Interpersonal trust: Its relevance for developing positive emotions and social skills during childhood

Abstract

Identifying the factors that contribute to healthy child development represents a significant challenge for psychological discipline. This research sought to examine whether interpersonal trust fosters positive emotions and social skills during middle childhood. In this study participated 952 Argentine children (52.2% girls; M age = 10.98 and SD = 1.21) who completed psychometric scales. The sample was selected by availability, according to the possibility of access to school institutions to carry out the survey. Two factorial MANOVAS were performed to study the influence of interpersonal trust and distrust on five positive emotions and four aspects of social interaction, respectively. The results indicated that trust promotes joy, sympathy, gratitude, serenity, and personal satisfaction, and distrust inhibits joy but increases sympathy. Also, it was found that trust positively influences appropriate social behaviors and reduces aggressiveness, while distrust facilitates aggressiveness, arrogance, and social anxiety. In conclusion, interpersonal trust provides benefits during middle childhood, as it promotes positive emotional experience and social interaction skills; on the contrary, distrust could be considered a risk factor for children’s wellbeing.