The Role of Home Victimization in Preadolescents’ General Perceptions of Trust

The study explored the impact of home victimization on preadolescents’ general perceptions of trust. This exploration utilized extant data from the São Paulo Legal Socialization Study, a longitudinal study of 800 preadolescent participants who completed questionnaires assessing parental legitimacy, among other related factors. To assess the impact of home victimization on perceptions of trustworthiness, participants were split into two groups based on whether or not they had experienced assault by an adult in their home. Analysis revealed a statistically and practically significant difference across the groups regarding the belief that people care about others. This result indicated that the perception of care decreased with the experience of home victimization. While other differences across groups lacked significance, results indicated that trust in promises decreased and fear of exploitation increased with the experience of home victimization. Since home victimization had a negative impact on trustworthiness perceptions, implications emerged relating to preadolescents’ trust, sense of safety, and well-being. These implications are addressed in this study. The findings broaden the literature on parenting practices in preadolescence and contribute to the field of home victimization. Future studies could expand upon these findings by incorporating non-self-report measures, other types of victimization, and participants from other countries.