The Dyadic Trust Scale: Toward Understanding Interpersonal Trust in Close Relationships

TLDR

Interpersonal trust in close relationships has been largely overlooked by social science, yet it is considered important by partners and theorists, and future research could link it to personal growth, conflict resolution, and post‑divorce relationship development. This article develops, validates, and examines correlates of the Dyadic Trust Scale, a tool for studying interpersonal trust. The scale is unidimensional, reliable, minimally biased, and aligns with diverse conceptualizations of trust. Dyadic trust correlates positively with love and self‑disclosure intimacy, is strongest among engaged, newlyweds, and long‑married couples, lowest for ex‑partners, and is reciprocated more than love or disclosure depth.

Abstract

Interpersonal trust is an aspect of close relationships which has been virtually ignored in social scientific research despite its importance as perceived by intimate partners and several family theorists. This article describes the development, validation, and correlates of the Dyadic Trust Scale, a tool designed for such research. It is unidimensional, reliable, relatively free ifrom response biases, and purposely designed to be consistent with conceptualizations qf trust from various perspectives. Dyadic trust proved to be associated with love and with intimacy of self-disclosure, especiallyjfor longer married partners. It varied by level of commitment, being lowest jor ex-partners and highest for those engaged and living together, for newlyweds, and for those married over 20 years. Partners reciprocated trust more than either love or depth qfself-disclosure. Future research could fruitfully relate dyadic trust to such issues as personal growth in relationships, resolving interpersonal conflict, and developing close relationships subsequent to separation or divorce.