Preliminary examination of psychometric properties of the Korean version of the Specific Interpersonal Trust Scale

The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Specific Interpersonal Trust scale of Johnson-George and Swap in Korean samples as a part of the process of providing an exemplary tool for intercultural studies of trust. A translated version of the original scale was administered to 337 university students (157 males, 180 females) in Seoul, Korea. Data were subjected to a principal components analysis and a confirmatory factor analysis. In principal components analysis for the Korean sample (n= 167), three factors were identified and labeled: Overall Trust (Cronbach alpha= .89), Emotional Trust (Cronbach alpha=.88), and Reliableness (Cronbach a=.84). A confirmatory factor analysis (n= 170) showed that the three-factor model was valid for the sample (chi(2)/df= 1.78, RMR= .06, RMSEA= .07, TLI=.92, CFI=.93). Internal consistency reliability and factorial validity were satisfactory in the case of the Korean sample. The Korean version of the Specific Interpersonal Trust Scale made good use of three factors of trust and appeared to be valid without sex differences, while the original scale distinguished the Males subscale from the Females subscale. Implications and limitations of this study were discussed.