Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Different Developmental Pathways from Parental Warmth to Adolescents’ Trust in Peers and Politicians: Mediating Roles of Adolescent–Parent Attachment and Belief in a Just World

  • Published:
Social Justice Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The development of trust has its origin in parenting. However, it can be misleading to lump together all types of trust and to suppose that they are formed through similar developmental processes. Therefore, this research examined different developmental pathways of adolescents’ trust in individuals close to them (peers in this study) and those that are distant (politicians in this study). The study used longitudinal data collected from Czech adolescents (N = 904; 50 % of the participants were females). When adolescents were 13 years old, they and their parents reported parental warmth. Adolescents rated their trust in their parents and their beliefs in a just world at age 15 as well as their trust in peers and politicians at age 17. Both maternal and paternal warmth predicted adolescents’ trust in their parents, which in turn led to later trust in peers but not to later trust in politicians. However, maternal and paternal warmth only predicted their trust in politicians through the mediation of their personal belief in a just world. Our findings highlighted that although parents are important in the development of adolescents’ trust, mediating pathways differ depending on the types of relationships involved.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adams, J. E., Highhouse, S., & Zickar, M. J. (2010). Understanding general distrust of corporations. Corporate Reputation Review, 13, 38–51. doi:10.1057/crr.2010.6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Agger, R. E., Goldstein, M. N., & Pearl, S. A. (1961). Political cynicism: Measurement and meaning. The Journal of Politics, 23, 477–506. doi:10.2307/2127102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Agroskin, D., Jonas, E., & Traut-Mattausch, E. (2015). When suspicious minds go political: Distrusting and justifying the system at the same time. Political Psychology, 36, 613–629. doi:10.1111/pops.12185.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Angold, A., Costello, E. J., Messer, S. C., Pickles, A., Winder, F., & Silver, D. (1995). Development of a short questionnaire for use in epidemiological studies of depression in children and adolescents. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 5, 237–249.

    Google Scholar 

  • Armsden, G. C., & Greenberg, M. T. (1987). The inventory of parent and peer attachment: Individual differences and their relationship to psychological well-being in adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 16, 427–454. doi:10.1007/BF02202939.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bègue, L. (2002). Beliefs in justice and faith in people: Just world, religiosity and interpersonal trust. Personality and Individual Differences, 32, 375–382. doi:10.1016/S0191-8869(00)00224-5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bentler, P. M. (1990). Comparative fit indexes in structural models. Psychological Bulletin, 107, 238–246. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.107.2.238.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bernath, M. S., Feshbach, N. D., & Gralinski, H. J. (1993). Physical maltreatment and trust in peers: Feelings, reasons, and behavioral intentions. Paper presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, New Orleans, LA.

  • Bogaerts, S., Vanheule, S., & Desmet, M. (2006). Feelings of subjective emotional loneliness: An exploration of attachment. Social Behavior and Personality, 34, 797–812. doi:10.2224/sbp.2006.34.7.797.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bowlby, J. (1973). Attachment and loss, Vol. 2: Separation. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowlby, J. (1982). Attachment and loss, Vol. 1: Attachment (2nd ed.). New York: Basic Books. (Original work published 1969).

    Google Scholar 

  • Browne, M. W., & Cudeck, R. (1993). Alternative ways of assessing model fit. In K. A. Bollen & J. S. Long (Eds.), Testing structural equation models (pp. 136–162). New York: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buist, K. L., Reitz, E., & Deković, M. (2008). Attachment stability and change during adolescence: A longitudinal application of the social relations model. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 25, 429–444. doi:10.1177/0265407508090867.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bynner, J., & Ashford, S. (1994). Politics and participation: Some antecedents of young people’s attitudes to the political system and political activity. European Journal of Social Psychology, 24, 223–236. doi:10.1002/ejsp.2420240202.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Čáp, J., & Boschek, P. (1994). Dotazník pro zjišťování způsobu výchovy v rodině: Příručka [Parenting style questionnaire: User’s guide]. Bratislava - Brno: Psychodiagnostika, s.r.o.

