Student trust in school peers: a relational condition for optimal school functioning

Purpose The purpose of this study was to establish a line of inquiry into student trust in school peers by: (1) developing a valid and reliable measure and (2) investigating the potential influence of student trust in school peers on optimal school functioning. Design/methodology/approach A non-experimental, survey research design was used. Ex-post facto data were collected in the spring of 2017 and spring of 2019 from a random sample of students in either the 5th, 7th, 9th or 11th grades in 79 schools located in a southwestern city in the US. Two types of analyses were performed. First, structural and convergent validity of the items measuring student trust in school peers were tested with a confirmatory factor analysis, and correlations with bullying and safety. The second analysis tested a hypothesized model with a full structural equation model using robust maximum likelihood estimation. Findings Confirmatory factor analysis results report that items used to measure student trust in school peers share common variance with the latent trust factor. Both the 10-item and five-item measures had good model fit and parameter estimates. Additionally, the five-item measure had strong relationships with bullying and safety. As specified in the hypothesized model, student trust in peers had a strong, positive relationship with identification with school and positive, yet not as strong, of a relationship with academic grit. These relationships existed when accounting for student perceived teacher support. Originality/value This study extends trust research to students' relational connections by conceptualizing student trust in school peers as a cognitive belief, constructing a valid measure and finding a relationship between student–peer trust and elements optimal school functioning.