Epistemological Beliefs Questionnaire (EBQ): a new tool for the analysis of epistemological beliefs underpinning the psychotherapeutic interventions

The analysis of epistemological beliefs underlying psychotherapeutic interventions has been largely neglected by psychotherapy research. However, consistency between basic epistemological assumptions, theories, and techniques may contribute to the scientific basis of therapeutic interventions and ultimately to their effectiveness. To fill this gap, we developed and validated an instrument, the Epistemological Beliefs Questionnaire (EBQ), to survey the epistemological beliefs of professionals from various disciplines, including psychology. The initial version of EBQ consisted of 72 theoretically driven items divided into 4 dimensions, namely "conception of knowledge," "cognitive approach," "role of subjectivity in knowledge," and "relationship between experience of reality and knowledge." The EBQ was completed by 658 participants along with other questionnaires related to epistemological beliefs. The analyses conducted found a solution consisting of 28 items, which tapped into four oblique factors ("Intersubjective evidence of knowledge" [11 items], "Knowledge contextuality" [7 items], "Analytic approach to knowledge" and the "Knowledge stability" [5 items]), showed an adequate fit to the data (χ2 (344) = 601.668; RMSEA = 0.054 [90% CI: 0.047 - 0.061]; SRMR = 0.078), revealed fair to good internal consistency (McDonald's Omega ranged from .82 to .66), and correlated with questionnaires on similar constructs we administered (Pearson’s r ranged from |.19| to |.38|). The EBQ represents a first step in a systematic investigation of how epistemological assumptions guide and impact the theoretical choices of psychotherapists and psychotherapy researchers. Such an investigation can offer renewed impulse for more epistemologically and scientifically grounded research and practice.