Several conceptual definitions of trust have been proposed
in the literature: a fragile attitude, bound by time and
space, where one relies with confidence on someone (Meize-
Grochowski 1984); a willing dependence on another to
meet a need (Hupcey et al. 2001); and an optimistic acceptance
of a vulnerable situation where after careful assessment
the truster believes that the trustee has his/her best
interest in mind (Bell & Duffy 2009). Further, trust is used
in common everyday language when speaking of various
types of relationships, but most often does not surface until
it has been broken. Baier (1986) suggests that persons are
keenly aware of trust only after ‘. . .its sudden demise or
severe injury. [That] we inhabit a climate of trust as we
inhabit an atmosphere and notice it as we notice air, only
when it becomes scarce or polluted’ (