Trust in Institutions (ESS items)
Psychology: Values & BeliefsReliability: alpha 0.853 sample items
About this scale
A standard set of items measuring trust in major social institutions: parliament, legal system, police, politicians, political parties, and the press. Used in the European Social Survey.
Sample item(s)
“Please tell me, on a score of 0–10, how much you personally trust the parliament”
“Please tell me how much you trust the legal system”
“Please tell me how much you trust the police”
Reliability
Reported internal consistency: alpha 0.85. As a rule of thumb, Cronbach’s α ≥ .70 is considered acceptable, ≥ .80 good, and ≥ .90 excellent for established measures.
Notes
Free for academic use.
Source & citation
European Social Survey (2018): ESS Round 9 source questionnaire. London: ESS ERIC.
European Social Survey (2018): ESS Round 9 source questionnaire. London: ESS ERIC.
Source. Scale details are summarised from the publication cited above. Always consult the original source for the full item set, scoring, and permission to use.
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