The Relationship of Social Trust and Social Participation with Self-Censorship amongst the Citizens of Yazd

Abstract

This research aims to investigate the level of social trust and participation and their relationships with self-censorship among citizens of Yazd. The population of study includes all citizens of 15-years old and above in Yazd in 1397. The sample size was 384 and the cases were selected through a multi-stage cluster sampling method. The data for this survey was collected using a questionnaire. The face validity and Cronbach's alpha coefficient were employed to examine the validity and reliability of the questionnaire. Findings indicate that self-censorship was moderate among citizens of Yazd and its relationship with two variables of social trust and participation was negative and significant. Social trust with a coefficient of -0.417 and participation with a coefficient of -0.235 had an inverse correlation with self-censorship. The structural equation model was examined by Amos software and the results indicate that the social trust and participation explanin 31 percent of changes of the self-censorship. Based on the results, the variables of social trust and participation are two effective variables in explaining and predicting self-censorship and therefore strengthening social trust and citizen’s participation will reduce their self-censorship.