    Google Scholar 

  • Citrin, J., & Muste, C. (1999). Trust in government. In J. P. Robinson, P. R. Shaver, & L. Wrightsman (Eds.), Measures of political attitudes (pp. 465–532). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooper, J. (2007). Cognitive dissonance: 50 years of a classic theory. London: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dalbert, C. (1999). The world is more just for me than generally: About the personal belief in a just world scale’s validity. Social Justice Research, 12, 79–98. doi:10.1023/A:1022091609047.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dalbert, C. (2001). The justice motive as a personal resource: Dealing with challenges and critical life events. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Dalbert, C., & Radant, M. (2004). Parenting and young adolescents’ belief in a just world. In C. Dalbert & H. Sallay (Eds.), The justice motive in adolescence and young adulthood: Origins and consequences (pp. 11–25). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Doherty, W. J., Kouneski, E. F., & Erickson, M. F. (1998). Responsible fathering: An overview and conceptual framework. Journal of Marriage & the Family, 60, 277–292. doi:10.2307/353848.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duke, N. N., Skay, C. L., Pettingell, S. L., & Borowsky, I. W. (2009). From adolescent connections to social capital: Predictors of civic engagement in young adulthood. Journal of Adolescent Health, 44, 161–168. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2008.07.007.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Eisenberg, N., & Valiente, C. (2002). Parenting and children’s prosocial and moral development. In M. H. Bornstein (Ed.), Handbook of parenting (Vol. 5, pp. 111–143). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Enders, C. K. (2010). Applied missing data analysis. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Enders, C. K. (2013). Dealing with missing data in developmental research. Child Development Perspectives, 7, 27–31. doi:10.1111/cdep.12008.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Erikson, E. (1950). Childhood and society. New York: Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feather, N. T. (1991). Human values, global self-esteem, and belief in a just world. Journal of Personality, 59, 83–107. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.1991.tb00769.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frazier, P. A., Tix, A. P., & Barron, K. E. (2004). Testing moderator and mediator effects in counseling psychology research. Journal of counseling psychology, 51, 115–134. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.51.1.115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freitag, M., & Bauer, P. C. (2013). Testing for measurement equivalence in surveys dimensions of social trust across cultural contexts. Public opinion quarterly, 77, 24–44. doi:10.1093/poq/nfs064.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freitag, M., & Traunmüller, R. (2009). Spheres of trust: An empirical analysis of the foundations of particularised and generalised trust. European Journal of Political Research, 48, 782–803. doi:10.1111/j.1475-6765.2009.00849.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gniewosz, B., Noack, P., & Buhl, M. (2009). Political alienation in adolescence: Associations with parental role models, parenting styles, and classroom climate. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 33, 337–346. doi:10.1177/0165025409103137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gullone, E., & Robinson, K. (2005). The Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment—Revised (IPPA-R) for children: A psychometric investigation. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 12, 67–79. doi:10.1002/cpp.433.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hardin, R. (1999). Do we want trust in government? In Mark Warren (Ed.), Democracy and trust (pp. 22–41). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Janssens, J. M., & Deković, M. (1997). Child rearing, prosocial moral reasoning, and prosocial behaviour. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 20, 509–527. doi:10.1080/016502597385252.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ježek, S., Lacinová, L., Širůček, J., & Michalčáková, R. (2008). The psychological branch of the ELSPAC study: A survey of 15-year-old respondents. In S. Ježek & L. Lacinová (Eds.), Fifteen-year-olds in Brno: A slice of longitudinal self-reports (pp. 7–11). Brno: Masaryk University. http://is.muni.cz/repo/806682/chapter01Intro.pdf/publication/806682.

