole period under investigation. Conclusions: Given the importance of generalized trust and institutional trust for health, authorities should focus on ways to build and maintain both types of trust.