{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]],"date-time":"2026-08-31T18:18:21Z","timestamp":1788200301928,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":56,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]],"date-time":"2026-08-31T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788134400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100023233","name":"National Institute for Health and Care Research Applied Research Collaboration Oxford and Thames Valley","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100023233","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosmentalhealth.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLOS Ment Health"],"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    The concept of the epistemic stance (i.e., an individual\u2019s openness to learning from others) has been increasingly recognized as a key construct associated with mental health. This study validated a six-item short form of the Epistemic Trust, Mistrust and Credulity Questionnaire (ETMCQ-R) in a UK quota-balanced community sample (N\u2009=\u2009515). Using stepwise item reduction and confirmatory factor analysis, a three-factor structure with two items per subscale (trust, mistrust, credulity) was identified. The ETMCQ-R-6 showed acceptable fit (scaled\n                    <jats:italic>\u03c7\u00b2<\/jats:italic>\n                    (6)=22.13,\n                    <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u2009=\u2009.001; robust CFI\u2009=\u2009.978; robust TLI\u2009=\u2009.945; robust RMSEA\u2009=\u2009.073 [90% CI:\u2009\u2009.042,\u2009\u2009.107]; SRMR\u2009=\u2009.029) and acceptable reliability for the trust (\u03b1\u2009=\u2009.75) and credulity (\u03b1\u2009=\u2009.77) subscales, while the mistrust subscale fell below the conventional threshold (\u03b1\u2009=\u2009\u03c1\u2009=\u2009\u03c9\u2009=\u2009.68). Configural, metric, scalar, and structural invariance across gender and age groups was supported, while strict invariance was not established. Correlations between the long and short form were high (r\u2009=\u20090.83\u20130.87; \u03c6\u2009=\u20090.95\u20131.00). Hierarchical regression analyses confirmed significant incremental predictive validity for epistemic mistrust and credulity across psychopathology outcomes, while the trust subscale demonstrated domain-specific incremental validity for attachment avoidance. The ETMCQ-R-6 offers a brief, psychometrically stable assessment of epistemic stance suitable for epidemiological research.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pmen.0000591","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]],"date-time":"2026-08-31T17:31:00Z","timestamp":1788197460000},"page":"e0000591","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pmen.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Can we trust this short scale? Validation of a Brief Self-Report Measure of Epistemic Trust, Mistrust and Credulity (ETMCQ-R-6) in a sample of the U.K. general population"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"3","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0518-3144","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"David","family":"Riedl","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Henry","family":"Delamain","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0229-0091","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Peter","family":"Fonagy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Astrid","family":"Lampe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Samuel","family":"Eke","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tobias","family":"Nolte","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hanna","family":"Kampling","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Johannes","family":"Kruse","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chloe","family":"Campbell","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]]},"reference":[{"issue":"4","key":"pmen.0000591.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"599","DOI":"10.1080\/00332828.2023.2290023","article-title":"Beyond Mentalizing: Epistemic Trust and the Transmission of Culture","volume":"92","author":"P Fonagy","year":"2023","journal-title":"Psychoanal Q"},{"issue":"2","key":"pmen.0000591.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"172","DOI":"10.1037\/per0000161","article-title":"Hypermentalizing, attachment, and epistemic trust in adolescent BPD: Clinical illustrations","volume":"8","author":"S Bo","year":"2017","journal-title":"Personal Disord"},{"key":"pmen.0000591.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"9","DOI":"10.1186\/s40479-017-0062-8","article-title":"What we have changed our minds about: Part 2. Borderline personality disorder, epistemic trust and the developmental significance of social communication","volume":"4","author":"P Fonagy","year":"2017","journal-title":"Borderline Personal Disord Emot Dysregul"},{"issue":"3","key":"pmen.0000591.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"372","DOI":"10.1037\/a0036505","article-title":"The role of mentalizing and epistemic trust in the therapeutic relationship","volume":"51","author":"P Fonagy","year":"2014","journal-title":"Psychotherapy (Chic)"},{"issue":"4","key":"pmen.0000591.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0250264","article-title":"Development and validation of a self-report measure of epistemic trust","volume":"16","author":"C Campbell","year":"2021","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"issue":"3","key":"pmen.0000591.ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0303918","article-title":"Epistemic Trust, Mistrust and Credulity Questionnaire (ETMCQ) validation in French language: Exploring links to loneliness","volume":"20","author":"C Greiner","year":"2025","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"issue":"11","key":"pmen.0000591.ref007","article-title":"Epistemic trust and associations with psychopathology: Validation of the German version of the Epistemic Trust, Mistrust and Credulity-Questionnaire (ETMCQ)","volume":"19","author":"A-M Weiland","year":"2024","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"issue":"1","key":"pmen.0000591.ref008","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0280328","article-title":"Unpacking trust: The Italian validation of the Epistemic Trust, Mistrust, and Credulity Questionnaire (ETMCQ)","volume":"18","author":"M Liotti","year":"2023","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"issue":"3","key":"pmen.0000591.ref009","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1002\/brb3.3455","article-title":"Iranian adaptation of the Epistemic Trust, Mistrust, and Credulity Questionnaire (ETMCQ): Validity, reliability, discriminant ability, and sex invariance","volume":"14","author":"A Asgarizadeh","year":"2024","journal-title":"Brain Behav"},{"issue":"12","key":"pmen.0000591.ref010","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1816","DOI":"10.3390\/vaccines11121816","article-title":"Psychological Factors of Vaccination Intent among Healthcare Providers, Parents, and Laypeople","volume":"11","author":"K Damnjanovi\u0107","year":"2023","journal-title":"Vaccines"},{"issue":"10","key":"pmen.0000591.ref011","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0311352","article-title":"Validation of the Argentine version of the epistemic trust, mistrust, and credulity questionnaire","volume":"19","author":"A Rodriguez Quiroga","year":"2024","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"key":"pmen.0000591.ref012","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"919191","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyt.2022.919191","article-title":"Epistemic trust and personality functioning mediate the association between adverse childhood experiences and posttraumatic stress disorder and complex posttraumatic stress disorder in adulthood","volume":"13","author":"H Kampling","year":"2022","journal-title":"Front Psychiatry"},{"issue":"3","key":"pmen.0000591.ref013","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"187","DOI":"10.1159\/000542919","article-title":"Associations between Childhood Trauma and Epistemic Trust, Attachment, Mentalizing, and Symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder","volume":"58","author":"SRY Knapen","year":"2025","journal-title":"Psychopathology"},{"key":"pmen.0000591.ref014","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4067","DOI":"10.1177\/08862605251343202","article-title":"Childhood Maltreatment Experiences in Mothers\u2019 and Fathers\u2019 Parental Burnout: The Mediating Role of Epistemic Stances","volume":"41","author":"N Carone","year":"2026","journal-title":"J Interpers Violence"},{"key":"pmen.0000591.ref015","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"429","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jad.2024.12.096","article-title":"Somatic symptom disorder and the role of epistemic trust, personality functioning and child abuse: Results from a population-based representative German sample","volume":"373","author":"H Kampling","year":"2025","journal-title":"J Affect Disord"},{"key":"pmen.0000591.ref016","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"116526","DOI":"10.1016\/j.socscimed.2023.116526","article-title":"To trust or not to trust in the thrall of the COVID-19 pandemic: Conspiracy endorsement and the role of adverse childhood experiences, epistemic trust, and personality functioning","volume":"341","author":"H Kampling","year":"2024","journal-title":"Soc Sci Med"},{"key":"pmen.0000591.ref017","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"112390","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jpsychores.2025.112390","article-title":"Exploring loneliness in individuals with diabetes - The role of childhood abuse and neglect, and personality functioning: Findings from a German population-based sample","volume":"198","author":"S Zara","year":"2025","journal-title":"J Psychosom Res"},{"key":"pmen.0000591.ref018","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1587747","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2025.1587747","article-title":"Psychopathological symptoms, personality, and epistemic stances in individuals with myocardial infarction: an empirical investigation","volume":"16","author":"G Cruciani","year":"2025","journal-title":"Front Psychol"},{"issue":"1","key":"pmen.0000591.ref019","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2333221","DOI":"10.1080\/20008066.2024.2333221","article-title":"Improvements of complex post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms during a multimodal psychodynamic inpatient rehabilitation treatment - results of an observational single-centre pilot study","volume":"15","author":"A Lampe","year":"2024","journal-title":"Eur J Psychotraumatol"},{"issue":"8","key":"pmen.0000591.ref020","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"739","DOI":"10.1002\/jclp.23809","article-title":"Long-Term Improvements of Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) Symptoms After Multimodal Psychodynamic Inpatient Rehabilitation Treatment-An Observational Single Center Pilot Study","volume":"81","author":"D Riedl","year":"2025","journal-title":"J Clin