Happiness In Life Hinges On This Key Trait, Study Finds
The secret to a happier life might not be what you own, but who you believe in.
Happy people
New research published in
Psychological Bulletin
reveals that trust plays a powerful role in how happy we feel, and that the two reinforce each other over time. People who trust others tend to report higher levels of well-being, and people who are happier tend to become more trusting.
The findings stem from a meta-analysis of nearly 1,000 studies, involving data from over 2.5 million participants, that explored the connection between trust and subjective well-being across different age groups, relationships, and cultures.
Researchers discovered that personal trust — the kind shared with friends, partners, and family — has the most substantial impact on happiness. General trust in humanity followed, while trust in institutions had a weaker, albeit still significant, effect.
Age also plays a role in this relationship. Children, teenagers, and older adults exhibited the strongest connections between trust and happiness, whereas young and middle-aged adults had weaker but still meaningful ties.
The researchers assert that the relationship between trust and happiness is not one-dimensional; each element reinforces the other in a feedback loop of emotions.
These findings suggest that cultivating trust — in individuals, communities, and institutions — may be just as crucial for emotional well-being as self-care and financial stability.
The study, titled “Trust and Subjective Well-Being Across the Lifespan,” was conducted by an international research team led by Shanshan Bi and is available via the APA PsycArticles database.
