A Systematic Review of Psychometric Properties of General Trust Measures Across the Lifespan

Belief in the trustworthiness of other people is foundational to human interaction, and thus, there is interest in its assessment across many disciplines. However, disunity in approaches to its conceptualization has resulted in a myriad of measures. This review collates and systematically appraises self-report general trust measures for use in either children or adults; examining target age, type of trust assessed, and measurement and psychometric properties.

Wheeler AR, Ohan J, Jackson HM, Bayliss DM. A Systematic Review of Psychometric Properties of General Trust Measures Across the Lifespan. Meas. 2025.

Keywords:
General trust; measurement; psychometric; systematic review; valid

Abstract:
Belief in the trustworthiness of other people is foundational to human interaction, and thus, there is interest in its assessment across many disciplines. However, disunity in approaches to its conceptualization has resulted in a myriad of measures. This review collates and systematically appraises self-report general trust measures for use in either children or adults; examining target age, type of trust assessed, and measurement and psychometric properties.