PhD Scientific Days 2024

Mental Health Sciences III.

Factor Structure and Validity of the Hungarian Version of the Three-Domain Disgust Scale in a Community Sample

Text of the abstract

Introduction: The adaptationist model of disgust proposed by Tybur et al. [(2009). Microbes, mating, and morality: Individual differences in three functional domains of disgust. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 97(1), 103–122] suggests that three functionally specialized domains of disgust exist: pathogen disgust, sexual disgust, and moral disgust. These domains can be measured using a short self-report questionnaire, the Three-Domain Disgust Scale (TDDS).
Aims: The current study aimed to translate the TDDS into Hungarian and examine its factor structure and validity in a community sample of Hungarian adults.
Methods: 243 participants (57.2% females, mean age = 41.66 years, SD = 15.47) completed a battery of self-report questionnaires including the Three-Domain Disgust Scale (TDDS), the Disgust Propensity and Sensitivity Scale–Revised (DPSS-R), and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales–21 (DASS-21). The factor structure of the TDDS was tested using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with Satorra-Bentler correction. The associations between subscales of the TDDS and measures of disgust and psychological distress were examined using Pearson correlations.
Results: The three-factor structure was confirmed (SB-χ2(179) = 330.782, χ2/df =1.85, CFI = .925, TLI = .912, RMSEA = .059, 90% CI = [.049, .069]) after allowing for the correlation of seven pairs of error terms based on modification indices and theoretical justification. All the items loaded substantially (λ ≥ .38) on the expected factor. The latent factor intercorrelations ranged from .18 to .65. The Cronbach’s alphas were .77 for Pathogen Disgust, .84 for Sexual Disgust, and .90 for Moral Disgust. All three subscales were correlated significantly and positively with DPSS-R Disgust Propensity (r = .15–.53) and DPSS-R Disgust Sensitivity (r = .19–.49). Pathogen and Sexual Disgust exhibited weak but significant correlations with DASS-21 Depression, Anxiety, and Stress (r = .15–.30).
Conclusion: The Hungarian version of the TDDS is a psychometrically sound measure of disgust domains. Data collection among psychiatric patients with various diagnoses is ongoing.
Funding: None.