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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Voluntary associations and trust in Finland

subject

description

The article is an empirical study of the hypothesis put forward in theories of social capital, according to which voluntary associations have a positive e ect on trust in people. The central research question of the article is: are association memberships or active participation related to trust towards people in Finland? Looking at the number of association memberships and association registrations shows that association life has been active in Finland. The international comparison shows that particularly in the Nordic countries, people participate in associations on a vast scale. However, it is also important to note that while the old politicalideological associations have lost some of their importance in Finland, several new kinds of associations have emerged. Thus it is relevant to ask whether connections between trust and association activity vary between di erent types of associations. Empirical analysis shows that the members of only certain types of associations ‐ charity associations, sports associations, and cultural associations ‐ were found to be more trusting after various background variables had been elaborated. It was found that, in particular, the number of association memberships has a connection with a stronger level of trust. Even though memberships in associations have a statistically significant link to the trust that people experience, the percentages of variance explained are low.