Recent Life Events Questionnaire

Abstract

The Recent Life Events Questionnaire (RLEQ) is a psychological measurement instrument designed to quantify the occurrence and impact of significant stressful or threatening life events experienced by an individual over a specified recent period. It is closely related to, and often an extension of, the List of Threatening Experiences (LTE), originally developed by Brugha, Bebington, Tennant, and Hurry in 1985. The primary objective of the scale is to assess contextual threat—that is, the long-term potential for harm associated with major life stressors—which is a critical predictor of psychological distress and psychiatric morbidity, particularly depression. The RLEQ typically requires respondents to report whether they have experienced specific events, often including an assessment of whether the event continues to affect them.

Unlike earlier, broader life event scales, the RLEQ/LTE focuses on a specific subset of events that have been empirically shown to carry considerable long-term contextual threat, making it a highly relevant tool for clinical and epidemiological research studying the etiology of mental health disorders.

Keywords

Life events, stress, threatening experiences, psychological distress, contextual threat, depression, List of Threatening Experiences, psychometrics.

Authors

Brugha T, Bebington P, Tennant C, Hurry J, Conroy R, Cragg D.

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Purpose

The core purpose of the Recent Life Events Questionnaire (RLEQ), and its antecedent, the List of Threatening Experiences (LTE), is to provide a standardized, brief, and reliable method for documenting the occurrence of major stressful life events. The instrument aims to capture events that are likely to exert a significant negative influence on an individual’s mental well-being. This information is crucial for researchers investigating the relationship between environmental stressors and the onset or exacerbation of psychiatric conditions.

Furthermore, the scale’s design is intended for use in large-scale epidemiological studies where a rapid, self-administered measure of environmental adversity is necessary. By focusing on events with high contextual threat, the scale offers a more targeted assessment than comprehensive life event inventories.

Construct

The primary construct measured is the occurrence of recent, severe, contextual life threat. This concept emphasizes that not all life events are equal in their psychological impact; rather, it is the long-term, objective potential for harm inherent in the event—the contextual threat—that is most predictive of poor mental health outcomes, such as major depression. The scale includes categories of events such as severe illness, bereavement, major relationship breakdown, financial crises, job loss, and legal troubles.

The RLEQ typically covers a specific time frame (e.g., the past six months or year) to assess the recency of these stressors, often incorporating a follow-up question to determine if the event is still having a significant impact on the respondent’s life. The scale moves beyond simple incident counting by focusing on events that typically require significant psychological adaptation and coping mechanisms.

Validity

Studies focusing on the psychometric properties of the core 12-item List of Threatening Experiences (LTE), which forms the basis of the RLEQ, have demonstrated strong validity. Specifically, the scale exhibits good concurrent and predictive validity regarding psychiatric morbidity. Research by Brugha and colleagues showed that the LTE categories were highly correlated with severe depression diagnoses in controlled designs, confirming its ability to capture salient environmental risk factors.

The contextual approach to defining threat enhances the scale’s validity compared to methods that rely solely on subjective distress ratings. The items included were selected based on evidence linking them to long-term contextual threat, reinforcing the scale’s theoretical foundation and content validity for measuring psycho-social stressors.

Reliability

The reliability of the List of Threatening Experiences (LTE) has been established through studies assessing its stability and internal consistency. Test-retest reliability has been reported as acceptable, particularly for a questionnaire reliant on retrospective memory of discrete, impactful events. Brugha and Cragg (1990) specifically examined the reliability and validity of the brief questionnaire, demonstrating that the LTE is a stable measure suitable for screening and research applications.

The clarity and specificity of the item definitions, which focus on objective occurrences (e.g., being sacked, death of a spouse), contribute to high inter-rater reliability when the scale is administered by different interviewers or self-reported by different individuals.

Factor Analysis

While the RLEQ/LTE is generally treated as a summative measure of overall environmental stress, factor analytic studies have supported the scale’s unidimensional nature in representing contextual threat. However, the items inherently group into distinct domains of life experience (e.g., health, relationships, employment, finance). The original development focused on identifying a set of items that collectively represent “considerable long-term contextual threat” rather than defining orthogonal subscales. The primary utility of the scale remains in generating a total score reflecting the cumulative burden of major recent life stressors.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report Questionnaire / Structured Interview

Format: Checklist of specific events, usually requiring a simple binary response (Yes/No) regarding occurrence, often followed by a severity/impact rating.

Language Available: Primarily English (en), but the simplicity of the items allows for easy translation and adaptation.

