Development and validation of a scale for citizen distrust in public organizations

Purpose Distrust has been a neglected concept in public governance research, especially in comparison with the much more developed stream of studies on trust. Recently, however, there has been a growing recognition of the need to better understand distrust and separate it from trust, especially given contemporary social challenges which endanger trust within societies. This study aims to propose a validated and reliable scale to measure citizen distrust in public organizations through assessment of public organizations’ untrustworthiness. Design/methodology/approach A rigorous three-stage scale development procedure was used to identify, operationalize, evaluate and validate the dimensions of distrust. Data obtained from a research sample of 541 Polish citizens was subject to construct validation (exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses) with satisfactory discriminant and convergent validities. A homogeneity reliability analysis (Cronbach’s alpha) provided an evidence of internal consistency reliability. Findings The study presents a valid and reliable scale assessing distrust through three dimensions of untrustworthiness in the context of public administration. This scale was developed as a three-factor construct with 11 validated items. Originality/value The presented instrument allows researchers to study distrust systematically across sectors and countries. It may be useful in future research and may provide insights to design practical remedies for citizen distrust.