Rotter's Interpersonal Trust Scale Research Articles

Reliability and construct validity of 3 psychometric trust scales for women seeking substance abuse treatment in a community setting

Background: Women with a history of substance use disorder (SUD) constitute a unique population with gender-specific needs in treatment. Most notable is high rates of prior trauma and the need for a trauma-informed care framework. Given theoretical links between trauma and interpersonal trust, understanding quantitatively how trust may impact outcomes for women in this population requires confirmation of validity of existing psychometric instruments. Objective: This study sought to confirm reliability and construct validity of the Rotter Interpersonal Trust Scale, Wake Forest Trust in Physician Scale, and the Revised Health Care System Distrust Scale (RHCSDS) for use in women with a history of SUD seeking treatment in a community-based setting. Methods: A total of 301 participants were enrolled between August 2017 and March 2018 at an urban, community-based residential substance abuse treatment program in the mid-South. Participants were given an electronic survey containing questions about demographics/clinical characteristics, the Rotter, Wake Forest, and RHCSDS scales, Socially Desirable Response Five-Item Survey (SDRS-5), and the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) questionnaire. All participants also completed a modified protocol of the “Trust Game.” Statistical analysis was completed for each trust scale in regard to scale means and distribution, internal consistency, interscale correlation, and scale correlation to the ACE score. Results: Results confirm statistically significant (P < .001) differences in global trust and trust of health care providers compared with general population samples in prior studies. Internal consistency of scales is comparable to reliability testing in prior studies (α > .70 for all scales). Interscale correlation between individual scales is statistically significant, with the strongest relationship between the 2 health care–specific scales (r = −.740, P < .001). There was a weak, negative correlation between the ACE score and interpersonal trust (r = −.135, P = .019). Individual scales do not have statistically significant correlation with “Trust Game” scores. Discussion: Findings suggest reliability and construct validity of scales for use in this population.

2094 Validation of a set of “healthcare trust” scales for women seeking substance abuse treatment in community-based settings

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: To validate previously published psychometric scales capturing interpersonal or healthcare-related trust in a target population of women with a history of substance use disorder seeking substance abuse treatment in a community-based setting. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Participants are enrolled at The Next Door, Inc. (TND) and Renewal House (RH), 2 community agencies in metropolitan Nashville that provide substance abuse treatment and post-incarceration re-entry services for women with a history of substance use disorder. We will enroll 300 participants to provide sufficient power for statistical psychometric validation. Inclusion criteria include adult women with self-identified history of substance use disorder seeking substance abuse treatment within seven days of initiation of inpatient residential or intensive outpatient treatment at TND or RH. Participants complete a one-time online survey comprising a demographics questionnaire, Rotter Interpersonal Trust Scale, Wake Forest Trust in Physician Scale, Revised Health Care System Distrust Scale, 5-item RAND Social Desirability Scale, and Adverse Childhood Events Survey. Participants then individually participate in a modified protocol of the “Trust Game.” Predictor variables for multivariate analysis collected include age, race/ethnicity, gender identification, number of days in current treatment, number of prior substance abuse treatment programs, and number of adverse childhood events. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Each individual scale will be assessed for item analysis, factor analysis, construct validity, content validity, and reliability and compared with general population sample values published in the literature. We will use multivariate analysis to determine the impact of potential predictor variables on specific types of interpersonal or healthcare-related trust. We anticipate having preliminary results to present in April. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: Women who seek substance abuse treatment in the community face unique challenges compared to their male counterparts, including higher rates of prior interpersonal trauma, co-occurring psychiatric diagnoses, and more serious physical health problems. Characteristics such as these highlight the need for regular healthcare engagement in the setting of an increased risk of decreased interpersonal or healthcare-related trust. Prior qualitative research demonstrates that trust building is seen as an essential component of care in ongoing substance abuse treatment for women in this population. Validation of psychometric healthcare-related trust scales in a population of women seeking substance abuse treatment in a community based setting will provide a framework for future quantitative inquiry into the impact of healthcare-related trust on health outcomes, healthcare engagement, and treatment retention for this target population. Similarly, it will also facilitate inquiry into the effectiveness of specific treatment programs or interventions on improving therapeutic trust building.

