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Institutional Trust Scale

Also known as: ITS, Institutional Confidence Index

OriginatorDavid Easton, Marc Hetherington, Pippa NorrisYear1975–2011Sources3Related methods9

The Institutional Trust Scale measures an individual's confidence and trust in formal political and social institutions including parliament, courts, police, media, and civil service. Distinct from generalized interpersonal trust, institutional trust reflects belief in the legitimacy, fairness, and effectiveness of formal organizations that structure governance and public life. Developed in political science by scholars including David Easton and Marc Hetherington, it is a key indicator of democratic health and governance legitimacy.

Key highlights

  • Simple and easily administered across diverse populations and countries
  • Strong predictive validity: institutional trust predicts compliance with laws, tax payment, voting, and civic engagement
  • Sensitive to political events, scandals, and institutional performance; captures real-time changes in democratic confidence
  • Establishes baseline and monitors whether reforms (anti-corruption, transparency initiatives) restore trust
  • Comparable across nations and over decades via international surveys

Intuition

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How it works

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When to use it

Institutional trust is measured in Afrobarometer, Asian Barometer, Eurobarometer, World Values Survey, and national election studies. Essential for longitudinal monitoring of democratic health, assessing impact of political events (elections, scandals, institutional reforms), evaluating policy legitimacy, and predicting civic compliance (e.g., tax payment, vaccine uptake, law enforcement cooperation). Valuable in post-transition and post-conflict societies assessing institutional consolidation.

Strengths & limitations

Strengths
  • Simple and easily administered across diverse populations and countries
  • Strong predictive validity: institutional trust predicts compliance with laws, tax payment, voting, and civic engagement
  • Sensitive to political events, scandals, and institutional performance; captures real-time changes in democratic confidence
  • Establishes baseline and monitors whether reforms (anti-corruption, transparency initiatives) restore trust
  • Comparable across nations and over decades via international surveys
Limitations
  • Conflates trust, legitimacy, and satisfaction; citizens may trust institutions they dislike or distrust institutions they obey
  • Response scale ambiguity: respondents may interpret 'trust' differently (competence vs. benevolence vs. predictability)
  • Context collapse: trust in police may reflect fear or resignation rather than genuine confidence; respondents in authoritarian settings may respond defensively
  • Temporal instability: single events (scandal, protest) can dramatically swing aggregate trust, obscuring underlying support

Common pitfalls

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Applications

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Frequently asked

Is low institutional trust a sign of a healthy democracy?

Not necessarily. Modest skepticism and accountability demands reflect engaged citizenship. However, very low trust (below 2.0 on a 5-point scale) undermines compliance, reduces civic participation, and weakens institutional capacity. Healthy democracies typically maintain 3.0+ average institutional trust.

Can institutional trust be restored after major decline?

Recovery is slow and requires sustained institutional performance. Trust typically requires years or decades to rebuild but can decline rapidly (within months) due to scandal or crisis. Transparency, anti-corruption efforts, and responsive governance show modest positive effects on trust restoration.

Why might citizens trust courts but not parliament?

Courts are often perceived as insulated from political pressure and bound by rule of law; parliaments are seen as partisan and responsive to organized interests. Citizens may trust institutions perceived as technically competent (courts, police) while doubting political institutions seen as corrupt or unresponsive.

Is institutional trust the same as legitimacy?

Related but distinct. Trust is specific confidence in institutions' performance. Legitimacy is broader belief that institutions have the right to govern. Citizens may distrust current institutional performance while viewing the system as legitimate; conversely, they may obey institutions they don't trust out of fear.

Sources

  1. 1.
    Hetherington, M. J. (2005). Why trust matters: Declining political trust and the demise of American liberalism. Princeton University Press.
    https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Hetherington%2C%20M.%20J.%20(2005).%20Why%20trust%20matters%3A%20Declining%20political%20trust%20and%20the%20demise%20of%20American%20liberalism.%20Princeto
  2. 2.
    Norris, P. (Ed.). (2011). Public sentinel: News media and governance reform. World Bank Publications.
    https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Norris%2C%20P.%20(Ed.).%20(2011).%20Public%20sentinel%3A%20News%20media%20and%20governance%20reform.%20World%20Bank%20Publications.
  3. 3.
    Easton, D. (1975). A re-assessment of the concept of political support. British Journal of Political Science, 5(4), 435-457.
    DOI 10.1017/S0007123400008309

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ScholarGate. (2026, June 3). Institutional Trust Scale. ScholarGate. https://scholargate.app/political-sociology/institutional-trust-scale

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