Interpersonal trust in adolescence: a preliminary study on online/offline social interactions and life satisfaction

Interpersonal trust is a key element in the development and maintenance of positive social interactions and it has been positively associated with life satisfaction (Putnam, 2000). Specifically, it is a promoting factor of physical health and psychosocial functioning during infant and adolescence (Rotenberg, 2010). In spite of the importance of trust in everyday life, there is no consensus about its definition and, in turn, about its assessment. Moreover, the role of trust in an online setting is still unknown. It may be important to explore it, since nowadays adolescents spend more and more time on the Internet, an environment where many social relationships take place. Thus, online trust could be identified as an element that can guarantee the success of these interactions (Stratford, 2000). Starting from the theoretical perspective of Falcone and Castelfranchi (2001), who defined trust as complex and dynamic construct, the present pilot study aims to investigate adolescents' online/offline trust and its influence on life satisfaction. In particular, we operationalized trust as theorized by the above-mentioned authors and based on two essential mental ingredients, which are the goals and beliefs about the trustor and trustee and the trustee's behaviour. In addition, we took into account both offline and online social interactions. The research, carried out within a middle school in the province of Naples (Italy), involved 108 adolescents, aged between 11 and 14. The data were collected through an ad hoc questionnaire. In particular, trust in online and offline interactions was measured through a 5-point Likert scale composed of 30 items; life satisfaction was investigated through the Brief Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale (BMSLSS; Huebner et al., 2004). Factorial analysis demonstrates that online and offline trust are distinct dimensions (24% and 18% of explained variance respectively). In addition, only offline trust is positively related to adolescents' life satisfaction in different life domains (e.g. family, school and peer). In the overall, the results suggest the importance of distinguishing offline and online trust, and of exploring their relationships with adjustment indicators in order to understand how to promote adolescents' wellbeing.