Scale-Description

The Early Life Events Scale (ELES-15) is a psychometric scale used to assess early traumatic or negative experiences that occurred in a person’s childhood and adolescence. These events may include emotional, physical, or sexual abuse, neglect, or other difficulties that could affect emotional and psychological development.

Data Analysis and Usage

The analysis and use of data collected through the ELES-15 aim to:
Evaluate the impact of early traumatic experiences on an individual’s psychological development and mental health later in life.
Create risk profiles for psychopathologies, such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), based on a history of traumatic events.
Aid in diagnosing and treating mental disorders, considering early experiences as a predictive factor for current mental health.
Support research, investigating the relationship between early traumatic events and psychological or psychosocial outcomes.
Scales like the ELES-15 are typically used in large population studies to gather data on early negative experiences and analyze them in combination with other psychometric measurements.

Purpose

The main objective of the ELES-15 is to provide a reliable method to measure and quantify traumatic childhood events. This helps in:
Understanding the role these events play in individual development.
Developing treatment and support strategies.
Documenting trauma history for diagnosing mental health disorders.

Calibration

Calibration of the scale is done by scoring participants’ responses regarding specific events or experiences during their childhood. The ELES-15 consists of 15 questions, and participants are asked whether they experienced certain events and how frequently they occurred.
Scoring is typically as follows:
0 (Not at all): The event did not occur.
1 (Low intensity/frequency): The event occurred occasionally or at a low level.
2 (Moderate intensity/frequency): The event occurred fairly often or at a moderate level.
3 (High intensity/frequency): The event occurred frequently or at a high level.
The total score can be used to evaluate the overall number and intensity of traumatic experiences an individual endured.

Bibliography

Gilbert‚ P.‚ Cheung‚ M.S.P.‚ Grandfield‚ T.‚ Campey‚ F. & Irons‚ C. (2003).