Do autonomous people tend to trust political institutions more? Multi-level evidence across six world regions

The Self-Determination Theory suggests a connection between autonomy supporting vs. controlling interactional style of influential figures, individual autonomy need satisfaction, and attitudes toward these people. Most of the studies that have demonstrated this relationship have been conducted in the proximal social context (family, school, organizations). Only a few studies have examined the role of the distal social context (culture, political system). We aimed to examine the relationship between the political regime, autonomy need satisfaction, and trust in political institutions. To examine the link, we used data from the European Values Study and World Values Survey. The results revealed that higher levels of democracy were positively associated with one’s reported autonomy need satisfaction. This satisfaction, in turn, was positively associated with political trust. This relationship is evident in different regions of the world and at different times, but in some cases, it is stronger in democratic countries than in authoritarian ones.