Trust and subjective well-being: The case of Serbia

Trust is a core component of social capital and it captures two dimensions: interpersonal trust and institutional trust. The majority of previous studies have examined the role of trust in economic and political processes, whereas much less is known about the relationship between trust and subjective well-being (SWB). The present study aimed at examining the unique contribution of interpersonal and institutional trust to the three indicators of SWB (life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect) over and above socio-demographic variables. The sample included 969 Serbian adults (Mage = 42.89 years). The results showed that interpersonal trust was a robust predictor of SWB over and above socio-demographic variables, whereas institutional trust had limited predictive value for SWB. Our findings suggested that trust in other people was strongly related both to evaluative and to affective components of SWB, whereas the level of trust in institutions had negligible effects on SWB.