Abstract
BackgroundVertical and horizontal trust, as dimensions of social capital, may be important determinants of health. As mass media campaigns have been used extensively to promote healthy lifestyles and convey health-related information, high levels of individual trust in the media may facilitate the success of such campaigns and, hence, have a positive influence on health. However, few studies have investigated the relationship between trust levels in mass media, an aspect of vertical trust, and health.MethodsBased on cross-sectional data of the general population from the AsiaBarometer Survey (2003–2006), we analyzed the relationship between self-rated health and trust in mass media, using a multilevel logistic model, adjusted for age, gender, marital status, income, education, occupation, horizontal trust, and trust in the healthcare system.ResultsIn a total of 39082 participants (mean age 38; 49% male), 26808 (69%) were classified as in good health. By the levels of trust in mass media, there were 6399 (16%) who reported that they trust a lot, 16327 (42%) reporting trust to a degree, 9838 (25%) who do not really trust, 3307 (9%) who do not trust at all, and 191 (0.5%) who have not thought about it. In the multilevel model, trust in mass media was associated with good health (do not trust at all as the base group): the odds ratios (OR) of 1.16 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.05–1.27) for do not really trust; OR of 1.35 (95% CI = 1.23–1.49) for trust to a degree, and 1.57 (95% CI = 1.36–1.81) for trust a lot. Horizontal trust and trust in the healthcare system were also associated with health.ConclusionVertical trust in mass media is associated with better health in Asian people. Since mass media is likely an important arena for public health, media trust should be enhanced to make people healthier.
Highlights
Vertical and horizontal trust, as dimensions of social capital, may be important determinants of health
Social capital has developed as a concept indicating the quantity and quality of social interactions in the community and has emerged recently as an important determinant of health [1]
Social capital has been assessed as social participation or social trust [3], recent studies have suggested that a society with high social participation but with low social trust is associated with high-risk adverse behaviors to health [7,8,9,10]
Summary
As dimensions of social capital, may be important determinants of health. Few studies have investigated the relationship between trust levels in mass media, an aspect of vertical trust, and health. Studies suggest that societies and individuals with higher social capital have positive effects on various aspects of physical and psychological health among individuals in those societies [4,5]. Social capital has been assessed as social participation or social trust [3], recent studies have suggested that a society with high social participation but with low social trust is associated with high-risk adverse behaviors to health [7,8,9,10]. Trust has emerged recently as the central means of achieving cooperation in inter-organizational and inter-individual relationships and promoting the accumulation of social capital [3,11]
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