How Reliable are the Hurtt Professional Skepticism Scale and the Rotter Interpersonal Trust Scale for Audit Experimental Research?

This study uses an experimental context to compare the results obtained from two well accepted scales that have been designed to measure stable personality traits - the Hurtt Professional Skepticism Scale (HPSS) and the Rotter Interpersonal Trust Scale (RITS). The RITS was developed outside of accounting, whereas the HPSS was developed specifically for measuring professional skepticism in accounting. Recently, the RITS has been proposed by Quadackers, Groot and Wright (2014) as a substitute for the HPSS on the grounds that the inverse of the RITS is a more useful measure of skepticism for audit purposes as it measures the presumptive doubt form of skepticism (Nelson 2009) rather than the neutral form of skepticism measured by the HPSS and is more responsive to risk information. To test this assertion, we created three case scenarios involving three different auditing tasks adapted from current literature. For each scenario, we administered both scales, varying the order of case and scale administration to monitor the stability that would be expected of measures of stable traits. Our findings indicate that HPSS and RITS measures of skepticism and trust, respectively, vary by case presented and order of risk tolerance measurement. Skepticism, as measured per the HPSS is not affected by the order of HPSS administration; however, it is affected by case and order of risk tolerance measurement. Trust, as measured by the RITS, is affected by order (timing) of RITS administration. Specifically, measured Trust decreases when the scale is administered after cases are completed compared to the level obtained when Trust is measured before the case is completed. RITS is also marginally affected by case and order of risk tolerance measurement. This study contributes to our understanding of the HPSS and RITS, challenges the reliability of both scales as measures of stable personality traits, and supports order stability for the HPSS, but not the RITS. Both scales may have components that are sensitive to states rather than being pure measures of traits. Also, HPSS and RITS do not appear to be substitutes for one another, as the RITS does not behave as the inverse of the HPSS across cases and orders of administration. Lack of trust (the inverse of RITS) does not appear to be synonymous with skepticism as measured by the HPSS.

Auditors’ Professional Skepticism: Neutrality versus Presumptive Doubt

Although skepticism is widely viewed as essential to audit quality, there is a debate about what form is optimal. The two prevailing perspectives that have surfaced are “neutrality” and “presumptive doubt.” With neutrality, auditors neither believe nor disbelieve client management. With presumptive doubt, auditors assume some level of dishonesty by management, unless evidence indicates otherwise. The purpose of this study is to examine which of these perspectives is most descriptive of auditors’ skeptical judgments and decisions, in higher and lower control environment risk settings. This issue is important, since there is a lack of empirical evidence as to which perspective is optimal in addressing client risks. An experimental study is conducted involving a sample of 96 auditors from one of the Big 4 auditing firms in the Netherlands, with experience ranging from senior to partner. One of the skepticism measures is reflective of neutrality, the Hurtt Professional Skepticism Scale (HPSS), whereas the other reflects presumptive doubt, the inverse of the Rotter Interpersonal Trust Scale (RIT). The findings suggest that the presumptive doubt perspective of professional skepticism is more predictive of auditor skeptical judgments and decisions than neutrality, particularly in higher‐risk settings. Since auditing standards prescribe greater skepticism in higher‐risk settings, the findings support the appropriateness of a presumptive doubt perspective and have important implications for auditor recruitment and training, guidance in audit tools, and future research.

