Development and validation of the Revised Epistemic Trust, Mistrust and Credulity Questionnaire (ETMCQ-R).

IF 3.5 3区医学 Q1 PSYCHIATRY

BJPsych Open Pub Date : 2025-09-01 DOI:10.1192/bjo.2025.10813

Chloe Campbell, Henry Delamain, Rob Saunders, Michal Tanzer, Alberto Milesi, Tobias Nolte, Elizabeth Allison, Patrick Luyten, Peter Fonagy

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: It has been argued that disruptions to epistemic trust are implicated in psychopathology; however, this requires empirical testing, and an existing scale evaluating epistemic trust, the Epistemic Trust, Mistrust and Credulity Questionnaire (ETMCQ), requires improvement.

Aims: This study tested a revised version of the Epistemic Trust, Mistrust and Credulity Questionnaire (the ETMCQ-R), examining the strength of associations between the updated scale and mental health symptoms, epistemic vice, psychological resilience, perceived social support, attachment style, history of childhood adversity and an experimental measure of trust, and epistemic stance as a mediator between adversity and psychopathology.

Method: Using an online survey design, 525 participants completed the ETMCQ-R alongside other measures. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to assess the structure of the ETMCQ-R and correlational and mediational analyses were used to further assess validity of the measure.

Results: The ETMCQ-R possesses greater model fit and a stronger three-factor structure (Trust, Mistrust and Credulity) compared with the ETMCQ. Significant negative correlations were identified between Trust (r = -0.12) and higher scores on global psychopathology severity, while Mistrust (r = 0.41) and Credulity (r = 0.36) showed positive correlations. Trust negatively correlated with borderline features (r = -0.10), whereas Mistrust and Credulity positively correlated (r = 0.54 and r = 0.48, respectively). Mistrust and credulity partially mediated the relationship between childhood adversity and psychopathology, with stronger mediation effects for borderline features than general psychopathology.

Conclusion: The study demonstrated strong psychometric properties of the ETMCQ-R, and further analyses indicate the three factors are differentially related to wider domains of socio-emotional functioning.

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新版认知信任、不信任与轻信问卷（ETMCQ-R）的编制与验证

背景：有人认为认知信任的中断与精神病理学有关；然而，这需要实证检验，现有的评估认知信任的量表，认知信任，不信任和轻信问卷（ETMCQ）需要改进。目的：本研究对修订后的认知信任、不信任和轻信问卷（ETMCQ-R）进行测试，考察更新后的量表与心理健康症状、认知缺陷、心理弹性、感知社会支持、依恋类型、童年逆境史和信任的实验测量以及认知立场在逆境与精神病理之间的中介作用之间的关联强度。方法：采用在线调查设计，525名参与者完成了ETMCQ-R和其他测量。采用探索性和验证性因素分析来评估ETMCQ-R的结构，并采用相关分析和中介分析来进一步评估量表的效度。结果：与ETMCQ相比，ETMCQ- r具有更好的模型拟合和更强的三因素结构（信任、不信任和轻信）。信任（r = -0.12）与整体精神病理严重程度得分呈显著负相关，而不信任（r = 0.41）与轻信（r = 0.36）呈正相关。信任与边缘特征负相关（r = -0.10），而不信任和轻信正相关（r = 0.54和r = 0.48）。不信任和轻信在童年逆境与精神病理的关系中起部分中介作用，对边缘特征的中介作用强于一般精神病理。结论：研究表明ETMCQ-R具有较强的心理测量特性，进一步分析表明这三个因素与更广泛的社会情绪功能领域存在差异。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

BJPsych Open Medicine-Psychiatry and Mental Health

CiteScore

6.30

自引率

3.70%

发文量

610

审稿时长

16 weeks

期刊介绍： Announcing the launch of BJPsych Open, an exciting new open access online journal for the publication of all methodologically sound research in all fields of psychiatry and disciplines related to mental health. BJPsych Open will maintain the highest scientific, peer review, and ethical standards of the BJPsych, ensure rapid publication for authors whilst sharing research with no cost to the reader in the spirit of maximising dissemination and public engagement. Cascade submission from BJPsych to BJPsych Open is a new option for authors whose first priority is rapid online publication with the prestigious BJPsych brand. Authors will also retain copyright to their works under a creative commons license.