Children's trust in social workers: Scale development and relations to Children's engagement with social workers

Abstract

This research aimed to develop the children's trust in general social workers (CTGSW) scale. Psychometric properties, structural validity, construct, and concurrent validity of the scale were evaluated. Both linear and quadratic patterns between children's trust beliefs in social workers and their engagement with social workers were examined. A sample of 112 Italian vulnerable children (M = 11.4 years, SD = 1 month) were administered the Italian‐Children's Generalized Trust Beliefs scale, the CTGSW scale, and a measure of engagement with social workers. The CTGSW scale demonstrated the expected (a) structure validity; (b) acceptable psychometric properties; (c) construct validity by correlations with trust in significant others; and (d) concurrent validity by associations with children's engagement with social workers. Reliability and honesty bases of trust in social workers were associated with engagement with social workers. In comparison to the middle range, children who held very low trust in social workers demonstrated very low quality of relation with social workers. The pattern was asymmetrical. Children who held high trust beliefs in social workers demonstrated a modest decrease in quality of relation with social workers. The findings demonstrated validity and utility of the CTGSW and yielded support for the basis, domain, and target framework.

How Children Feel Matters: Teacher–Student Relationship as an Indirect Role Between Interpersonal Trust and Social Adjustment

“…Responses ranged from 1 (totally impossible) to 5 (totally possible) with higher scores indicative of higher levels of interpersonal trust. Previous studies showed that this scale was suitable for children aged 9–12 years ( Rotenberg et al, 2015 ; Petrocchi et al, 2017 ). In this study, we reexamined the structure validity by a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA); the questionnaire exhibited an acceptable fit: χ 2 / df = 2.36, comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.92, Tucker–Lewis index (TLI) = 0.91, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.05, standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) = 0.04.…”

“…Each aspect contains four target groups, father , mother , teacher , and peer , and each target group includes two items. The CGTB Scale has been widely used in both international and Chinese studies, with acceptable reliability and validity (e.g., Xu et al, 2013 ; Rotenberg et al, 2015 ; Petrocchi et al, 2017 ). Gong and Luo (2016) adapted this scale to its Chinese version and proved its reliability and validity.…”

Shall I Trust You? From Child–Robot Interaction to Trusting Relationships

“…This is particularly relevant where children are called to build new relationships with peers, educators, and other adults. An example of the importance of the construction of interpersonal trust is highlighted in a study with children under protection services (Petrocchi et al, 2018). In these critical circumstances, not only does the success of the social interventions rely on building trusting relationships between the child's parents and the social workers, but also between the latter and the child in need of psychosocial adjustment (Hafford-Letchfield and Spatcher, 2007).…”

Early Screening of the Autism Spectrum Disorders: Validity Properties and Cross-Cultural Generalizability of the First Year Inventory in Italy

“…Indeed, when the paediatrician participation was obtained, on their side, parents easily agreed to be participants. It is highly likely that parental participation depends on the quality of their relationship with the paediatrician, as found by others [42,43]. This also means that a way to establish a continuous screening for children's mental health and speed up early diagnosis and intervention is increasing health professionals' awareness of that aspect.…”

“…This notwithstanding, the short version of the FYI may lead to a cost-effective and easy-to-administer instrument to be used by paediatricians during their pediatric surveillance on the general population. The early detection of atypical developmental trajectories may support medical decision-making on further steps for referral of the child to an early diagnostic assessment (which may enable early intervention when needed; [43][44][45][46][47][48].…”