Eurofound's recent report, "Societal change and trust in institutions" aims to "broaden the understanding of trends in trust in institutions". The study is based on data from the European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) and Eurobarometer, and compares trust in institutions before, during, and after the great recession.

[1]political institutions, defined "as trust in national parliament and trust in national government". ... [2] non-political state institutions (police, legal system) and [3] non-state institutions (media) ... [4] "political participation is based on four items [...]: 'attended a meeting of a trade union, political party or political action group'; 'attended a protest or demonstration'; 'contacted a politician or public official'; and 'signed a petition, including online petition'