The Developmental Role of Trust: parental Attachment and Romantic Attachment Mediated by Generalized Trust

This study explored the relationship between emotional alienation with parents and romantic attachment avoidance in Chinese female college students, with generalized interpersonal trust as a mediator. A total of 214 participants aged 17 to 25 (M = 21.37, SD = 2.03) completed validated Chinese versions of the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment–Short Form (IPPA-SF), the General Trust Scale (GTS), and the Experiences in Close Relationships–Relationship Structures questionnaire (ECR-RS) by completing the questionnaire through a secure online survey platform. Pearson correlation analysis showed that emotional alienation with parents was negatively correlated with interpersonal trust (r = –0.241, p < 0.001) and positively correlated with romantic avoidance (r = 0.237, p < 0.001). Interpersonal trust was negatively associated with romantic avoidance (r = –0.206, p = 0.002). Mediation analysis using PROCESS Model 4 revealed that generalized trust significantly mediated the relationship between emotional alienation with parents and romantic avoidance, with an indirect effect of 0.10, 95% CI [0.04, 0.17]. These findings suggest that emotional alienation with parents may reduce interpersonal trust and thus increase avoidance in romantic attachment. The study provides evidence for social learning theory and attachment theory by explaining how early family attachment shapes later relationship functioning.