Date of Thesis

Spring 2026

Description

Trust is linked to emerging adults’ higher well-being. To our knowledge, few studies explore U.S. and Romanian emerging adults’ trust in others and their parents and their relationships to dimensions of parenting and well-being. This mixed-methods project examines cross-cultural differences and similarities in the relationships between trust, parenting dimensions, and well-being in two countries. With self-report quantitative data from 152 U.S. and 233 Romanian emerging adults, Study 1 found positive correlations between general trust dimensions, trust in mothers and fathers, parental care, and well-being, while psychological control was negatively correlated with trust and well-being. Multiple regression analyses revealed that for U.S. participants, mothers’ psychological control negatively predicted self-esteem, viewing others as trustworthy positively predicted self-efficacy, and trust in fathers predicted life satisfaction. For Romanians, both trust and parenting dimensions predicted self-esteem and life satisfaction. Moderation analyses found that country did not moderate the link between trust dimensions and well-being, except the link between trust in either parent and self-efficacy was stronger for Romanians than for U.S. emerging adults. In Study 2, qualitative analyses found that family dysfunction and parents' honesty were important influences on both U.S. and Romanian emerging adults’ trust in their parents. U.S. emerging adults reported parent-child communication as an influence on their trust in their parents—Romanians did not. Romanians reported parents’ authoritarian parenting influencing their trust in their parents—U.S. emerging adults did not. Despite many similarities across cultures, trust may operate differently alongside parenting dimensions in individualistic and collectivistic cultures.

Keywords

trust, United States, Romania, emerging adulthood, parent-child relationships, well-being

Access Type

Honors Thesis

Degree Type

Bachelor of Arts

Major

Psychology

Second Major

Sociology

First Advisor

Chris J. Boyatzis

Second Advisor

John T. Ptacek

Third Advisor

Grace J. Kim

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