The Parental Effect on Trust in Your Romantic Partners and Trust in Yourself

Jae Fish, Cole Wright

Faculty: Linda Weber

This research attempts to find a relationship between parents both their child’s trust in themselves and the amount of trust their child has in their romantic relationships. Trust is not a trait an individual is born with, it is something learned through various socialization processes. The most influential relationship in the construction of trust is that of a parent and child.

The socialization that one goes through with their parents will impact themselves and their relationships in the future. Parental relationships are a key factor in the development of self-trust. These interactions will develop and shape a sense of self and trust in themselves. On the other hand, the number of biological parents a child lives with may influence the amount of trust that they have in their future relationships.

The research below provides insight into the effects parents can have on their child’s trust in themselves and their trust in their romantic relationships. A small survey was created and sent out to collect the data and received 211 responses. From the data collected it was found that parental relationships were not a significant factor in trust within yourself. Similarly, the number of biological parents a child lived with had no significant effect on that child’s current romantic relationship.

These two relationships were then proven to still be non-significant even after a third variable was introduced. Although the below research may not be significant the findings can be useful to relate how other factors can affect an individual’s trust in themselves and trust in their romantic partners.