Distrust of strangers reduces life expectancy

Do you feel suspicion toward strangers? If the answer is Yes, then you can expect early death.

People who trust strangers, live longer, and those who treat them with suspicion, have an increased risk of premature death. These are the results of this study. The authors assessed health and the attitude towards strangers more than 25,000 Americans of different social and ethnic origin. Data evaluation was conducted in the period from 1978 to 2010. It turned out that the level of confidence or degree of accommodation in those regions where distrust is widespread, it is possible to reliably predict the likelihood of premature death.

Received the first proof of a connection between trust in strangers and the time of death. However, these findings cannot be considered surprising, because trusting people are more likely to communicate and, in General, are experiencing lower levels of stress. And socialization and stress are two factors that affect the time of death. However, this study showed that the degree of gullibility of Americans over the past decade has fallen sharply. And this trend, as the researchers believe, may have what is called grave consequences for residents of the United States, as in the case of the number of premature deaths increases.

Found that distrust of strangers reduces life expectancy by approximately 10 months. However, this study has its vulnerabilities, because each of the participants the authors interviewed only once over a period of 32 years. During this time, the level of trust can change significantly. (READ MORE)