| This study developed and validated a new scale for measuring children's trust, the Children's Multidimensional Specific Trust scale, and then evaluated relations of child maltreatment and caregiver empathy with children's trust. The scale and study were based on a multidimensional developmental model of trust, which describes interactive affective, cognitive, and behavioral dimensions, antecedents in nurturant, sensitively responsive parenting, and a developmental evolution of trust concomitant with children's cognitive and socioemotional maturation. The new scale was designed to tap trust towards real people in children's lives: Children's mother, father, teacher, and friend. A factor analysis of the scale yielded factors corresponding to trust towards these four targets and a fifth factor tapping distrust.; Subjects were 276 nonclinic and 26 clinic nonmaltreated, 21 physically and 20 sexually maltreated, and 9 physically and sexually maltreated boys and girls ages 7-15 years. Criterion and predictive validity analyses, employing nonmaltreated children, found moderate positive correlations with extant trust scales and with academic and school citizenship grades, and replicated previous findings of relations with socioeconomic status and ethnicity. Also, with age children were less trusting, particularly towards adults. Findings were inconsistent across scales regarding gender, and indicated that gender effects are mediated by age and ethnicity.; As predicted, there were negative effects of maltreatment on trust. Children who had been physically or sexually maltreated reported less total and affective trust, and less trust towards father, mother, and peers than nonmaltreated children. They also preferred immediate over delayed gratification. However, children who had been both physically and sexually maltreated reported elevated affective trust and less distrust.; There were positive relations between caregiver empathy and nonmaltreated children's trust, particularly for the empathy measure's Affect Expression factor, indicating that empathic processes in sensitive, nurturant parenting may foster children's trust. However, for maltreated children's trust development, low or moderate caregiver empathy appeared to be more optimal than high empathy. The findings were consistent with the model of trust development, supported the validity and utility of the Children's Multidimensional Specific Trust scale, and have implications for educational programming, clinical intervention, and future trust research. |
