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. 2025 May 30;20(5):e0322790.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0322790. eCollection 2025.

Age-related differences in trust beliefs during middle childhood: Downward-extension and validation of the general trust scale

Alex R Wheeler  1 , Donna M Bayliss  1 , Jeneva Ohan  1   2
Affiliations

Age-related differences in trust beliefs during middle childhood: Downward-extension and validation of the general trust scale

Alex R Wheeler et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

There are conflicting suggestions concerning the developmental trend of trust beliefs during middle childhood. Across three studies, the current research developed a brief measure of child general trust beliefs, as well as child measures of trust in peers and online, and examined age-related differences in these beliefs. Study 1 explored the appropriateness of downward extending the General Trust Scale. Studies 2 and 3 developed the child version of this scale and adapted the target of trust to construct two additional scales measuring trust beliefs in peers and online. These studies also provide evidence of the psychometric quality of the scales, and that trust beliefs are positively associated with friendship quality and psychosocial well-being outcomes in children. In addition, Study 3 demonstrated small age-related decreases in general and peer trust. This finding suggests children may become more discerning during middle childhood. Implications of these age-related differences and the use of these novel scales is discussed.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

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