  • Jost, J. T., & Hunyady, O. (2005). Antecedents and consequences of system-justifying ideologies. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 14, 260–265. doi:10.1111/j.0963-7214.2005.00377.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kay, A. C., & Jost, J. T. (2003). Complementary justice: Effects of “poor but happy” and “poor but honest” stereotype exemplars on system justification and implicit activation of the justice motive. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 823–837. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.85.5.823.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kline, R. B. (2005). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kobak, R., Rosenthal, N. L., Zajac, K., & Madsen, S. D. (2007). Adolescent attachment hierarchies and the search for an adult pair-bond. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 2007, 57–72. doi:10.1002/cd.194.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krevans, J., & Gibbs, J. C. (1996). Parents’ use of inductive discipline: Relations to children’s empathy and prosocial behavior. Child Development, 67, 3263–3277. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.1996.tb01913.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Laible, D. J., Carlo, G., & Roesch, S. C. (2004). Pathways to self-esteem in late adolescence: The role of parent and peer attachment, empathy, and social behaviours. Journal of adolescence, 27, 703–716. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2004.05.005.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Laurin, K., Fitzsimons, G. M., & Kay, A. C. (2011). Social disadvantage and the self-regulatory function of justice beliefs. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100, 149–171. doi:10.1037/a0021343.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lerner, M. J., & Simmons, C. H. (1966). The observer’s reaction to the ‘innocent victim’: Compassion or rejection? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 4, 203–210. doi:10.1037/h0023562.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lipkus, I. (1991). The construction and preliminary validation of a global belief in a just world scale and the exploratory analysis of the multidimensional belief in a just world scale. Personality and Individual Differences, 12, 1171–1178. doi:10.1016/0191-8869(91)90081-L.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matsushima, R., & Shiomi, K. (2003). Social self-efficacy and interpersonal stress in adolescence. Social Behavior & Personality, 31, 323–332. doi:10.2224/sbp.2003.31.4.323.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (2010). Mplus user’s guide (6th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Muthen & Muthen.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nickerson, A. B., & Nagle, R. J. (2004). The influence of parent and peer attachments on life satisfaction in middle childhood and early adolescence. Social Indicators Research, 66, 35–60. doi:10.1023/B:SOCI.0000007496.42095.2c.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. (2012). OECD family database. OECD, Paris. www.oecd.org/social/family/database.

  • Otto, K., Glaser, D., & Dalbert, C. (2009). Mental health, occupational trust, and quality of working life: Does belief in a just world matter? Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 39, 1288–1315. doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2009.00482.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paikoff, R. L., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (1991). Do parent-child relationships change during puberty? Psychological Bulletin, 110, 47–66. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.110.1.47.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Paquette, D. (2004). Theorizing the father–child relationship: Mechanisms and developmental outcomes. Human Development, 47, 193–219. doi:10.1159/000078723.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peplau, L. A., & Tyler, T. (1975). Belief in a just world and political attitudes. Paper presented at the meeting of the Western Psychological Association, Sacramento, CA.

  • Ranguelov, S., De Coster, I., Norani, S., & Paolini, G. (2012). Key data on education in Europe 2012. Brussels: Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency, European Commission. doi:10.2797/77414.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rice, K. G., FitzGerald, D. P., Whaley, T. J., & Gibbs, C. L. (1995). Cross-sectional and longitudinal examination of attachment, separation-individuation, and college student adjustment. Journal of Counseling & Development, 73, 463–474. doi:10.1002/j.1556-6676.1995.tb01781.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richaud de Minzi, M. C. (2007). Parental styles and attachment in relation with self control, social skills and coping in children at risk for poverty. In D. M. Devor (Ed.), New developments in parent-child relations (pp. 87–110). Hauppauge: Nova Editorial Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rotenberg, K. J. (1995). The socialisation of trust: Parents’ and children’s interpersonal trust. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 18, 713–726. doi:10.1177/016502549501800408.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rotenberg, K. J., Fox, C., Green, S., Ruderman, L., Slater, K., Stevens, K., & Carlo, G. (2005). Construction and validation of a children’s interpersonal trust belief scale. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 23, 271–293. doi:10.1348/026151005X26192.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rubin, Z., & Peplau, L. A. (1975). Who believes in a just world? Journal of social issues, 31, 65–89. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1975.tb00997.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schlenker, B. R., Chambers, J. R., & Le, B. M. (2012). Conservatives are happier than liberals, but why? Political ideology, personality, and life satisfaction. Journal of Research in Personality, 46, 127–146. doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2011.12.009.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schoon, I., & Cheng, H. (2011). Determinants of political trust: A lifetime learning model. Developmental Psychology, 47, 619–631. doi:10.1037/a0021817.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Šerek, J. (2012). Psychosocial antecedents of political beliefs in adolescence. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Brno: Masaryk University.

