The relation between children’s trust beliefs and trusting behavior in peer interaction was examined. One hundred and 5 Italian children (54 boys; mean age = 10 years-7 months) completed standardized scales of reliability (i.e., promise keeping) trust beliefs in parents and peers. The children participated in mixed-motive interactions with classmates which assessed behavior-dependent reliability trust on peers. The children’s reliability trustworthiness towards peers/classmates was assessed by peer reports. The SEM analyses supported the hypothesized model by showing: (1) a path between trust beliefs in parents and trust beliefs in peers; (2) paths between both types of trust beliefs and behavior-dependent trust on peers; (3) a path between behavior-dependent trust in peers and trustworthiness towards peers. Trust beliefs in peers were found to mediate the relation between trust beliefs in parents and behavior-dependent trust in peers. The findings yielded support for the basis, domain, and target trust framework and attachment theory. 1. Introduction Children’s trust beliefs and trusting behavior play a crucial role in their psychosocial functioning [1–4]. There is, however, an important gap in our knowledge. There is a lack of evidence regarding the relation between children’s trust beliefs in others (i.e., parents and peers) and the children’s trusting behavior in peer interactions. Research has not adequately examined: (a) the precise relation between children’s trust beliefs in peers and trusting behavior in peer interaction and (b) the relation between children’s trust beliefs in parents and that trusting behavior. The current study was designed to redress that gap in our knowledge. It was guided by the basis, domain, and target (BDT) interpersonal trust framework [3] and attachment theory [5]. 2. The BDT Interpersonal Trust Framework The BDT interpersonal trust framework [3, 6] comprises 3 Bases (reliability, honesty, and emotional) × 3 Domains (cognitive/affective, behavior-dependent, and behavior-enacting) × 2 Target Dimensions (specificity and familiarity). The framework includes the following three bases of trust: (a) reliability, which refers to a person fulfilling his or her word and promise; (b) emotional trust, which refers to a person refraining from causing emotional harm, such as being receptive to disclosures, maintaining confidentiality of them, refraining from criticism, and avoiding acts that elicit embarrassment; and (c) honesty, which refers to a person telling the truth and engaging in behaviors that are guided by benign rather
References
[1]
E. H. Erikson, Childhood and Society, Norton, New York, NY, USA, 1963.
[2]
P. L. Harris, “Trust,” Developmental Science, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 135–138, 2007.
[3]
K. J. Rotenberg, “The conceptualization of interpersonal trust: a basis, domain, and target framework,” in Interpersonal Trust During Childhood and Adolescence, K. J. Rotenberg, Ed., pp. 2–27, Cambridge University Press, New York, NY, USA, 2010.
[4]
J. A. Simpson, “Foundations of interpersonal trust,” in Social Psychology: Handbook of Basic Principles, A. W. Kruglanski and E. T. Higgins, Eds., pp. 587–607, Guilford Press, New York, NY, USA, 2nd edition, 2007.
[5]
J. Bowlby, Attachment. Attachment and Loss, vol. 1, Basic Books, New York, NY, USA, 1969.
[6]
K. J. Rotenberg, “Loneliness and interpersonal trust,” Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, vol. 13, pp. 152–173, 1994.
[7]
L. R. Betts and K. J. Rotenberg, “A social relations analysis of children's trust in their peers across the early years of school,” Social Development, vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 1039–1055, 2008.
[8]
D. J. Hochreich, “A children's scale to measure interpersonal trust,” Developmental Psychology, vol. 9, no. 1, article 141, 1973.
[9]
J. B. Rotter, “Interpersonal trust, trustworthiness, and gullibility,” American Psychologist, vol. 35, no. 1, pp. 1–7, 1980.
[10]
K. J. Rotenberg, N. Addis, L. R. Betts et al., “The relation between trust beliefs and loneliness during early childhood, middle childhood, and adulthood,” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, vol. 36, no. 8, pp. 1086–1100, 2010.
[11]
K. J. Rotenberg, P. McDougall, M. J. Boulton, T. Vaillancourt, C. Fox, and S. Hymel, “Cross-sectional and longitudinal relations among peer-reported trustworthiness, social relationships, and psychological adjustment in children and early adolescents from the United Kingdom and Canada,” Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, vol. 88, no. 1, pp. 46–67, 2004.
[12]
K. J. Rotenberg, K. J. Macdonald, and E. V. King, “The relationship between loneliness and interpersonal trust during middle childhood,” Journal of Genetic Psychology, vol. 165, no. 3, pp. 233–249, 2004.
[13]
D. D. DeLawyer and S. L. Foster, “The effects of peer relationship on the functions of interpersonal behaviors of children,” Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, vol. 15, pp. 127–133, 1986.
[14]
K. J. Rotenberg and M. J. Boulton, “The relations between interpersonal trust consistency and quality of peer relationships during childhood,” Social Development, vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 225–241, 2013.
