Trust Me, He’s Not Right for You: Factors Predicting Trust in Network Members’ Disapproval of a Romantic Relationship

ABSTRACT

When individuals experience disapproval of their romantic relationship from friends or family members, how do they determine whether they should trust or believe that negative opinion? In this study, we examined a hypothesised model in which level of perceived relationship expertise, level of perceived bias, quality of evidence provided, and level of perceived approval for the romantic relationship from the broader social network predicted levels of trust/distrust in a disapproving opinion. Using hierarchical multiple regression, we found support for the hypothesised model in an online study (N = 173). Contrary to expectations, no differences in the model were found by relationship type (marginalised vs. non-marginalised). Implications and theoretical explanations for the findings are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Social support
• romantic relationships
• marginalised relationships
• social network effect

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the members of the research team (Nicole Tibbetts, Sydney Witoski, Brandi Milligan) for their assistance in data collection. This work is based on the master’s thesis of the first author, supervised by the second and third authors.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Ethical standards

The authors asset that all procedures contributing to this work comply with the ethical standards of the relevant national and institutional committees on human experimentation and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2008.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Insight Development Grant (P.I. = KLB, grant 430 2017-944), and by student fellowships from the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation (KJ) and the Nova Scotia Provincial Innovation Fund (KJ).

Notes on contributors

Kay Jenson

Kay Jenson is a former Acadia University Master’s student. She was a NSHRF Scotia Scholar supported by the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation during both years of her degree and was also supported by a Nova Scotia Graduate award.

Diane Holmberg

Diane Holmberg is a Professor at Acadia University and her research interests are in the area of social psychology, specifically in close interpersonal relationships. Some recent areas of investigation include social network approval/disapproval for relationships, memories of the coming-out process and the health implications of affection sharing between partners.

Karen L. Blair

Karen L. Blair is a Jules Léger Research Chair in Humanities and Social Sciences as well as an Assistant Professor of Psychology at St. Francis Xavier University; an Adjunct Professor of Psychology at Acadia University; and Chair of the Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity Issues (SOGII) Section of the Canadian Psychological Association. Her research examines the social determinants of health throughout the lifespan within the context of social relationships.