Women and Trust Studying Women's Social Trust in Tehran

This is a study on the concept of social trust, a concept that has recently been enjoying an increasing vogue, yet it is not explored enough as far as women’s issues are concerned. Most sociological theorists attribute importance to the role of interactions and relations in establishing trust, and believe that alongside these factors trust finds its true meaning, and can be developed and reinforced. Discussing women’s social trust, limitations on their social relations cannot be ignored. The Iranian patriarchal culture intertwined with prejudiced values, views women as representing dignity and honor of the family and men’s reputation. Therefore, through imposing several restrictions, men try to control women’s behavior as being in line with men’s mindset. Thus, such a system restricts women’s social relationships and prevents their presence in different social circles. In this research we study the role and impact of various factors, such as level and types of women's relations, fundamental trust and powerlessness feeling in respect to the social trust. We have conducted a survey with a statistical sample of 290 married women who lived in districts 3 and 16 of Tehran. Results indicate a significant correlation between level and types of women's relations, fundamental trust, and powerlessness feeling with women’s social trust.