Abstract

How does mistrust in others affect learning? How do teachers promote trust in the classroom and are they expected to recognise mental health issues?

Drawing from clinical and developmental perspectives, this talk will explore the relationship between children’s perception of trust and behavioural adjustment. In particular, what happens when trust fails? Extending the adult paranoia literature, I will examine whether children too experience mistrust (an attenuated form of suspiciousness) and whether this influences their cognitive and behavioural development. Survey data from two cross-sectional studies of 2556 schoolchildren from Cambridgeshire and Hong Kong will be presented and discussed. Replicating findings from the adult literature, I argue that social mistrust in early childhood has a negative impact on children’s personal development. Specifically, school mistrust is most positively associated with elevated levels of internalising problem behaviours. To conclude, I discuss the implications of these findings and future directions for this research. I hope you will consider joining me in this discussion. And I look forward to learning from your experiences and suggestions on this topic!