Building Trust: Reflections of Adults Working With High-School-Age Youth in Project-Based Programs

A program leader’s ability to build trust with youth is critical in effective project-based programs that serve as interventions to support skill development. However, there is little empirical research on the trust-building process from the perspective of leaders. The current study explores trust-building through semi-structured interviews with twenty-five leaders from thirteen project-based programs serving high-school-age youth. Constant comparative analytic strategies identified four primary approaches to building trust: (1) respecting youth; (2) building rapport with youth; (3) being consistent and dependable; and (4) occupying a nuanced adult role in youth’s lives. Despite facing some challenges to building trust, leaders believed they had successfully built trust when youth engaged in specific behaviors. These behavioral indicators of trust were: (a) youth asking more from leaders on their work or challenges in their personal life; (b) youth sharing more with leaders on their opinions, thoughts, or feelings; and (c) youth communicating they were willing to support the program’s mission by going above and beyond program expectations. We conclude by discussing the theoretical implications of the findings and the practical implications as they relate to youth workers’ core-competency frameworks in the youth development field.