A Bifactor Model of Trait Trust, Distrust, and Suspicion

Abstract. We explored competing models using bifactor item response theory (IRT) analyses to determine the relationship between trait measures of trust, distrust, and suspicion. The model with a general factor for all three scales fits the data best. We explored the relationship of the emergent general factor by correlating it with two latent traits: Agreeableness and the Trust facet of Agreeableness. The exploratory findings showed evidence that the general factor from the best-fitting model was practically identical to the Trust facet of Agreeableness. We concluded that trait trust, distrust, and suspicion reside on a continuum represented by the general factor, which is dispositional trust.