Population Group: General population; clinical populations (especially those with psychiatric disorders).

Age Group: Adults and older adolescents.

Population Details: Used extensively in epidemiological research in the UK and internationally to assess environmental risk factors for mental illness.

Test Methodology: Respondents are asked to review a list of events and indicate which ones they have experienced within a defined recent period (e.g., the last 6 or 12 months). Scoring typically involves summing the number of events reported, sometimes weighted by perceived ongoing impact.

Keywords

Stress measurement, psychiatric epidemiology, psychosocial factors, contextual threat assessment, psychometrics, adverse experiences.

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Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not specified in source materials.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not specified in source materials.

Correspondence Address: Not specified in source materials.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The original List of Threatening Experiences (LTE) was published in 1985. The RLEQ, often an extended version, is widely used in research. Researchers should consult the original authors or publishing institution (referenced below) regarding formal permissions for commercial use. The instrument can be found online at: http://www.teescpp.org.uk/scales-and-questionnaires.

The original PDF of a version of the questionnaire can be downloaded here: www.lrsb.org.uk/uploads/recent-life-events-questionnaire.pdf.

Reference’s

The following references are associated with the development and validation of the List of Threatening Experiences (LTE) and related life events methodology:

• Brugha T, Bebington P, Tennant C and Hurry J. (1985). The list of threatening experiences: A subset of 12 life events categories with considerable long-term contextual threat. Psychological Medicine. 15: 189–194. The original PDF for this article can be downloaded here: https://lra.le.ac.uk/bitstream/2381/261/1/brugha_lte_psycholmed.pdf
• Brugha TS, Conroy R. (1985). Categories of depression: reported life events in a controlled design. Br J Psychiatry. 147:641–6.
• Brugha TS, Cragg D. (1990). The list of threatening experiences: the reliability and validity of a brief life events questionnaire. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 82:77– 81.
• Brugha, T.S,. Cragg, D. (1990). The List of Threatening Experiences: the reliability and validity of a brief life events questionnaire. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinaviva, 82(1):77-81.
• Source: Corcoran, K., & Fischer, J. (2000). Measures for clinical practice: A sourcebook (Vol.1). New York, NY: The Free Press.

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Items of the Recent Life Events Questionnaire

Note: The following items represent two common versions associated with this scale: the original 12-item List of Threatening Experiences (LTE) and a 21-item extended version (RLEQ).

List of Threatening Experiences (LTE) – 12 Items

1. You yourself suffered a serious illness, injury, or an assault.
2. A serious illness, injury, or assault happened to a close relative.
3. Your parent, child, or spouse died.
4. A close family friend or another relative (aunt, cousin, grandparent) died.
5. You had a separation due to marital difficulties.
6. You broke off a steady relationship.
7. You had a serious problem with a close friend, neighbor, or relative.
8. You became unemployed or you were seeking work unsuccessfully for more than one month.
9. You were sacked from your job.
10. You had a major financial crisis.
11. You had problems with the police and a court appearance.
12. Something you valued was lost or stolen.

Extended Recent Life Events Questionnaire (RLEQ) – 21 Items

1. Have you had a serious illness or been seriously injured?
2. Has one of your immediate family * been seriously ill or injured?
3. Have any of your close friends or other close relatives been seriously ill or injured?
4. Have any of your immediate family died?
5. Have any of your other close relatives or close friends died?
6. Have you separated from your partner (not including death)?
7. Have you had any serious problem with a close friend, neighbour or relative?
8. Have you, or an immediate family member been subject to serious racial abuse, attack or /threats
9. Have you, or an immediate family member been subject to any abuse, attack, threat – perhaps due to you or someone close to you having a disability of any kind (i.e. a mental health problem, a learning disability or a physical problem)?
10. Have you, or an immediate family member been subject to any other form of serious abuse, attack, or threat?
11. Have you or your partner been unemployed or seeking work for more than one month?
12. Have you or your partner been sacked from your job or made redundant?
13. Have you had any major financial difficulties (e.g. debts, difficulty paying bills)?
14. Have you, or an immediate family member had any Police contact or been in a court appearance?
15. Have you or an immediate member of your family been burgled or mugged?
16. Have you or another individual who lives with you given birth?
17. Have you or another individual who lives with you suffered from a miscarriage or had a stillbirth?
18. Have you moved house (through choice)?
19. Have you moved house (not through choice)?
20. Have you had any housing difficulties?
21. Have you had any other significant event (Please specify)?

The typical response format includes a binary choice, sometimes followed by a severity rating, such as: YES, still affects me.