Disability and social trust: a comparison of people with a spinal cord injury and the general population in Norway, the Netherlands, and South-Africa

Is it the case that social trust is significantly different for people with a disability compared to people without a disability? Or is it the case that disabled people's perception of social trust is country-specific and/or socio-demographic specific? This article analyses how people with spinal cord injuries (SCI) compare with the general population’s perceptions of social trust in Norway, The Netherlands, and South Africa. The study is based on survey data for people with an SCI and the general population. Contrary to our expectations, we find that people with an SCI tend to have a social trust on a par with or somewhat higher than the general population. The low levels of social trust in South Africa are striking compared to levels in Norway and The Netherlands. Those with higher education and those having paid work show higher levels of trust than those who are less educated or those who are unemployed; women have somewhat higher levels of trust than men, and that the mean level of social trust increases with each age group. The findings illustrate a need for more critical empirically oriented research on social trust as well the value of exploring the research object beyond conventional understandings.