Generalised trust and more organised group membership: the more active the better?

Organised group membership has been central in discussions of social capital since generalised trust is believed to be generated through continuous interaction in social relationships. Is this mechanism for social capital generation affected by different levels of involvement by individuals (i.e. passive, active or office-holder) in organised groups? The focus of this paper is to investigate whether active membership makes a difference to individuals’ levels of generalised trust. Young Australians and permanent residents aged 16 to 25 (N=283) participated in this study through an online survey. The findings support previous literature, which found members of organised groups are more trusting than those who do not participate in any group. The results also indicate that the active members were relatively more trusting, as were those who participated in hobby groups. Furthermore, organised groups which were organised by community organisers accommodate more trusting people. However, the number of memberships one holds does not affect one’s level of generalised trust.