EARLY LIFE EVENTS SCALE

Abstract

The Early Life Events Scale (ELES) is a 15-item psychological instrument developed by Gilbert and colleagues in 2003. It is specifically designed to measure an individual’s emotional memories associated with their Early Life Experiences within the family context. Unlike scales that focus solely on discrete events or observable parental behaviors, the ELES assesses subjective feelings of being devalued, frightened, and having to act in a subordinate manner during childhood. Research indicates that such early relational dynamics are critical predictors of later psychological difficulties, including depression, shame, and issues related to social comparison. The scale utilizes a 5-point Likert response format and can be analyzed either as a single total construct or via three distinct subscales measuring Threat, Submissiveness, and (Un)valued feelings.

Keywords

Childhood memories, early life stress, perceived threat, subordination, submissiveness, emotional schema, psychological assessment, depression, shame, relational development.

Authors

Paul Gilbert, Man-Sang P. Cheung, Tracey Grandfield, Fiona Campey, and Chris Irons.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Early Life Events Scale (ELES) is to quantitatively capture subjective emotional memories of childhood relational environments, particularly those characterized by perceived threat and subordination. The developers aimed to create a concise measure that taps into the emotional impact of family dynamics rather than merely listing specific traumatic events. This focus allows researchers and clinicians to explore the enduring internal schemas related to safety and self-worth established in early life.

The scale was explicitly designed to investigate the relationship between these recalled emotional experiences and subsequent adult psychological outcomes, such as depression, social comparison tendencies, and feelings of shame. By measuring these specific aspects of early emotional climate, the ELES contributes valuable data to the understanding of developmental psychopathology and the application of evolutionary and attachment theories in clinical settings.

Construct

The ELES measures the construct of emotionally recalled childhood experiences, conceptualized across three inter-related dimensions that reflect perceived power dynamics and safety within the family unit. These dimensions are crucial for understanding how early environments shape an individual’s threat-management and social ranking systems.

The three core subscales are:

• Threat: Measures the recall of feeling unsafe, anxious, or fearful due to unpredictable or overwhelming parental anger and control (e.g., “The atmosphere at home could suddenly become threatening for no obvious reason”). This dimension captures the perceived lack of control over potential harm.
• Submissiveness: Assesses the requirement to adopt subordinate or appeasement behaviors to maintain safety or avoid rejection (e.g., “I often had to give in to others at home”). This reflects a learned pattern of yielding power and minimizing self-assertion within the family structure.
• (Un)Valued: Captures the emotional memory related to feeling appreciated, comfortable, and having one’s opinions matter (or the lack thereof) (e.g., “I felt very comfortable and relaxed around my parents”). This subscale is designed to measure the perceived sense of belonging and equality within the family.

Validity

While the initial publication by Gilbert et al. (2003) primarily focused on scale development and reliability, evidence for the scale’s validity is demonstrated through its established correlation with key psychological distress variables. The items were generated through consultation with clinical psychologists, reflecting typical statements and experiences reported by patients in psychotherapy, suggesting strong face and content validity related to clinical populations experiencing distress.

Crucially, the ELES demonstrated significant relationships with measures of adult depression, social comparison, and shame, confirming its utility in capturing childhood experiences relevant to these later psychological outcomes. This finding supports the scale’s construct validity, indicating that the recalled memories of threat and subordination are theoretically linked to specific forms of adult psychopathology.

Reliability

The Early Life Events Scale exhibits high levels of internal consistency across the total score and its primary subscales, as reported in the original 2003 validation study using Cronbach’s alpha coefficients. These high coefficients suggest that the items within the scale and its subscales reliably measure the intended underlying constructs.

The specific reliability coefficients reported are:

• Total ELES Score: α = 0.92 (Excellent internal consistency).
• Threat Subscale: α = 0.89 (Very good internal consistency).
• Submissiveness Subscale: α = 0.85 (Good internal consistency).
• (Un)Valued Subscale: α = 0.71 (Acceptable internal consistency).

Factor Analysis

The ELES structure was empirically derived to reflect the theoretical separation of emotional memories into distinct factors of threat, subordination, and value. The scale consists of 15 items structured to load onto three primary subscales:

• Threat Subscale: Composed of six items (4, 8, 11, 13, 14, 15), focusing on fear, unpredictability, and parental overwhelming power.
• Submissiveness Subscale: Composed of six items (1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 12), focusing on having to defer to others, feeling subordinate, and fearing rejection for non-compliance.
• Unvalued Subscale: Composed of three items (6, 7, 9), addressing feelings of comfort, equality, and ability to assert oneself within the family (these items are reverse-scored).

The successful differentiation of these three factors supports the theoretical model that memories of perceived threat and subordination are distinct, yet related, emotional experiences stemming from early family life. The scale is designed to minimize response bias through the inclusion of three reversed items.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report questionnaire, Psychological assessment scale.

Format: 15 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale.

Language Available: English (Original). Translations may exist in subsequent research applications.

Population Group: Clinical and non-clinical adults capable of recalling childhood experiences.

Age Group: Adults (based on the nature of retrospective recall).

Population Details: Initially validated using samples relevant to clinical psychology research investigating links between early experiences and adult psychopathology (e.g., depression).

Test Methodology: Participants rate how frequently and how true each statement was for them during their childhood. The response scale ranges from 1 = completely untrue, 2 = very occasionally true, 3 = sometimes true, 4 = fairly true, to 5 = very true. Items 6, 7, and 9 must be reverse-scored prior to calculating subscale or total scores.

Keywords

Childhood environment, attachment style, internal working model, emotional regulation, perceived threat, subordination, psychological difficulties, self-criticism, shame, parent-child relationship.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A (Not provided in the source content)

Affiliation Email addresses: N/A (Not provided in the source content)

Correspondence Address: N/A (Not provided in the source content)

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Test Year: 2003.

Permissions and Fees: The scale was published in the academic journal Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy. Researchers wishing to use the scale should consult the journal or contact the corresponding author, Paul Gilbert, for permission, as standard academic practice dictates. The original source document suggests the scale may have been available via the University of Derby website; however, current availability should be verified through the primary reference.

The original reference material was associated with a file path: www.derby.ac.uk/files.

Reference’s

Gilbert, P., Cheung, M.S.P., Grandfield, T., Campey, F. & Irons, C. (2003). Recall of threat and submissiveness in childhood: Development of a new scale and its relationship with depression, social comparison and shame. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, 10, 108-115.

Items of the EARLY LIFE EVENTS SCALE

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

The scale utilizes a 5-point rating system:

1 = Completely untrue, 2 = Very occasionally true, 3 = Sometimes true, 4 = Fairly true, 5 = Very true.

1. I often had to give in to others at home.
2. I felt on edge because I was unsure if my parents might get angry with me.
3. I rarely felt my opinions mattered much.
4. There was little I could do to control my parents’ anger once they became angry.
5. If I didn’t do what others wanted I felt I would be rejected.
6. I felt able to assert myself in my family. (Reverse Scored)
7. I felt very comfortable and relaxed around my parents. (Reverse Scored)
8. My parents could hurt me if I did not behave in the way they wanted.
9. I felt an equal member of my family. (Reverse Scored)
10. I often felt subordinate in my family.
11. My parents exerted control by threats and punishments.
12. I often had to go along with others even when I did not want to.
13. In order to avoid getting hurt I used to try to avoid my parents.
14. The atmosphere at home could suddenly become threatening for no obvious reason.
15. I experienced my parents as powerful and overwhelming.