Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Social Basis Of Trust In Government, Ghulam M. Haniff

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

The relationship between the attitude of trust in government and socio-economic characteristics of the respondents is examined . Survey research data permit an empirical assessment of political trust as the dependent variable . The concept of political trust is operationalized through an interview question, and the independent variable is given empirical reference by the use of demographic data. The evidence suggests that a low level of political trust is pervasive throughout all the segments of the American society and that trust in government is not highly correlated with any social group.