Epistemic Trust, Mistrust and Credulity Questionnaire (ETMCQ) validation in French language: Exploring links to loneliness

Article Article scientifique Article Epistemic Trust, Mistrust and Credulity Questionnaire (ETMCQ) validation in French language: Exploring links to loneliness eng 2025-03-21 author Greiner Christian 0000-0003-4815-4757 Department of Psychiatry, Geneva University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland. 519139 author Besch Vincent 0000-0003-2896-9369 Department of Psychiatry, Geneva University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland.,Faculty of Psychology and Educational Science, Geneva University, Geneva, Switzerland. 880090 Section de psychologie (PSICO) author Bouchard Marissa Department of Psychiatry, Geneva University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland.,Montreal Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, Canada. author Le Henaff Catherine Department of Psychiatry, Geneva University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland. 406135 author Von Rohr-De Pree Cécilia Department of Psychiatry, Geneva University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland. 717195 author Perroud Nader Ali 0000-0002-9282-9216 Department of Psychiatry, Geneva University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland.,Faculty of Medicine, Geneva University, Geneva, Switzerland. 94458 Département de psychiatrie (PSYAT) author Prada Paco Boris Department of Psychiatry, Geneva University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland.,Faculty of Medicine, Geneva University, Geneva, Switzerland. 506849 Département de psychiatrie (PSYAT) author Debbané Martin Faculty of Psychology and Educational Science, Geneva University, Geneva, Switzerland.,Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, United Kingdom. 543333 Section de psychologie (PSICO) e0303918 10.1371/journal.pone.0303918 40117268 1932-6203 PMC11927912 https://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0303918 The concept of epistemic trust is gaining traction in the mental health field. Epistemic trust is thought to play a foundational role as a resilience factor against the development and maintenance of psychopathology by fostering social learning. The primary aim of this study was to validate the French-language version of the Epistemic Trust, Mistrust and Credulity Questionnaire (ETMCQ). We further sought to replicate previously reported associations with key developmental and psychological factors (childhood trauma, mentalizing and attachment) and test for epistemic trust's potential mediating roles between childhood traumatic experiences and psychopathology, and between loneliness and psychopathology. A total of 302 participants were recruited via the online survey platform Prolific. Confirmatory factor analysis and generalized linear models of mediation were conducted. Our findings suggest that the ETMCQ is a valid instrument to assess epistemic trust in the French language. Satisfactory psychometric properties were found to replicate the original three-factor solution in a Francophone population with a 12-item version of the questionnaire, with criterion-related validity similar to that previously published in validations of the ETMCQ in other languages. We also replicate previous findings reporting differential associations between epistemic stances (trust, mistrust and credulity) and attachment dimensions and styles, while also replicating mediation analyses showing the role of epistemic stances in the relationship between childhood traumatic experiences and psychopathology. Finally, we report preliminary evidence suggesting that epistemic trust mediates the well-described association between loneliness and psychopathology. Future research should investigate the ETMCQ in clinical populations in which psychopathological expressions are severe, enduring and co-occurring, where identifying potential mediators could help target and personalize psychosocial interventions. Adolescent Adult Factor Analysis, Statistical Female France Humans Language Loneliness / psychology Male Middle Aged Psychometrics Surveys and Questionnaires Trust / psychology Young Adult Dewey 616.89 Dewey 150 60 Département de psychiatrie 225 108 Section de psychologie 71 false 1342 Régulation des émotions : TDAH et trouble de la personnalité borderline 1028 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/ETMCQ_items_in_French_/28641418?file=53150662 PloS one 20 3 7656d206-f86c-4523-adff-cf51ee659040 Article (Published version) Public journal.pone.0303918.pdf 1360154 application/pdf CC BY-4.0 f5af438d21af77d2b4cc0b7df96164aba052d0dd398c311decb8bcc6fd9d427e d7d937ae-622f-4868-bff9-20781dc35fbc Appendix Public journal.pone.0303918.s001.pdf 332054 application/pdf ETMCQ items in French. 531cd47c2a592fbc7d0b21b99ec1900fa8924fec0ad87ff9ca97a7e49e41bf45 0ffc35d6-dc7c-4b1c-9033-811212203867 Supplemental data Public journal.pone.0303918.s002.csv 10590 text/csv Study dataset 1. ETMCQ french_for CFA. 184075daef387aa688decd6e293ed40891773e8c1ee5e0ab9cd2a3eeebd7ee66 5be29f17-d3b9-4093-bacd-fb7a69edfb39 Supplemental data Public journal.pone.0303918.s003.csv 12582 text/csv Study dataset 2. ETMCQ french_for convergence. e842ebc4db3ab63e3cbe07186802f0325c19e82c59f2bf9d9d98cf7f8ac63735 5412c7f5-5de9-4e09-b124-2e198800180f Supplemental data Public journal.pone.0303918.s004.csv 1176 text/csv Correlation Matrix. 9fb20052f612ee418f6feecb033e1f081683739231d058f7e32a24511cf54bdc openAccess Faculté de médecine / Section de médecine clinique / Département de psychiatrie Faculté de psychologie et des sciences de l'éducation / Section de psychologie

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Epistemic Trust, Mistrust and Credulity Questionnaire (ETMCQ) validation in French language: Exploring links to loneliness	PloS one	2025	33	2,619
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