Determinants of interpersonal trust in India

Determinants of interpersonal trust in India | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Determinants of interpersonal trust in India Shrestha Saha, Vincent Chua This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3105360/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Research on interpersonal trust has largely overlooked how caste, gender, and development intersect to shape trust dynamics. This study explores how generalised trust (in strangers) and particularised trust (in close relationships) are influenced by individual attributes and broader developmental factors. Using data from the WHO’s Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE) Wave-1 (2007/10), alongside regional-level indicators, the findings reveal that developmental progress, measured by the Human Development Index (HDI), urbanisation, and caste concentration, affects trust differently for social groups. Scheduled Caste individuals show higher generalised trust in more developed districts, indicating that improved socio-economic conditions can mitigate caste-based trust barriers. However, these same conditions fail to support women, who continue to face persistent challenges in forming both generalised and particularised trust in high-HDI districts. This study highlights how developmentalism can reduce caste inequalities but reproduce gender disparities, underlining the need for policies targeting specific gendered barriers and providing a nuanced understanding of trust shaped by both individual and structural factors. Generalised trust Particularised trust Caste India Multilevel modelling Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-3105360","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":592526367,"identity":"dc10aaab-6ad2-4ea3-8c13-8e5247d8209c","order_by":0,"name":"Shrestha Saha","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAzUlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACCTB5gIEfLnKAKC0JBxgkG0jWYgBXSUiL/Ozehw9//rgjb3wjge0xzx8GOb4bCfi1GNw5bmzMk/DMcNuNBHZj3jYGY0mCWiTS2KQZEg4zArWwSfM2MCRuIKRFfkYa+88fCYftN88AagE6rJ6gFoYbaWwMPAmHEzdIgLSwMSQYEHTYjTRmaZ60w8kzzjxsk5zbJmE488wDgg5j/PjD5rBtf3vyMYk3f2zk+Y4TchgCMDYwwBLDKBgFo2AUjAIKAQBrgUS2XKRIpQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1551-9297","institution":"National University of Singapore","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Shrestha","middleName":"","lastName":"Saha","suffix":""},{"id":592526368,"identity":"c5acf9f5-9f96-42e7-93a0-7ce5e0b5f8c8","order_by":1,"name":"Vincent Chua","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8330-7427","institution":"National University of Singapore","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Vincent","middleName":"","lastName":"Chua","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2023-06-25 03:04:02","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3105360/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3105360/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eDeterminants of interpersonal trust in India\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"National University of Singapore","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Generalised trust, Particularised trust, Caste, India, Multilevel modelling","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3105360/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3105360/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eResearch on interpersonal trust has largely overlooked how caste, \u0026nbsp;gender, and development intersect to shape trust dynamics. This study \u0026nbsp;explores how generalised trust (in strangers) and particularised trust \u0026nbsp;(in close relationships) are influenced by individual attributes and \u0026nbsp;broader developmental factors. Using data from the WHO’s Study on Global \u0026nbsp;Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE) Wave-1 (2007/10), alongside \u0026nbsp;regional-level indicators, the findings reveal that developmental \u0026nbsp;progress, measured by the Human Development Index (HDI), urbanisation, \u0026nbsp;and caste concentration, affects trust differently for social groups. \u0026nbsp;Scheduled Caste individuals show higher generalised trust in more \u0026nbsp;developed districts, indicating that improved socio-economic conditions \u0026nbsp;can mitigate caste-based trust barriers. However, these same conditions \u0026nbsp;fail to support women, who continue to face persistent challenges in \u0026nbsp;forming both generalised and particularised trust in high-HDI districts. \u0026nbsp;This study highlights how developmentalism can reduce caste \u0026nbsp;inequalities but reproduce gender disparities, underlining the need for \u0026nbsp;policies targeting specific gendered barriers and providing a nuanced \u0026nbsp;understanding of trust shaped by both individual and structural factors.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Determinants of interpersonal trust in India","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-02-18 10:11:57","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3105360/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"89c82596-6687-451b-9b1c-26857a2cd105","owner":[],"postedDate":"February 18th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-02-18T10:11:57+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-02-18 10:11:57","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-3105360","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-3105360","identity":"rs-3105360","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}