Development and validation of a self-report measure of epistemic trust

Chloe Campbell; Michal Tanzer; Rob Saunders; Thomas Booker; Elizabeth Allison; Elizabeth Li; Claire O'Dowda; Patrick Luyten; Peter Fonagy

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0250264

Development and validation of a self-report measure of epistemic trust

PLoS One. 2021 Apr 16;16(4):e0250264. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0250264. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Chloe Campbell^{1

2}, Michal Tanzer¹, Rob Saunders¹, Thomas Booker^{1

2}, Elizabeth Allison^{1

2}, Elizabeth Li¹, Claire O'Dowda¹, Patrick Luyten^{1

3}, Peter Fonagy^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
² Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families, London, United Kingdom.
³ Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.

Abstract

Epistemic trust (ET) refers to trust in communicated knowledge. This paper describes the development and validation of a new self-report questionnaire, the Epistemic Trust, Mistrust and Credulity Questionnaire (ETMCQ). We report on two studies (Study 1, n = 500; Study 2, n = 705) examining the psychometric properties of the ETMCQ and the relationship between EMTCQ scores (i.e., an individual's epistemic stance) and exposure to adverse childhood experiences, mental health symptoms, attachment, mentalizing and general self-efficacy. The factor structure of the ETMCQ was examined using Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses, and its reliability and test-retest reliability were tested. Both studies yielded three correlated yet distinct factors-Trust, Mistrust and Credulity-and confirmed the reliability and validity of the ETMCQ. Preregistered hypotheses were confirmed and replicated across both studies. Main findings suggest intriguing links between the ETMCQ and developmental psychopathology constructs and are consistent with thinking on the role of epistemic stance in undermining adaptation and increasing the developmental risk of mental health problems. Mistrust and Credulity scores were associated with childhood adversity and higher scores on the global psychopathology severity index and both factors partially mediated the link between early adversity and mental health symptoms. Mistrust and Credulity were positively associated with difficulties in understanding mental states and insecure attachment styles. Post-hoc analysis identified that different attachment styles were associated with differences in epistemic stance. In addition, Trust was not associated with reduced levels of mental health symptoms and did not moderate the impact of childhood adversity-findings are congruent with the suggestion that the reduction of mistrust and credulity may be crucial common factors in promoting resilience and the effectiveness of psychotherapeutic interventions. This investigation and the ETMCQ provide an empirical measure of what until now has been largely a theoretical concept and open new avenues for future research.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Adverse Childhood Experiences / psychology*
Humans
Knowledge*
Mental Health*
Mentalization*
Self Report*
Surveys and Questionnaires
Trust / psychology*

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the British Academy as part of the BA/Leverhulme Small Research Grants SRG2019-20 Round scheme, reference: SRG1920\101398. Peter Fonagy is in part supported by the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) North Thames at Barts Health NHS Trust. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.