The Disgust Scale: Item analysis, factor structure, and suggestions for refinement.

TLDR

The study situates its findings within efforts to refine the Disgust Scale for a more psychometrically sound assessment of disgust sensitivity. Four studies with 1,939 participants employed converging analyses to assess item adequacy, factor structure, reliability, and validity of the Disgust Scale. The analyses led to the removal of seven items, revealed a three‑factor structure (Core, Animal Reminder, Contamination‑Based), showed women scored higher, and demonstrated that Core and Contamination factors predict OCD washing concerns while Animal Reminder does not.

Abstract

In the 4 studies presented (N = 1,939), a converging set of analyses was conducted to evaluate the item adequacy, factor structure, reliability, and validity of the Disgust Scale (DS; J. Haidt, C. McCauley, & P. Rozin, 1994). The results suggest that 7 items (i.e., Items 2, 7, 8, 21, 23, 24, and 25) should be considered for removal from the DS. Secondary to removing the items, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the DS taps 3 dimensions of disgust: Core Disgust, Animal Reminder Disgust, and Contamination-Based Disgust. Women scored higher than men on the 3 disgust dimensions. Structural modeling provided support for the specificity of the 3-factor model, as Core Disgust and Contamination-Based Disgust were significantly predictive of obsessive- compulsive disorder (OCD) concerns, whereas Animal Reminder Disgust was not. Results from a clinical sample indicated that patients with OCD washing concerns scored significantly higher than patients with OCD without washing concerns on both Core Disgust and Contamination-Based Disgust, but not on Animal Reminder Disgust. These findings are discussed in the context of the refinement of the DS to promote a more psychometrically sound assessment of disgust sensitivity.