Psychometrics Properties of the Epistemic Trust, Mistrust and Credulity Questionnaire (ETMCQ) in Iranian Society

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 M.A in Clinical Psychology, Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Shahid Beheshti, Tehran, Iran.

2 Professor of Psychology at the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Shahid Beheshti, Tehran, Iran.

3 Assistant professor, Department of Social and Cultural Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Shahid Beheshti, Tehran, Iran.

4 Assistant Professor, Department of Developmental Educational Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Shahid Beheshti, Tehran, Iran.

5 Associate professor, Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom.

10.48308/apsy.2024.233137.1570

Abstract

Aim: The purpose of this research was to investigate factor structure, validity, and reliability of the Epistemic Trust, Mistrust, and Credulity Questionnaire (ETMCQ) in Iranian Society.
 
Method: The research method was in terms of purpose, applied and the data collection method was descriptive correlational. The statistical population included all Iranian females and males above 18 years old in the year 2022. After translating and obtaining the face validity and the content validity of the questionnaire by experts, 690 adults were selected using convenience sampling and answered the Persian version of the ETMCQ. The factor validity of the ETMCQ, by confirmatory and exploratory analysis methods, and internal consistency by Cronbach's alpha were obtained. Also, to investigate the convergent and divergent validity, The Experiences in Close Relationships questionnaire (ECR), The Mentalization Scale (MentS), The Inventory of Personality Organization (IPO), and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) were used.
 
Results: The results showed that the three-factor structure of the questionnaire in the Iranian sample had a good fit with the data. Internal consistency for the epistemic trust, epistemic mistrust, and epistemic credulity was 0/66, 0/56, and 0/79, respectively. Also, the construct validity, the convergent validity, and the divergent validity of the instrument were confirmed.
 
Conclusion: The findings of the current research confirmed the psychometric characteristics of the Epistemic Trust, Mistrust, and Credulity Questionnaire. Therefore, this questionnaire can be considered a suitable instrument for measuring the epistemic stances of adults in various research fields.

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Main Subjects

References

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Applied Psychology

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 27 February 2024

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