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

Abstract

Young children's interpersonal trust consistency was examined as a predictor of future school adjustment. One hundred and ninety two (95 male and 97 female, Mage = 6 years 2 months, SDage= 6 months) children from school years 1 and 2 in the United Kingdom were tested twice over one-year. Children completed measures of peer trust and school adjustment and teachers completed the Short-Form Teacher Rating Scale of School Adjustment.Longitudinal quadratic relationships emerged between consistency of children's peer trust beliefs and peer-reported trustworthiness and school adjustment and these varied according to social group, facet of trust, and indictor of school adjustment. The findings support the conclusion that interpersonal trust consistency, especially for secret-keeping, predicts aspects of young children's school adjustment.

How Children Feel Matters: Teacher–Student Relationship as an Indirect Role Between Interpersonal Trust and Social Adjustment

“…Interpersonal trust has been proved to have positive influence on children’s social adjustment, which is beneficial to their individual development ( Rotter, 1980 ; Betts and Rotenberg, 2007 ; Rotenberg et al, 2008 ; Betts et al, 2009 , 2013 ; Wang and Fletcher, 2016 ). According to the norm of reciprocity in social exchange, a higher level of interpersonal trust positively contributes to better teacher–student relationships ( Blau, 1964 ; Rotter, 1980 ), which may in turn facilitate children’s social adjustment ( Pianta et al, 1995 ; Baker et al, 2008 ; Liu et al, 2015 ).…”

“…Scholars believe that the children’s interpersonal trust contributes to their social adjustment for two reasons. The first is that children with higher levels of interpersonal trust may develop better friendships with peers, which may in turn facilitate social adjustment ( Betts and Rotenberg, 2007 ; Betts et al, 2013 ). The second is that children’s interpersonal trust is positively associated with honesty, academic achievement, and effective interpersonal problem solving, which may also promote children’s social adjustment ( Rotenberg et al, 2005a ).…”

“…The second is that children’s interpersonal trust is positively associated with honesty, academic achievement, and effective interpersonal problem solving, which may also promote children’s social adjustment ( Rotenberg et al, 2005a ). Numerous empirical studies have discovered that children’s interpersonal trust has a positive influence on social adjustment ( Betts and Rotenberg, 2007 ; Rotenberg et al, 2008 ; Betts et al, 2009 , 2013 ; Wang and Fletcher, 2016 ). However, the psychological mechanism underlying the effect of interpersonal trust on social adjustment remains unclear.…”

“…Empirical studies have found that one’s high interpersonal trust level can contribute to interpersonal relationships ( Matzler and Renzl, 2006 ; Rotenberg and Boulton, 2013 ). In the school environment, children’s interpersonal trust acts as the “glue” to form and maintain social relationships ( Rotenberg et al, 2005a ; Rotenberg, 2010 ; Betts et al, 2013 ). Previous studies mainly focused on the effect of children’s interpersonal trust on peer relationships ( Betts et al, 2013 ; Rotenberg and Boulton, 2013 ); however, to our knowledge, little research has explored the effect of interpersonal trust on teacher–student relationships.…”

Influences of Teacher–Child Relationships and Classroom Social Management on Child-Perceived Peer Social Experiences During Early School Years

“…Consequently, we know little about the roles of teachers in optimizing children’s perceptions of their peer social experiences and whether teacher influences are above and beyond children’s actual peer social interactions. This an important gap in knowledge because researchers have argued that children’s perceptions of their peer social experiences might be more predictive of their social and psychological well-being and school success than their actual peer interactions ( Betts et al, 2013 ; Troop-Gordon et al, 2019 ; Önder et al, 2019 ). Thus, the current study examines multiple levels of teacher influences, including teacher–child relationships (i.e., closeness and conflict) at the child-level and teachers’ classroom management of interpersonal interactions at the classroom-level, on two aspects of peer social experiences from children’s perspective: peer social support and peer victimization.…”