[15]
J. Bowlby, Separation: Anxiety & Anger. Attachment and Loss, vol. 2, Hogarth Press, London, UK, 1973.
[16]
J. Bowlby, Loss: Sadness & Depression. Attachment and Loss, vol. 3, Hogarth, London, UK, 1980.
[17]
D. A. Cohn, “Child-mother attachment of six-year-olds and social competence at school,” Child Development, vol. 61, no. 1, pp. 152–162, 1990.
[18]
A. F. Lieberman, “Preschoolers' competence with a peer: relations with attachment and peer experience,” Child Development, vol. 48, pp. 1277–1287, 1977.
[19]
G. C. Armsden and M. T. Greenberg, “The inventory of parent and peer attachment: individual differences and their relationship to psychological well-being in adolescence,” Journal of Youth and Adolescence, vol. 16, no. 5, pp. 427–454, 1987.
[20]
K. M. Dwyer, “The meaning and measurement of attachment in middle and late childhood,” Human Development, vol. 48, no. 3, pp. 155–182, 2005.
[21]
A. Sakai, “Children’s sense of trust in significant others: genetic versus environmental contributions and buffer to life stressors,” in Interpersonal Trust During Childhood and Adolescence, K. J. Rotenberg, Ed., pp. 56–84, Cambridge University Press, New York, NY, USA, 2010.
[22]
G. Bosmans, C. Braet, E. Koster, and R. de Raedt, “Attachment security and attentional breadth toward the attachment figure in middle childhood,” Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, vol. 38, no. 6, pp. 872–882, 2009.
[23]
K. H. Corriveau, P. L. Harris, E. Meins et al., “Young children's trust in their mother's claims: longitudinal links with attachment security in infancy,” Child Development, vol. 80, no. 3, pp. 750–761, 2009.
[24]
S. Imber, “Relationship of trust to academic performance,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 145–150, 1973.
[25]
K. J. Rotenberg, C. Fox, S. Green et al., “Construction and validation of a children's interpersonal trust belief scale,” British Journal of Developmental Psychology, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 271–292, 2005.
[26]
B. H. Schneider, L. Atkinson, and C. Tardif, “Child-parent attachment and children's peer relations: a quantitative review,” Developmental Psychology, vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 86–100, 2001.
[27]
H. H. Kelley, J. G. Holmes, N. L. Kerr, H. T. Reis, C. E. Rusbult, and P. A. M. Van Lange, An Atlas of Interpersonal Situations, Cambridge University Press, New York, NY, USA, 2003.
[28]
P. M. Averill and T. G. Power, “Parental attitudes and children's experiences in soccer: correlates of effort and enjoyment,” International Journal of Behavioral Development, vol. 18, pp. 263–276, 1995.
[29]
H. Feldlaufer, C. Midgley, and J. S. Eccles, “Student, teacher, and observer perceptions of the classroom environment before and after the transition to junior high school,” The Journal of Early Adolescence, vol. 8, pp. 133–156, 1988.
[30]
T. A. Ridenour, M. T. Greenberg, and E. T. Cook, “Structure and validity of people in my life: a self-report measure of attachment in late childhood,” Journal of Youth and Adolescence, vol. 35, no. 6, pp. 1037–1053, 2006.
[31]
L. R. Betts and K. J. Rotenberg, “Trustworthiness, friendships and self-control: factors that contribute to young children's school adjustment,” Infant and Child Development, vol. 16, pp. 491–508, 2007.
[32]
K. L. Moilanen, D. S. Shaw, T. J. Dishion, F. Gardner, and M. Wilson, “Predictors of longitudinal growth in inhibitory control in early childhood,” Social Development, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 326–347, 2010.
[33]
K. J. Rotenberg, “Sex differences in children's trust in peers,” Sex Roles, vol. 11, no. 9-10, pp. 953–957, 1984.
[34]
K. J. Rotenberg, N. Michalik, N. Eisenberg, and L. R. Betts, “The relations among young children's peer-reported trustworthiness, inhibitory control, and preschool adjustment,” Early Childhood Research Quarterly, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 288–298, 2008.
[35]
L. T. Hu and P. M. Bentler, “Evaluating model fit,” in Structural Equation Modeling: Concepts, Issues, and Applications, R. H. Hoyle, Ed., pp. 76–99, Sage, Thousand Oaks, Calif, USA, 1995.
[36]
K. J. Preacher and A. F. Hayes, “SPSS and SAS procedures for estimating indirect effects in simple mediation models,” Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, and Computers, vol. 36, no. 4, pp. 717–731, 2004.
[37]
J. Cohen, P. Cohen, S. G. West, and L. S. Aiken, Applied Multiple Regression/Correlation Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences, Lawrence Erlbaum, Mahwah, NJ, USA, 3rd edition, 2003.
[38]
B. M. Byrne, Structural Equation Modelling: Basic Concepts, Applications, and Programming, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ, USA, 2001.
[39]
P. A. Wyman, W. Cross, C. H. Brown, Q. Yu, X. Tu, and S. Eberly, “Intervention to strengthen emotional self-regulation in children with emerging mental health problems: proximal impact on school behavior,” Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, vol. 38, no. 5, pp. 707–720, 2010.
