Interpersonal Trust Consistency and the Quality of Peer Relationships During Childhood

Abstract

Five hundred five children (267 female) enrolled in school years 5 and 6 in the UK (M = 9 years and 9 months) completed measures of trust beliefs in peers, best friendships, ascriptions of trustworthiness, and trustworthiness toward peers. Children's social disengagement, peer preference, and peer victimization were assessed by sociometric ratings. It was found that, relative to children with consistent trust beliefs and trustworthiness, and those with inconsistent low trust beliefs and high trustworthiness, children with high trust beliefs in peers and low trustworthiness toward peers showed (1) low reciprocity of trustworthiness as assessed by disparity in ascribed trustworthiness between best friends, (2) low quality of peer relationships in the form of low peer preference and high peer victimization, and (3) high social disengagement. The findings supported the basis, domain, and target interpersonal trust framework (Rotenberg) as an account of the relation between children's interpersonal trust consistency and quality of peer relationships.

Young children's interpersonal trust consistency as a predictor of future school adjustment

“…Again these findings were consistent with expectation, and the findings of Rotenberg and Boulton (2012), that interpersonal trust consistency is important for psychosocial adjustment.…”

“…Therefore, similar to other peer behaviours (Galvan, Spatzier, & Juvonen, 2011;Kwon & Lease, 2009;Nesdale et al, 2009;Nesdale & Dalton, 2011), peer groups may have embedded interpersonal trust consistency as a normative expectation. In support of this proposition, Rotenberg and Boulton (2012) reported that 9-to 11-year-olds with low interpersonal trust consistency, expressed as high trust beliefs in peers and low peer-reported trustworthiness, reported lower quality peer relationships. Specifically, children with lower interpersonal trust consistency experienced lower peer preference, higher peer victimization, and higher social disengagement in comparison to children with higher interpersonal trust consistency expressed as similar peer trust beliefs and peer-reported trustworthiness scores.…”

“…The likely mechanism that underpins these relationships is that trust and trustworthiness facilitate the development of peer relationships which, in turn, aid positive school adjustment (Betts & Rotenberg, 2007a). However, whilst the role and importance of trust and trustworthiness for social relationships and psychosocial adjustment are widely acknowledged (Rotenberg, 1991(Rotenberg, , 1994(Rotenberg, , 2010Rotter, 1971Rotter, , 1980, researchers have only recently begun to explore the relationship between an individual's trust beliefs and their trustworthiness termed interpersonal trust consistency (Rotenberg & Boulton, 2012). The current study extended this line of research and examined the extent to which interpersonal trust consistency predicted school adjustment over a year in five-to eight-year-olds.…”

“…Interpersonal trust consistency reflects the extent to which there is coherence between an individual's trust beliefs in others and the individual's trustworthiness as reported by Running head: YOUNG CHILDREN'S TRUST CONSISTENCY 4 others (Rotenberg & Boulton, 2012). Drawing on Rotenberg's (1994Rotenberg's ( , 2010 Bases, Domains, and Target framework of interpersonal trust, trust beliefs represent cognitions about, and confidence in, others to engage in trustworthy behaviours such as keeping promises, keeping secrets, telling the truth, and acting honestly.…”

“…Further, it was expected that lower promisekeeping and secret-keeping interpersonal trust consistency would predict reduced school liking, on-task classroom involvement, positive orientation, and maturity, and greater loneliness over a year. Rotenberg and Boulton (2012) proposed that children with peer trust beliefs that exceed peer trustworthiness would be at greatest risk for developing poor peer relationships. Moreover, children with trust beliefs that exceeded their trustworthiness may be regarded as unreliable information sources (Fusaro & Harris, 2007;Harris, 2007) and this in turn may result in poorer social relationships and school adjustment.…”