Importance of Measurement Invariance of Trust over Time. The Spanish Case

Abstract

Social trust and political trust are, amongst others, key social capital
factors. This paper examines the accuracy of their measurement and
comparability across different time periods. Multiple-group confirmatory
factor analysis (MGCFA) is performed and different levels of measurement
invariance (configural, metric and scalar) are tested. Data used are from
European Social Survey for the years 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008, in
relation to Spanish citizens. Factor means for social and political trust are
compared across time in Spain. Political and social trust show stability
across time, except in 2004 with a higher level of political trust and 2006
with a higher level of social trust in Spain. Comparison with traditional
composite scores shows the inaccuracy of such measurement for data
comparison across time. Finally, consequences of using inaccurate
measurements, and methodological recommendations concerning model
fi t structural equation models are delineated.