The Influence of Question Wording on Interpersonal Trust

Methodology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 56-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Henriques ◽  
Susana Silva ◽  
Milton Severo ◽  
Sílvia Fraga ◽  
Elisabete Ramos

Abstract. We aimed to evaluate the impact of two question wordings, one more directive (reference, European Social Survey ) and one less directive (modified version), on self-reported trust. Using a randomly equivalent groups design, young adults ( n = 1,681) from the EPITeen cohort completed one of two questionnaires to evaluate trust. The final score ranged between 0 (lowest) and 30 (highest). Cronbach’s alphas were computed to assess reliability, and invariance tests were conducted to test the equivalence of both versions. Lower levels of interpersonal trust were attained with the reference version [ M ( SD):14.4(5.3) vs. 15.6(4.8); p < .001 and p = .005 for mean and variance comparison]. The reference version had better reliability (α = .742 vs. .686; p = .006). Strict invariance was achieved between the two formats, and similar effects of sociodemographic variables on trust were obtained, independently of the version used. The reference version presented better reliability than the modified one, supporting its ability to measure levels of trust among young adults.

Sociologija ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 419-439
Author(s):  
Milos Besic

In this paper, we compare the latent construct measurement of political and interpersonal trust in two researches: the European Values Study and the European Social Survey. The main goal was to estimate the validity of measuring the respective concepts. In order to achieve this goal, we conducted a number of Principal Component Analyses and Confirmatory Factor Analyses. Additionally, we used multilevel regression modelling to test and compare the effect of socio-demographic variables on political and interpersonal trust in both researches. We identified that socio-demographic predictors had a similar effect on both types of trust. The paper is complemented with descriptive data that portray the differences among countries when it comes to interpersonal and political trust.


2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 33-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Fleischmann ◽  
Ferry Koster ◽  
Pearl Dykstra ◽  
Joop Schippers

To sustain the welfare state, several EU countries agreed to take measures aimed at increasing the labor market participation of older workers (European Commission 2001). In this study, we developed a framework integrating individual, work, and institutional characteristics in order to explain the labor market participation of older workers. While prior studies focused mainly on individual characteristics, the present analysis investigated the impact of work and institutions more closely using the European Social Survey. Multilevel analyses across 21 countries showed that work characteristics increased the benefits from work, hence increasing the likelihood of participation among older workers, and that the generosity of institutions discouraged older workers to remain in the labor market.


2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 381-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carsten Strøby Jensen

Do political attitudes influence the likelihood of employees being members of a trade union, and to what extent is this the case in the Nordic countries with their high aggregate levels of membership? In this article, I address these questions using European Social Survey data from 2012. The results show that left-wing political attitudes have the most impact on the likelihood of trade union membership in Sweden and to a lesser extent in Denmark. In Norway and Finland, there is no statistically significant impact. I argue that the impact of left-wing political attitudes on unionization in Sweden and Denmark reflects a conception among employees that trade unions are normative organizations.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 427-448 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daphne Halikiopoulou ◽  
Tim Vlandas

AbstractThis article contests the view that the strong positive correlation between anti-immigration attitudes and far right party success necessarily constitutes evidence in support of the cultural grievance thesis. We argue that the success of far right parties depends on their ability to mobilize a coalition of interests between their core supporters, that is voters with cultural grievances over immigration and the often larger group of voters with economic grievances over immigration. Using individual level data from eight rounds of the European Social Survey, our empirical analysis shows that while cultural concerns over immigration are a stronger predictor of far right party support, those who are concerned with the impact of immigration on the economy are important to the far right in numerical terms. Taken together, our findings suggest that economic grievances over immigration remain pivotal within the context of the transnational cleavage.


2020 ◽  
pp. 003232172092277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren McLaren ◽  
Anja Neundorf ◽  
Ian Paterson

The question of whether high immigration produces anti-immigration hostility has vexed researchers across multiple disciplines for decades. And yet, understanding this relationship is crucial for countries dependant on immigrant labour but concerned about its impact on social cohesion. Absent from most of this research are theories about the impact of early-years socialisation conditions on contemporary attitudes. Using the British sample of the European Social Survey (2002–2017) and two innovative approaches to modelling generational differences – generalised additive models and hierarchical age‒period‒cohort models – this paper shows that rather than producing hostility to immigration, being socialised in a context of high immigrant-origin diversity is likely to result in more positive attitudes to immigration later in life. This implies that through generational replacement, countries like the UK are likely to become increasingly tolerant of immigration over time. Importantly, however, a context of high-income inequality may diminish this effect.


Author(s):  
Francesca Borgonovi ◽  
Beatrice d'Hombres ◽  
Bryony Hoskins

Abstract This article examines the impact of education on political participation in 15 European countries. We use data from the European Social Survey and find that education is positively associated with voter turnout and information acquisition about politics and currents affairs. However, when we use exogeneous changes in compulsory schooling to instrument education, we observe a statistically significant causal relationship in the case of information acquisition but not voter turnout.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lukas Stoetzer ◽  
Johannes Giesecke ◽  
Heike Klüver

Recent studies provide evidence that income inequality is a relevant driver for the electoral success of populist parties all over Europe. In this article, we aim to understand how exactly increasing income inequality can lead to support for populist parties. More specifically, we discuss four different attitudinal mechanisms that have been suggested in previous research: economic insecurities, trust in political elites, social integration and social identity. We rely on eight waves of the European Social Survey and find that especially trust in political elites is linked to rising income inequality and populist support. However, a causal mediation analysis shows that none of these mechanisms is sufficient to understand the impact of income inequality onsupport for populists. This finding raises questions regarding the empirical relevance of existing theories to explain how macroeconomic changes in inequality became a pre-condition for the rise of populist parties.


Intersections ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Piotr Cichocki ◽  
Piotr Jabkowski

In the summer of 2015 the tensions over managing external immigration into the European Union morphed into a full-blown crisis. Political and social reactions towards the Balkan Route emergency exposed major divisions between EU member states. Notably, the Visegrád Group (V4) countries, i.e. Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, stood out as a block united by governmental opposition to immigration. This political unity of countries should not be interpreted, however, as certain proof for an underlying convergence of social attitudes to migration. This paper examines the impact of the crisis on the V4 public opinion on the basis of cross-country surveys, with special attention afforded to a comparative analysis of European Social Survey waves 7 (2014) and 8 (2016). General Linear Modelling is used to test two hypotheses concerning the linkage between opposition to immigration and normative orientations in Czechia, Hungary and Poland (with Slovakia missing from ESS7 and ESS8). We demonstrate that adherence to the values of Universalism corelates with lower levels of opposition to immigration, which had been the case prior to the 2015 crisis and has mostly remained true thereafter. When it comes to respondents expressing value-based concerns with Security, they are more likely to voice more negative opinions about immigration after the crisis, although no such association held in 2014 measurements. We postulate that this public opinion shift should be interpreted as an effect of the strong securitisation of the immigration debate in the V4 countries.


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