Early Memories of Warmth and Safeness Scale (EMWSS)

Abstract

The Early Memories of Warmth and Safeness Scale (EMWSS) is a 21-item self-report measure developed to retrospectively assess an individual’s subjective recall of positive relational and emotional experiences during childhood. Specifically, the EMWSS quantifies feelings of warmth, security, and being cared for by primary figures in the early environment. Participants rate their experiences using a 5-point Likert-type scale. Developed by Richter, Gilbert, and McEwan (2009), the scale is employed extensively in clinical and research contexts, particularly within compassion-focused therapy models, to investigate the protective role of early memories of positive affect and caregiving in relation to adult mental health and psychopathology.

Keywords

EMWSS, Early Memories of Warmth and Safeness Scale, childhood memories, perceived safeness, emotional regulation, attachment, compassion-focused therapy, psychopathology, relational warmth.

Authors

A. Richter, P. Gilbert, K. McEwan

Purpose

The primary purpose of the EMWSS is to quantify the subjective quality and frequency of positive emotional experiences recalled from childhood, particularly those related to feeling safe, understood, and connected within core relational contexts. The scale provides a measure of perceived early emotional provisioning, contrasting with scales that focus on neglect or abuse by focusing exclusively on positive, nurturing memories.

By capturing these positive, soothing memories, the scale offers insight into potential protective factors that may buffer against adult mental health issues. It is frequently utilized in research related to compassion-focused psychological approaches, which emphasize the importance of internalizing soothing system memories to enhance emotional resilience and self-compassion.

Construct

The EMWSS primarily measures the construct of Early Perceived Relational Safeness and Warmth. This construct reflects the degree to which an individual remembers their early environment as being reliably nurturing, secure, and emotionally available. The measured concept is closely related to principles of Attachment theory, emphasizing the internalization of a secure base and comforting relationships.

High scores on the EMWSS indicate a strong memory of an environment characterized by reliable comfort, acceptance, and emotional availability from caregivers. The underlying theoretical assumption is that these early experiences of warmth and safeness foster the development of crucial internal resources, such as secure attachment styles, effective emotional regulation, and self-soothing capacities, which are vital for mitigating distress and promoting psychological health later in life.

Validity

The validation study by Richter, Gilbert, and McEwan (2009) established the scale’s utility by demonstrating its clear association with measures of psychological distress, suggesting strong criterion validity. Research consistently shows that lower scores on the EMWSS are associated with higher levels of depression, anxiety, and distress, supporting its theoretical link between a lack of early relational warmth and increased adult psychopathology.

The items focus specifically on positive relational memories, ensuring the scale measures the presence of positive experiences rather than simply the absence of negative ones. This focus bolsters its construct validity as a distinct measure of remembered safeness and warmth.

Reliability

The EMWSS demonstrates excellent internal consistency. Based on the original validation study published in 2009, the scale reported a remarkably high Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.97. This high value indicates exceptional reliability, suggesting that the 21 items are highly homogenous and consistently measure the same underlying construct of early warmth and safeness across different applications.

This strong statistical reliability confirms that the EMWSS is a stable and dependable instrument for assessing retrospective positive childhood emotional experiences in both clinical and non-clinical populations.

Factor Analysis

The original research and subsequent studies utilizing the EMWSS generally support a robust, highly cohesive factor structure. The scale’s design, combined with the exceptionally high internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.97), strongly suggests that the EMWSS functions effectively as a unidimensional measure. It is designed to capture a single overarching factor: the global perception of early relational warmth, safety, and acceptance.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report questionnaire/Psychological scale

Format: 21 items utilizing a 5-point Likert-type scale. Scoring involves summing all item responses, resulting in a total score ranging from 0 to 84.

Language Available: English (Original research language). Translations may exist for various international research applications.

Population Group: Clinical and General Adult Populations

Age Group: Adults (The scale requires retrospective recall of childhood experiences)

Population Details: Used primarily with individuals undergoing psychological assessment or participating in studies focusing on the impact of early relational memories on adult emotional outcomes.

Test Methodology: Retrospective assessment of subjective emotional experiences during childhood. The scale instructs participants to reflect on how frequently they experienced feelings of security, comfort, and care provided by close relational figures.

Keywords

Relational memories, self-soothing, attachment styles, emotional security, childhood environment, psychological measurement, self-compassion.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not specified.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not specified. P. Gilbert is associated with the University of Derby, UK.

Correspondence Address: Not specified (Affiliation is University of Derby, UK).

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The scale was formally published in 2009. Information regarding licensing fees is typically not provided in the scale description, but instruments developed for Compassion Focused Therapy research are often available for non-commercial academic use. The scale is associated with the University of Derby (www.derby.ac.uk).

Test Year: 2009

Reference’s

Richter, A., Gilbert, P. & McEwan, K. (2009). Development of an early memories of warmth and safeness scale and its relationship to psychopathology. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 82, 171-184.

Items of the Early Memories of Warmth and Safeness Scale (EMWSS)

The EMWSS utilizes the following response measure:

• 0 = No, never
• 1 = Yes, but rarely
• 2 = Yes, sometimes
• 3 = Yes, often
• 4 = Yes, most of the time

The following are the 21 items of the scale:

1. I felt safe and secure
2. I felt appreciated the way I was
3. I felt understood
4. I felt a sense of warmth with those around me
5. I felt comfortable sharing my feelings and thoughts with those around me
6. I felt people enjoyed my company
7. I knew that I could count on empathy and understanding from people close to me when I was unhappy
8. I felt peaceful and calm
9. I felt that I was a cherished member of my family
10. I could easily be soothed by people close to me when I was unhappy
11. I felt loved
12. I felt comfortable turning to people important to me for help and advice
13. I felt part of those around me.
14. I felt loved even when people were upset about something I had done
15. I felt happy
16. I had feelings of connectedness
17. I knew I could rely on people close to me to console me when I was upset
18. I felt cared about
19. I had a sense of belonging
20. I knew that I could count on help from people close to me when I was unhappy
21. I felt at ease