Research on the Relationship Between Happiness and Trust in Students

Abstract

One of the greatest predictors of happiness is the satisfaction with interpersonal relationships. The basis of development of interpersonal relationships is trust. At the same time, trust is preconditioned by history and culture and has national characteristics. In Russia during the 1990s the social psychological phenomenon «trust deficit» of the population was formed, that was manifested in every sphere of life. Today the generation that grew up in that atmosphere of «trust deficit» has reached the college-student age. In this article the results of the study of correlation of happiness and self-trust, trust to other people and to the world, and with such personal characteristic as gullibility are presented. A hundred students (23 male and 77 female) aged 18 to 22 took part in the study. The following diagnostic tools were used: «Update Oxford happiness questionnaire»; «Cattel 16PF questionnaire (factor L «Vigilance»)»; A.B. Kupreichenko method «Study of trustiness/untrustiness of a person towards the world, the people, themselves»; A.B Kupreichenko method «Measure of trustiness/untrustiness of a person towards other people». The study revealed significant positive correlation of happiness and self-trust, with such personal characteristic as gullibility, and negative correlation with the trust towards the world. The students who are more self-reliant, who rely on their own resources and don’t rely on the help from the outside world appear to be happier.