With Age, Comes Trust, New Study Says

New findings published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science show that with age comes a sense of increased trust.

Researchers found striking evidence that as we age, many are more likely to trust one another, thus boosting their wellbeing, overall.

"When we think of old age, we often think of decline and loss," study co-author Claudia Haase, an assistant professor of Human Development and Social Policy at Northwestern's School of Education and Social Policy, said in a news release. "But a growing body of research shows that some things actually get better as we age," Haase said. "Our new findings show that trust increases as people get older and, moreover, that people who trust more are also more likely to experience increases in happiness over time."

After working with two separate studies, a common link was found between both trust and wellbeing as the participants aged.

The first part examined the association between age and trust. Researchers looked at a sample of 197,888 individuals from 83 countries, showing that no matter the culture, the scientists repeatedly saw a general positive association with age and trust. The second portion consisted of just 1,230 people and showed the same result of trust increasing with age, suggesting that "age-related trust" is not a new phenomenon but that it has existed unchanged for close to 30 years. 

"For Millennials, Generation X, and Baby Boomers alike, levels of trust increase as people get older," Haase added. "People really seem to be 'growing to trust' as they travel through their adult years."

"We know that older people are more likely to look at the bright side of things," she added. "As we age, we may be more likely to see the best in other people and forgive the little letdowns that got us so wary when we were younger."