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[2L04] Does conflict exposure decrease social trust in Cambodia?: Evidence from Cambodia Socio-Economic Survey 2021
Keywords:Conflict, Trust, Cambodia
Past research suggests that conflict exacerbates group divisions by inducing ingroup solidarity and outgroup derogation (e.g., Bauer et al., 2014). However, evidence is mixed regarding when ingroup trust increases as the result of conflict exposure (e.g., Lewis and Topal, 2023). The present study examines the impact of conflict exposure on social trust toward various kinds of ingroups and outgroups in Cambodia, where nearly a quarter of Cambodian citizens were killed by the Khmer Rouge between 1975-1979.
Using the Cambodia Socio-Economic Survey (2021) which includes a nationally representative sample of 10080 households, a series of multiple regression analyses were conducted on ten outcomes including the levels of 1) general trust, 2) trust toward various kinds of ingroups (family, neighborhood, village, commune, district, and province), 3) trust toward various kinds of outgroups (religion, nationality, and province). Exposure to conflict-related violence (conflict exposure) was entered as a main independent variable with a set of control variables including demographic information, social dominance orientation, religiosity, depression, and migration history, as well as province as a fixed-effect in a model while adjusting p-values for multiple inferences.
Preliminary results indicate that conflict exposure is associated with reduced trust not only toward outgroups but also toward ingroups. This is consistent with Lewis and Topal (2023) which focused on trust toward an ethnic ingroup and outgroup across 14 African nations. Implications of the findings for policy and practice are further discussed.
Using the Cambodia Socio-Economic Survey (2021) which includes a nationally representative sample of 10080 households, a series of multiple regression analyses were conducted on ten outcomes including the levels of 1) general trust, 2) trust toward various kinds of ingroups (family, neighborhood, village, commune, district, and province), 3) trust toward various kinds of outgroups (religion, nationality, and province). Exposure to conflict-related violence (conflict exposure) was entered as a main independent variable with a set of control variables including demographic information, social dominance orientation, religiosity, depression, and migration history, as well as province as a fixed-effect in a model while adjusting p-values for multiple inferences.
Preliminary results indicate that conflict exposure is associated with reduced trust not only toward outgroups but also toward ingroups. This is consistent with Lewis and Topal (2023) which focused on trust toward an ethnic ingroup and outgroup across 14 African nations. Implications of the findings for policy and practice are further discussed.
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