Auditors’ Professional Skepticism: Neutrality Versus Presumptive Doubt

Although skepticism is widely viewed as essential to audit quality, there is a debate about what form is optimal. The two prevailing perspectives that have surfaced are ‘neutrality’ and ‘presumptive doubt’. With neutrality, auditors neither believe nor disbelieve client management. With presumptive doubt, auditors assume some level of dishonesty by management, unless evidence indicates otherwise. The purpose of this study is to examine which of these perspectives is most descriptive of auditors’ skeptical judgments and decisions, in higher and lower control environment risk settings. This issue is important, since there is a lack of empirical evidence as to which perspective is optimal in addressing client risks. An experimental study is conducted involving a sample of 96 auditors from one of the Big 4 auditing firms in the Netherlands, with experience ranging from senior to partner. One of the skepticism measures is reflective of neutrality (the Hurtt Professional Skepticism Scale - HPSS) whereas the other reflects presumptive doubt (the inverse of the Rotter Interpersonal Trust scale - RIT). The findings suggest that the presumptive doubt perspective of professional skepticism is more predictive of auditor skeptical judgments and decisions than neutrality, particularly in higher risk settings. Since auditing standards prescribe greater skepticism in higher risk settings, the findings support the appropriateness of a presumptive doubt perspective and have important implications for auditor recruitment and training, guidance in audit tools, and future research.

Interpersonal and political trust: modeling levels of citizens' trust

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to examine whether generally trusting people are any more likely to be the same people who are also more politically trusting. In particular, the research focuses on the relationship between interpersonal trust and three political trust‐related constructs: trust of government form, political cynicism, and incumbent trust.Design/methodology/approachThe intention was to model the impact of general or interpersonal trust – i.e. Rotter's Interpersonal Trust scale, on three specific dimensions of political trust – i.e. “trust in government form”, “political cynicism”, and “incumbent trust”. This was achieved through a questionnaire, which was mailed to a random sample of 4,000 American households.FindingsThe structural aspects of the model reveal a significantly strong path between Rotter's broad‐based interpersonal trust scale and the more specific incumbent trust measure. The model also indicates a modestly strong relationship between interpersonal trust and trust in form of government, and a weak relationship between interpersonal trust and political cynicism.Originality/valueThis research should prove useful to academic research, campaign managers, and political strategists in terms of reinforcing the importance of different aspects or components of trust, as well as their interrelationship, and how they might impact political strategy and campaign development.

Measures of hostility as predictors of facial affect during social interaction: evidence for construct validity.

We assessed the construct validity of several self-report measures and an interview-based measure of hostility (Interpersonal Hostility Assessment Technique [IHAT]) by evaluating their associations with a behavioral indicator of hostile emotions (facial expressions during social interaction). Participants in the study were 123 volunteers (44% males and 56% females) who were recruited from local community organizations. Self-report measures (Cook-Medley Hostility Scale, Rotter Interpersonal Trust Scale, Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory, and Spielberger Anger Expression Scale) were represented by factor scores reflecting Overt Hostility, Covert Hostility, and Hostile Beliefs. A canonical correlation analysis identified significant associations between a set of facial affect scores reflecting animosity and various measures of hostility. Specifically, increases in anger and disgust expressions and decreases in happy facial expressions were associated with high IHAT scores and high scores on self-report measures of Hostile Beliefs and Covert Hostility. Women were more expressive than men, especially concerning positive affect, and women had lower scores on self-report measures of Hostile Beliefs and Overt Hostility. IHAT scores were uncorrelated with any of the self-report factors which suggests the two assessment techniques are tapping different aspects of the hostility construct.

Effectiveness of Filler Items in Disguising Scale Purpose

Subjects (n = 246) were asked to identify the trait(s) measured by Rotter's Interpersonal Trust Scale with and without filler items, either by responding freely or by circling traits listed on a sheet. Half the subjects were informed prior to filling out the questionnaire that their task was to identify the traits being measured by the questionnaire; the remaining half of the subjects were informed of their task after they completed the questionnaire. Very few subjects were able to identify correctly the trait being measured by Rotter's scale regardless of the experimental condition. Most subjects named multiple traits. It was concluded that the use of filler items per se was not the key factor in disguising the true purpose of Rotter's test; rather item wording may have produced multiple interpretations.

