A measure of the trust beliefs of elderly individuals

Rotter's trust scale was modified for use as a measure of trust beliefs of elderly individuals. Analyses of 140 elderly individuals' responses on the scale yielded support for its internal consistency, reliability and validity. As evidence for the latter, the scale was correlated with peer sociometric ratings of trusting. Factor analyses revealed that the trust scale was composed of four factors: 1) dependability of social-legal organizations; 2) fear of being cheated; 3) dependability of specific social groups to fulfill their promises; and 4) adherence to trustworthy ideals within society. A complex relationship was found between trust and income; income correlated positively with the total score and both the first and second trust factors, but negatively correlated with the third factor. This was attributed to the tendency of elderly individuals with low income to place their trust in specific groups rather than social-legal organizations, and to their fear of crime. A curvilinear shift with age was found in the first trust factor and was attributed to post-retirement experiences in middle-old age and a form of generativity in very old age.