Psychol"},{"key":"pmen.0000591.ref021","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1150422","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyt.2023.1150422","article-title":"Mentalizing and epistemic trust as critical success factors in psychosomatic rehabilitation: results of a single center longitudinal observational study","volume":"14","author":"D Riedl","year":"2023","journal-title":"Front Psychiatry"},{"key":"pmen.0000591.ref022","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"103688","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ajp.2023.103688","article-title":"Do we really need \u201ctrust\u201d? the incremental validity of epistemic trust over epistemic mistrust and credulity in predicting mentalizing-related constructs","volume":"87","author":"A Asgarizadeh","year":"2023","journal-title":"Asian J Psychiatr"},{"issue":"5","key":"pmen.0000591.ref023","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1192\/bjo.2025.10813","article-title":"Development and validation of the Revised Epistemic Trust, Mistrust and Credulity Questionnaire (ETMCQ-R)","volume":"11","author":"C Campbell","year":"2025","journal-title":"BJPsych Open"},{"issue":"2","key":"pmen.0000591.ref024","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"94","DOI":"10.1159\/000501526","article-title":"Mentalizing, epistemic trust and the phenomenology of psychotherapy","volume":"52","author":"P Fonagy","year":"2019","journal-title":"Psychopathology"},{"issue":"5","key":"pmen.0000591.ref025","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"631","DOI":"10.1176\/appi.ajp.2007.07040636","article-title":"8-year follow-up of patients treated for borderline personality disorder: mentalization-based treatment versus treatment as usual","volume":"165","author":"A Bateman","year":"2008","journal-title":"Am J Psychiatry"},{"issue":"2","key":"pmen.0000591.ref026","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"350","DOI":"10.1037\/0022-3514.78.2.350","article-title":"An item response theory analysis of self-report measures of adult attachment","volume":"78","author":"RC Fraley","year":"2000","journal-title":"J Pers Soc Psychol"},{"key":"pmen.0000591.ref027","volume-title":"BSI-18: Brief Symptom Inventory 18 - Administration, Scoring, and Procedures Manual","author":"LR Derogatis","year":"2000"},{"key":"pmen.0000591.ref028","author":"G Boyle","journal-title":"The Personality Assessment Inventory"},{"issue":"3","key":"pmen.0000591.ref029","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"194","DOI":"10.1080\/10705500802222972","article-title":"The brief resilience scale: assessing the ability to bounce back","volume":"15","author":"BW Smith","year":"2008","journal-title":"Int J Behav Med"},{"issue":"1","key":"pmen.0000591.ref030","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"207","DOI":"10.1017\/epi.2021.18","article-title":"Epistemic vice predicts acceptance of Covid-19 misinformation","volume":"21","author":"M Meyer","year":"2021","journal-title":"Episteme"},{"issue":"1","key":"pmen.0000591.ref031","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"30","DOI":"10.1207\/s15327752jpa5201_2","article-title":"The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support","volume":"52","author":"GD Zimet","year":"1988","journal-title":"Journal of Personality Assessment"},{"key":"pmen.0000591.ref032","article-title":"Development and validation of the certainty about mental states questionnaire (CAMSQ): A self-report measure of mentalizing oneself and others","author":"S M\u00fcller","year":"2021","journal-title":"Assessment"},{"issue":"6","key":"pmen.0000591.ref033","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"699","DOI":"10.1080\/10503307.2012.709325","article-title":"Is a self-rated instrument appropriate to assess mentalization in patients with mental disorders? Development and first validation of the mentalization questionnaire (MZQ)","volume":"22","author":"MC Hausberg","year":"2012","journal-title":"Psychother Res"},{"issue":"1","key":"pmen.0000591.ref034","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"135","DOI":"10.3390\/diagnostics13010135","article-title":"Measuring Impairments of Mentalization with the 15-Item Mentalization Questionnaire (MZQ) and Introducing the MZQ-6 Short Scale: Reliability, Validity and Norm Values Based on a Representative Sample of the German Population","volume":"13","author":"D Riedl","year":"2022","journal-title":"Diagnostics (Basel)"},{"issue":"3","key":"pmen.0000591.ref035","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"354","DOI":"10.1037\/a0029315","article-title":"When can categorical variables be treated as continuous? A comparison of robust continuous and categorical SEM estimation methods under suboptimal conditions","volume":"17","author":"M Rhemtulla","year":"2012","journal-title":"Psychol Methods"},{"issue":"11","key":"pmen.0000591.ref036","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0167110","article-title":"Meta-Heuristics in Short Scale Construction: Ant Colony Optimization and Genetic Algorithm","volume":"11","author":"U Schroeders","year":"2016","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"issue":"1","key":"pmen.0000591.ref037","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1080\/10705519909540118","article-title":"Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives","volume":"6","author":"L Hu","year":"1999","journal-title":"Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal"},{"issue":"2","key":"pmen.0000591.ref038","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"238","DOI":"10.1037\/0033-2909.107.2.238","article-title":"Comparative fit indexes in structural models","volume":"107","author":"PM Bentler","year":"1990","journal-title":"Psychol