The relationship between interpersonal responsibility and interpersonal trust: A longitudinal study

Although the relationship between personality and interpersonal trust has been supported, the longitudinal effect of personality on interpersonal trust (especially the unique effects of indigenous Chinese personality traits) has been ignored by prior studies. The present study explored the longitudinal relationship between interpersonal responsibility (an indigenous Chinese interpersonal trait) and interpersonal trust among 1882 undergraduate students over a 6-month interval. Latent structural equation modelling showed that interpersonal responsibility predicted interpersonal trust 6 months later, and the path coefficient from interpersonal trust to interpersonal responsibility was marginally significant. Additionally, the results of hierarchical linear regression analyses showed that after controlling for the Big Five personality traits, interpersonal responsibility predicted interpersonal trust at the same time and over time. These results suggest that interpersonal responsibilitymay have a unique effect on interpersonal trust that is independent of the effects of the Big Five traits, thus extending the research regarding the relationship between personality and interpersonal trust.