EFFECTIVENESS OF FILLER ITEMS IN DISGUISING SCALE PURPOSE

Subjects (n = 246) were asked to identify the trait(s) measured by Rotter's Interpersonal Trust Scale with and without filler items, either by responding freely or by circling traits listed on a sheet. Half the subjects were informed prior to filling out the questionnaire that their task was to identify the traits being measured by the questionnaire; the remaining half of the subjects were informed of their task after they completed the questionnaire. Very few subjects were able to identify correctly the trait being measured by Rotter's scale regardless of the experimental condition. Most subjects named multiple traits. It was concluded that the use of filler items per se was not the key factor in disguising the true purpose of Rotter's test; rather item wording may have produced multiple interpretations.

INTERPERSONAL TRUST, DEPRESSION, AND SUICIDAL IDEATION IN TEENAGERS

Scores on Rotter's Interpersonal Trust Scale and Beck Depression Scale correlated negatively for 40 high school students. Trust scores improved the power of depression scores in predicting suicidal ideation.

Selected psychosocial characteristics of black unwed adolescent fathers

Adolescent fathers and nonfathers were compared as to their belief in a sense of personal control and responsibility for their own lives (locus of control); ability to optimistically trust others (interpersonal trust); taking an active orientation to life's demands and problems (coping style); and family/generational pattern of unwed parenthood. Participants were 24 unwed adolescent fathers and 27 unwed adolescent nonfathers, aged 15-19 years. Each participant completed a questionnaire containing a Rotter Internal-External Locus of Control Scale, the Rotter Interpersonal Trust Scale, the Behavioral Attributes of Psychosocial Competence, and a scale measuring family pattern of unwed parenthood. Results suggest that adolescent fathers are usually older, more likely to have been born out-of-wedlock, and less trusting than nonfathers. The implications for casework with adolescent fathers are discussed.

Factor Analysis of the Interpersonal Trust Scale with a Noncollege Population

This study tested the invariance of the factorial structure of Rotter's Interpersonal Trust Scale (ITS) in a noncollege population. Exploratory factor analysis of the responses of 214 volunteers yielded three factors interpreted as Exploitation, Sincerity, and Institutional Trust. This factor solution was cross-validated in a confirmation sample of 196 volunteers. Cosines between corresponding factors were high across samples and across sex. The similarity was pointed out between the present factor structure and the results of earlier studies with college students. Implications for possible refinement of the ITS were discussed.

The prediction of paranoid behavior: Comparative validities of obvious vs. subtle MMPI paranoia (Pa) items

Assessed the relations among the obvious, neutral, and subtle MMPI Paranoia (PA) subscale scores and criteria that consisted of Mehrabian's Stimulus Screening Scale, Rotter's Interpersonal Trust Scale, a Paranoia Questionnaire, the Einstellung Test, and an unobtrusive measure of personalization. Male college students served as Ss (N = 100). The obvious PA subscale was found to be correlated significantly with Mehrabian's Stimulus Screening Scale, Rotter's Interpersonal Trust Scale (in a negative direction), and the Paranoia Questionnaire. The neutral PA subscale was related significantly to Mehrabian's Stimulus Screening Scale, Rotter's Interpersonal Trust Scale (also in a negative direction), and, at a trend level, the Einstellung Test. The subtle subscale correlated with Rotter's Interpersonal Trust Scale (in a positive direction) and an unobtrusive measure of personalization. Correlations among the criteria themselves were generally insignificant, but the relationships found supported the use of the paranoia criteria as measures of the intended construct.

Clients' satisfaction and interpersonal trust among hospitalized psychiatric patients.

A questionnaire on clients' satisfaction was given to 40 psychiatric patients in a state hospital program. Responses showed generally high satisfaction (74%). Comparisons with earlier surveys in the same program suggested that feedback of results to the program staff without concentrated efforts by management to induce change may not be sufficient to improve reported satisfaction by patients. Clients' satisfaction correlated .43 with Rotter's Interpersonal Trust Scale, but neither measure was significantly related to staff ratings of patients' behavioral adjustment or to demographic variables.

