Family Socioeconomic Status Predicts Children's Disruptive Behaviour: The Moderating Effect of Trust

ABSTRACT This study examined whether SES is associated with children's disruptive behaviour and whether children's trust can moderate this association. We employed secondary data from the IELS database and included 6921 5‐year‐old children from the United States, the United Kingdom and Estonia. The main variables are measured by parent‐report surveys. SES was found to be significantly negatively associated with children's disruptive behaviour. We also detected a significant moderating effect for children with the same level of SES; those who have high trust show lower levels of disruptive behaviours. Good trust appears to protect children from the negative effects of low SES on disruptive behaviours. These findings underline the importance of good trust for children, especially those from low SES, in terms of their psychological cognition and behavioural development.