Interpersonal trust, homicide and life expectancy: global patterns between 2000-2012

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated whether 1) correlations exist among homicide rates, life expectancy and interpersonal trust among 38 countries between 2000-2012; and (2) whether correlations exist between life expectancy and homicide rates in 14 Caribbean countries between 2000-2012. DESIGN AND METHODS: An ecological study using an aggregated data analysis design was constructed using publicly available data. Interpersonal trust data were gathered from wave 6 (2010-2014) of the world values survey. Life expectancy data (2000-2012) were gathered from the World Bank; homicide rates were provided by the global homicide report published by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in 2013. Data was analyzed in SPSS version 16. RESULTS: Spearman correlation testing indicated that interpersonal trust and homicide rates were significantly correlated (p<.05). Homicide rates and life expectancy were also significantly correlated between the years of 2005-2012 (p<.05). Trust and life expectancy were not significantly correlated. Spearman correlation analysis of homicide and life expectancy in selected Caribbean countries revealed no significant correlation. CONCLUSIONS: The significant correlation between trust and homicide rates suggests that there may be a cultural connection between interpersonal trust and violence at a global level. The consistent correlation between homicide rates and life expectancy between the years of 2005-2012 also implies that population level longevity is detrimentally affected by this connection between interpersonal trust and country level homicide rates. Interpersonal trust presents a potential avenue of public health intervention that may affect rates of crime and increase years of population life expectancy over time.