Bull"},{"key":"pmen.0000591.ref039","volume-title":"Discovering Statistics using SPSS","author":"A Field","year":"2009","edition":"3"},{"issue":"2","key":"pmen.0000591.ref040","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"233","DOI":"10.1207\/S15328007SEM0902_5","article-title":"Evaluating Goodness-of-Fit Indexes for Testing Measurement Invariance","volume":"9","author":"GW Cheung","year":"2002","journal-title":"Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal"},{"issue":"4","key":"pmen.0000591.ref041","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"637","DOI":"10.1007\/s00038-012-0416-3","article-title":"The reliability of a two-item scale: Pearson, Cronbach, or Spearman-Brown?","volume":"58","author":"R Eisinga","year":"2013","journal-title":"Int J Public Health"},{"key":"pmen.0000591.ref042","author":"GR Hancock","year":"2001","journal-title":"Rethinking construct reliability within latent variable systems"},{"issue":"1","key":"pmen.0000591.ref043","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"102","DOI":"10.1037\/1040-3590.12.1.102","article-title":"On the sins of short-form development","volume":"12","author":"GT Smith","year":"2000","journal-title":"Psychol Assess"},{"issue":"2","key":"pmen.0000591.ref044","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"57","DOI":"10.1027\/1614-2241.2.2.57","article-title":"Tucker\u2019s Congruence Coefficient as a Meaningful Index of Factor Similarity","volume":"2","author":"U Lorenzo-Seva","year":"2006","journal-title":"Methodology"},{"key":"pmen.0000591.ref045","volume-title":"Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences","author":"J Cohen","year":"1988","edition":"2"},{"issue":"2","key":"pmen.0000591.ref046","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.18637\/jss.v048.i02","article-title":"lavaan: An R Package for Structural Equation Modeling","volume":"48","author":"Y Rosseel","year":"2012","journal-title":"J Stat Soft"},{"issue":"2","key":"pmen.0000591.ref047","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"225","DOI":"10.1007\/BF02293865","article-title":"On Various Causes of Improper Solutions in Maximum Likelihood Factor Analysis","volume":"43","author":"OP van Driel","year":"1978","journal-title":"Psychometrika"},{"issue":"1","key":"pmen.0000591.ref048","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"126","DOI":"10.1037\/0033-2909.101.1.126","article-title":"Offending estimates in covariance structure analysis: Comments on the causes of and solutions to Heywood cases","volume":"101","author":"WR Dillon","year":"1987","journal-title":"Psychological Bulletin"},{"key":"pmen.0000591.ref049","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"226","DOI":"10.1002\/9781118619179.ch7","article-title":"Confirmatory Factor Analysis","author":"KA Bollen","year":"1989","journal-title":"Structural Equations with Latent Variables. Wiley"},{"key":"pmen.0000591.ref050","article-title":"Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling","author":"RB Kline","year":"2016","journal-title":"Abingdon, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom: Routledge"},{"key":"pmen.0000591.ref051","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"149","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2018.00149","article-title":"Best Practices for Developing and Validating Scales for Health, Social, and Behavioral Research: A Primer","volume":"6","author":"GO Boateng","year":"2018","journal-title":"Front Public Health"},{"issue":"1","key":"pmen.0000591.ref052","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4","DOI":"10.1521\/pedi.2008.22.1.4","article-title":"The development of borderline personality disorder--a mentalizing model","volume":"22","author":"P Fonagy","year":"2008","journal-title":"J Pers Disord"},{"issue":"4","key":"pmen.0000591.ref053","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1205","DOI":"10.1017\/S0954579421000092","article-title":"Culture and psychopathology: An attempt at reconsidering the role of social learning","volume":"34","author":"P Fonagy","year":"2022","journal-title":"Dev Psychopathol"},{"key":"pmen.0000591.ref054","volume-title":"Affect Regulation, Mentalization and the Development of the Self","author":"P Fonagy","year":"2002"},{"issue":"4","key":"pmen.0000591.ref055","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1643","DOI":"10.3758\/s13428-021-01694-3","article-title":"Data quality of platforms and panels for online behavioral research","volume":"54","author":"E Peer","year":"2022","journal-title":"Behav Res Methods"},{"key":"pmen.0000591.ref056","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"577","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev-psych-040422-045007","article-title":"Dealing with Careless Responding in Survey Data: Prevention, Identification, and Recommended Best Practices","volume":"74","author":"MK Ward","year":"2023","journal-title":"Annu Rev Psychol"}],"container-title":["PLOS Mental Health"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pmen.0000591","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]],"date-time":"2026-08-31T17:31:09Z","timestamp":1788197469000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pmen.0000591"}},"subtitle":[],"editor":[{"given":"Emanuele Maria","family":"Merlo","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"editor"}]}],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]]},"references-count":56,"journal-issue":{"issue":"8","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pmen.0000591","relation":{},"ISSN":["2837-8156"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2837-8156","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]]}}}