The Origins of Trust in Order and Representative Institutions among Adolescents across 15 European Countries

Empirical findings on the origins of political trust among adolescents are limited and tend to understand political trust as unidimensional. Building on recent research capturing the importance of conceptualizing political trust as a two-dimensional construct, the present study aims to investigate origins of trust in order and representative institutions among adolescents, using three theoretical frameworks: social capital, procedural fairness, and the critical citizen theory. It draws on data from a representative sample of eight-grade students across 15 European countries that participated in the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) 2016. Multilevel analyses show that determinants of political trust are predominantly found at the individual level. Specifically, positive relationships with peers as well as feeling fairly treated by teachers are strong, positive predictors of both types of trust. On the other hand, students with higher levels of civic knowledge indicate higher levels of trust in order institutions though similar levels of trust in representative institutions than less sophisticated students. Furthermore, whereas social capital and fair treatment perceptions affect adolescents across Europe in a similar, positive way; the effect of civic knowledge, in line with critical citizenship theory, varies not only by type of trust but also by country characteristics. Negative associations with both types of trust are found in countries that score low on the corruption index (e.g., Bulgaria), though positive associations are found in countries that score high on this index (e.g., Norway). Overall, our findings confirm the validity of both rational and cultural approaches in explaining political trust among young emerging citizens across Europe.