Social relations model analyses of perceived self-control and trust in families

How do people know which family member is trustworthy? In this study, the authors tested the hypothesis that people use their perception of a family member's self-control as an indicator of his or her trustworthiness. Eighty-four Dutch families consisting of 2 parents and 2 children completed questionnaires assessing each family member's trust in and perceived self-control of the other 3 family members. This full-family design enabled the authors to examine their hypothesis in horizontal relationships, between family members of equal status (i.e., parent-parent and sibling-sibling relationships), and vertical relationships, in which partners have unequal status (i.e., parent-child and child-parent relationships). Consistent with the hypothesis, Social Relations Model analyses showed that being perceived as having higher self-control is related to greater trustworthiness among adults and children in the large majority of horizontal and vertical relationships (10 out of 12). These findings highlight that perceived self-control is an important factor by which to gauge trustworthiness in families.