Longitudinal study examining academic expectation stress and distrust for Chinese adolescents: The roles of internalizing problems and hope

Distrust in social interaction is linked to health issues during adolescence, ranging from loneliness to aggression engagement. Previous research has attempted to elucidate the decline in trust from the perspective of perceived pressures, yet the understanding of how academic-related pressures are related to distrust among adolescents is still limited. This 1-year longitudinal study aims to examine the psychological mechanism underlying the relationship between academic expectation stress (i.e., the stress due to the external and internal expectations of academic performance) and the development of adolescent distrust. A total of 1992 Chinese adolescents in 7th and 8th grades completed measures of academic expectation stress, distrust, internalizing problems (i.e., stress, anxiety, and depression), and hope in a two-wave longitudinal study (Time 1: December 2020; Time 2: December 2021; 54.42% girls; Mage at Time 2 = 14.02, SD = .76). Results showed that higher academic expectation stress at Time 1 predicted distrust 1 year later through increased internalizing problems. The relationship between academic expectation stress and later distrust as well as the longitudinal mediating effects of internalizing problems were stronger for adolescents with lower hope, whereas the total effect, direct effect, and mediation effects were nonsignificant for those with higher hope. The present study suggests that stressful academic expectations may impact adolescents' intention to trust others, and highlights the protective role of hope in the psychosocial adjustment of adolescents who encounter stress from academic expectations.