The relationship among generalized trust, social networks, and social resources across 30 countries

Abstract

The study proposes an integrative model of individual social capital and examines if trust, social networks, and social resources are related across countries. Although trust and social resources were often referred to as social capital or its essential components, the literature lacks empirical verification of whether and how they are associated. Particularly, examining the relationship by a specific measurement of social networks is imperative. The relationship should be identified considering the influences of country-level contingencies. The study applied a multilevel within-between mixed regression method to the International Social Survey Program 2017 data from 30 countries. Using a position generator of social networks, the study found that generalized trust was associated with interpersonal networks primarily through weak ties across countries, accounting for country-level contingencies. Both strong and weak ties were instrumental in embedding social resources. The results supported the integrative model of social capital that connects generalized trust to social resources.