Seyed Alireza Afshani*, Fateme Mahmoud Abadi**

Abstract:

This research aims to investigate the level of social trust and participation and their relationships with self-censorship among citizens of Yazd. The population of study includes all citizens of 15-years old and above in Yazd in 1397. The sample size was 384 and the cases were selected through a multi-stage cluster sampling method. The data for this survey was collected using a questionnaire. The face validity and Cronbach's alpha coefficient were employed to examine the validity and reliability of the questionnaire. Findings indicate that self-censorship was moderate among citizens of Yazd and its relationship with two variables of social trust and participation was negative and significant. Social trust with a coefficient of -0.417 and participation with a coefficient of -0.235 had an inverse correlation with self-censorship. The structural equation model was examined by Amos software and the results indicate that the social trust and participation explanin 31 percent of changes of the self-censorship. Based on the results, the variables of social trust and participation are two effective variables in explaining and predicting self-censorship and therefore strengthening social trust and citizen’s participation will reduce their self-censorship.

Keywords: Self-Censorship, Social Trust, Social Participation, Civil Participation, Citizens.

*Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Yazd University. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

**M.A student in Cooperation and Social Welfare, Department of Social Sciences, Yazd University. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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