The Influence of Interpersonal Trust on Rural Residents' Willingness to Participate in Mutual Aid for the Aged: An Empirical Analysis Based on the Survey Data of Hubei and Henan Provinces.

Abstract

At present, there is a huge gap between supply and demand of old-age services in rural areas of China. Developing rural mutual old-age services is of great significance to remedy the gap. Based on the survey data of 1200 rural residents in Hubei and Henan provinces, this paper adopts binary logistic regression model to analyze the influence of special trust and general trust on rural residents' willingness to participate in mutual care for the aged. The results show that both special trust and general trust have an impact on rural residents' willingness to participate in mutual support for the elderly, but the effect of special trust on rural residents' willingness to participate in mutual support for the elderly is not significant. General trust has a significant promoting effect on rural residents' willingness to participate in mutual care for the aged. Chinese rural residents' trust in village cadres has a significant promoting effect on their willingness to participate in mutual assistance for the aged. The trust of ordinary friends significantly inhibited their willingness to participate. The educational level, living style, and economic status of Chinese rural residents have a positive impact on their willingness to participate in mutual care for the aged. Age, marital status, health status, and intergenerational relationship are inversely correlated with willingness to participate.