PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES OF THE VACCINE CONSPIRACY BELIEFS SCALE, THE EPISTEMIC BELIEFS QUESTIONNAIRE, AND THE CYNICAL DISTRUST SCALE IN A UKRAINIAN SAMPLE

Abstract

The current issues in Ukraine, such as declining vaccination rates, increasing belief in conspiracy theories, and rising levels of hostility, necessitate the use of effective tools for assessment. The Vaccine Conspiracy Beliefs Scale (VCBS), Epistemic Beliefs Questionnaire, and Cook-Medley Cynical Hostility Scale (Ho) offer valuable instruments to collect reliable data and facilitate necessary interventions. The Vaccine Conspiracy Belief Scale (VCBS) is a 7-item instrument that assesses an individual's tendency to believe in deceptive information regarding vaccination and related health conditions. The Epistemic Beliefs Questionnaire measures an individual's ability to reason about the political or scientific world. It consists of three subscales, evaluating intuitive understanding of facts, willingness to examine evidence to analyze facts, and belief in the relationship between facts and policy. The questionnaire comprises 12 statements. The Cook-Medley Cynical Hostility Scale (50 items) provides a general assessment of a person's cynicism, hostility, and aggressive reactions. The Cynical Distrust subscale includes 5 statements representing hypothetical views on the actions, behavior, or opinions of others. Our study aimed to test the psychometric properties of the Vaccine Conspiracy Beliefs Scale, the Epistemic Beliefs Questionnaire, and the Cynical Distrust subscale of the Cook-Madley Cynical Hostility Scale (Ho), translated into Ukrainian. We recruited 392 Ukrainian-speaking respondents for the study. The scales underwent evaluation and statistical analysis using Cronbach's alpha, correlation analysis, principal components analysis, exploratory, and confirmatory factor analyses. The components of the Vaccine Conspiracy Beliefs Scale demonstrated a high level of reliability and internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha > 0.95). Principal components analysis, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and Comparative Fit Index (CFI) indicated a one-factor structure of the scale with a high degree of item fit. The Epistemic Beliefs Questionnaire showed good internal consistency and reliability (α = 0.84) and displayed a three-factor structure. The Cynical Distrust subscale of the Cook-Madley Cynical Hostility Scale demonstrated acceptable indicators of reliability and internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha > 0.73) and showed a one-factor structure with a high degree of fit. The Vaccine Conspiracy Beliefs Scale, the Epistemic Beliefs Questionnaire, and the Cynical Distrust subscale of the Cook-Madley Hostility Scale (Ho) are effective assessment tools and can be used with the Ukrainian population.