Interpersonal Trust as a Predictor of Suggestibility

The present study investigated the prediction that interpersonal trust would be related to suggestibility. Rotter's Interpersonal Trust Scale was used as a paper-and-pencil measure of trust, and the Barber Suggestibility Scale was the measure of suggestibility. The hypothesis was confirmed in that interpersonal trust was significantly correlated (.19) with scores of 82 college women on Barber's Suggestibility Scale, although the effect was small.

Cross-Validation of the Wright-Tedeschi Factors of the Interpersonal Trust Scale

Separate factor analyses of high school student (106 males and 108 females) and adult (295 males and 334 females) samples of respondents to Rotter's Interpersonal Trust Scale demonstrated cross-validation of the three Wright-Tedeschi factors derived from samples of college students. Clearest support was found for the factor, Trust of Strangers. Similarities and differences among various factor structures of the Interpersonal Trust Scale are discussed.

Utilizing Dimensions of the Rotter Interpersonal Trust Scale in Investigations of Trust: Validation of Suggested Methods

Several authors have suggested that the Rotter Interpersonal Trust Scale may be employed in studies examining trust with more success if the factors or dimensions of the instrument are used rather than the general scale. The present investigation concerned the relationship between the dimension “Interpersonal Exploitation” and group cohesiveness, and the dimension “Reliable-role Performance” and group cohesiveness. Group composition according to these dimensions resulted in different levels of group cohesiveness, with groups heterogeneously comprised on the basis of subjects' scores on the dimensions significantly more cohesive than homogeneously comprised groups. A dimensional approach to the examination of interpersonal trust may be viable in other settings where the variables of interest are theoretically related to the dimensions of the Rotter Interpersonal Trust Scale.

Interpersonal trust and severity of delinquent behavior.

Rotter's Interpersonal Trust Scale and Roberts' subscales of Political and Peer Trust were administered to 20 normals, 20 delinquents with misdemeanor offenses and 20 delinquents with felony offenses. It was expected that the delinquents would report lower interpersonal trust than the normal group and further that the felony group would report less trust than the misdemeanor group. Results showed no differences between groups for the Rotter Interpersonal Trust Scale and the Roberts Political Trust, but the combined delinquent group was significantly lower on Peer Trust. The misdemeanor subgroup was the main contributor of this difference, however, and non-significant reverse differences were noted for severity. Findings are discussed in terms of subgroup selection factors, and general societal decline in trust.

Personality and Generalized Expectancies for Interpersonal Trust

College undergraduates were given Rotter's Interpersonal Trust Scale and Cattell's 16 PF. Intercorrelations between the total score of the Interpersonal Trust Scale and the 16 PF indicated convergent and discriminant validation for the generalized expectancy construct of trust; interpersonal trust tended to be related with personality traits that suggested a social orientation and adaptive functioning. Trust was also viewed as bearing a relationship with concrete thinking and conformity. Correlations between the factors of the Interpersonal Trust Scale (Political Trust, Paternal Trust, and Trust of Strangers) and the 16 PF were similar to the above correlations but less substantial. The total trust score appeared to be a better predictor of personality than any of its factor scores.

Convergent and Discriminant Behavioral Aspects of Interpersonal Trust

Rotter's construct of interpersonal trust and its relationship to overt behavioral trust and to self-disclosure were examined. Without employing a deceptive or competitive task, a behavioral measure of trust was devised and defined as the speed with which S initiated and completed a backward fall into the hands of a readied assistant. While scores on Rotter's Interpersonal Trust Scale were uncorrelated with those on Jourard's Self-disclosure Scale, high trusters had shorter latencies on the behavioral task. These data represent evidence of the discriminant and convergent validity of the construct and measurement of interpersonal trust. High disclosers were more apt to volunteer for the behavioral task.