  • Šerek, J., & Macek, P. (2010). Proč se politicky (ne)angažovat: Obsah a struktura přesvědčení u adolescentů. [Why (not) to become politically engaged:content and structure of beliefs in adolescents]. Československá Psychologie, 54, 160–174.

    Google Scholar 

  • Šerek, J., & Macek, P. (2014). Antecedents of political trust in adolescence: Cognitive abilities and perceptions of parents. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 35, 284–293. doi:10.1016/j.appdev.2014.05.001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Širůček, J. (2008). Parenting style as perceived by adolescents. In S. Ježek & L. Lacinová (Eds.), Fifteen-year-olds in Brno: A slice of longitudinal self-reports (pp. 113–121). Brno: Masaryk University. http://is.muni.cz/repo/806682/chapter01Intro.pdf/publication/806682.

  • Širůček, J., & Lacinová, L. (2008). Relationships with parents from the perspective of attachment theory. In S. Ježek & L. Lacinová (Eds.), Fifteen-year-olds in Brno: A slice of longitudinal self-reports (pp. 123–130). Brno: Masaryk University. http://is.muni.cz/repo/806682/chapter01Intro.pdf/publication/806682.

  • Širůček, J., & Širůčková, M. (2008). Experienced relationships with peers. In S. Ježek & L. Lacinová (Eds.), Fifteen-year-olds in Brno: A slice of longitudinal self-reports (pp. 13–18). Brno: Masaryk University. http://is.muni.cz/repo/806682/chapter01Intro.pdf/publication/806682.

  • Steiger, J. H. (1990). Structural model evaluation and modification: An internal estimation approach. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 25, 173–180. doi:10.1207/s15327906mbr2502_4.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tompkins, T. L., Hockett, A. R., Abraibesh, N., & Witt, J. L. (2011). A closer look at co-rumination: Gender, coping, peer functioning and internalizing/externalizing problems. Journal of adolescence, 34, 801–811. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2011.02.005.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Torney-Purta, J., Barber, C. H., & Richardson, W. K. (2004). Trust in government-related institutions and political engagement among adolescents in six countries. Acta Politica, 39, 380–406. doi:10.1057/palgrave.ap.5500080.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Petr Macek, Dr. Lenka Lacinová, Dr. Stanislav Ježek, and Dr. Jan Širůček for their valuable comments. This research was part of Central European Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood supported by the Research Grant of Masaryk University (MUNI/M/1075/2013). The authors were also supported by the Program of Employment of Best Young Scientists for International Cooperation Empowerment (Grant Number CZ. 1.07/2.3.00/30.0037) and the Program of Employment of Newly Graduated Doctors of Science for Scientific Excellence (Grant Number CZ.1.07/2.3.00/30.0009), both co-financed from the European Social Fund and the state budget of the Czech Republic.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Research on Children Youth and Family, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic

    Tomo Umemura & Jan Šerek

Authors
  1. Tomo Umemura
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jan Šerek
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tomo Umemura.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Umemura, T., Šerek, J. Different Developmental Pathways from Parental Warmth to Adolescents’ Trust in Peers and Politicians: Mediating Roles of Adolescent–Parent Attachment and Belief in a Just World. Soc Just Res 29, 186–205 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11211-016-0258-x

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11211-016-0258-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation