Liotti, Marianna;
Milesi, Alberto;
Spitoni, Grazia Fernanda;
Tanzilli, Annalisa;
Speranza, Anna Maria;
Parolin, Laura;
Campbell, Chloe;
... Giovanardi, Guido; + view all
(2023)
Unpacking trust: The Italian validation of the Epistemic Trust, Mistrust, and Credulity Questionnaire (ETMCQ).
PLoS ONE
, 18
(1)
, Article e0280328. 10.1371/journal.pone.0280328.
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Abstract
The construct of epistemic trust has received much consideration in recent psychological literature, even though mainly from a theoretical perspective. The overall aim of this study was to validate the first self-report measure of epistemic trust–the Epistemic Trust, Mistrust, and Credulity Questionnaire (ETMCQ)–in an Italian sample. Our primary goal was to test the factorial validity of the instrument, also exploring the influence of age, gender, and level of education on epistemic trust (Study 1, n = 843). Secondarily, we investigated the associations between epistemic trust, mistrust, credulity, and other aspects of psychological functioning, as well as with the presence of adverse childhood experiences in a smaller number of participants (Study 2, n = 445). Besides the ETMCQ, the survey included an ad hoc questionnaire investigating socio-demographic characteristics and self-report measures of reflective functioning, mentalized affectivity, traumatic experiences, attachment, and psychological symptoms. Statistical analysis showed a three-factor hierarchical structure similar to the model proposed in the original validation, with some differences that suggest an influence of cultural factors in determining individuals’ epistemic stance. Our results corroborate previous theoretical contributions regarding the association between epistemic trust and psychological wellbeing, and between epistemic disruptions and higher levels of psychological suffering. Both Mistrust and Credulity were significantly related to the presence of childhood traumatic experiences, attachment avoidance and anxiety, lower levels of mentalization, lower abilities in emotional regulation, and higher levels of psychopathological symptoms. The ETMCQ represents an easily administered and time-effective tool. Its use could pave the way for interesting clinical and theoretical findings.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Unpacking trust: The Italian validation of the Epistemic Trust, Mistrust, and Credulity Questionnaire (ETMCQ) |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1371/journal.pone.0280328 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0280328 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright: © 2023 Liotti et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > Clinical, Edu and Hlth Psychology |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10162541 |
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