© Copyright ISBN 0 11 322426 5 RECENT LIFE EVENTS 1a

Name of Child:

Completed by:

Relationship to child:

Date:

Recent Life

Events

QUESTIONNAIRE

Recent Life Events

QUESTIONNAIRE

Listed below are a number of events. Please read each item carefully and then indicate whether or not each event has

happened to you in the past year.

Please tick the YES box if the event has occurred.

Please tick the ‘still affects me’ box if the event is still having an effect on your life

EVENT YES Still affects me

Have you had a serious illness or been seriously injured? _ _

Has one of your immediate family * been seriously ill or injured? _ _

Have any of your close friends or other close relatives been seriously ill or injured? _ _

Have any of your immediate family died? _ _

Have any of your other close relatives or close friends died? _ _

Have you separated from your partner (not including death)? _ _

Have you had any serious problem with a close friend, neighbour or relative? _ _

Have you, or an immediate family member been subject to serious racial abuse, attack or /threats _ _

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)? _ _

Have you, or an immediate family member been subject to any other form of serious abuse,

attack, or threat? _ _

Have you or your partner been unemployed or seeking work for more than one month? _ _

Have you or your partner been sacked from your job or made redundant? _ _

Have you had any major financial difficulties (e.g. debts, difficulty paying bills)? _ _

Have you, or an immediate family member had any Police contact or been in a court appearance? _ _

Have you or an immediate member of your family been burgled or mugged? _ _

Have you or another individual who lives with you given birth? _ _

Have you or another individual who lives with you suffered from a miscarriage or had a stillbirth? _ _

Have you moved house (through choice)? _ _

Have you moved house (not through choice)? _ _

Have you had any housing difficulties? _ _

Have you had any other significant event ( Please specify)? _ _

* immediate family includes: mother, father, sister, brother, partner, child

RECENT LIFE EVENTS 1b

Recent Life

Events

GUIDANCE

ON USING

QUESTIONNAIRE

Scoring

19. The initial scoring is binary. 1 if the life event has happened, and 0 if it has

not.

20. The number of events that the respondent considers are still affecting them

is then counted.

21. In piloting respondents reported up to 17 events in the last year, of which

up to 10 were still having an affect. The average number of events was

between 7 & 8, of which about half were still considered by the caregiver to

be affecting them.

22. The questionnaire does not have a cut off point. It is scored on the basis

that the more life events the adult has been through, the higher the score,

and therefore the greater the likelihood of some form of longer term impact

on the adult, child and or family. This will be particularly so if the person

considers the events still affect them.

Reference

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.

9. It can contribute to a social history, or provide an opportunity to re-evaluate

whether known events are continuing to exert an influence.

Use

10. It is expected that it will be used mostly with main caregivers, but it could be

of value with potential caregivers and separated parents.

11. In piloting it was found to be ‘extremely’ useful in both initial assessment

and continuing work. It raised new issues on three out of every four

occasions on which it was used.

12. With new families the questionnaire ‘gave further insight into the carer’s

background’. It ‘put into perspective the reasons why the mother was

down’.

13. With respondents with whom workers were already familiar it revealed

information not previously known. It identified issues that ‘the family had

not considered stressful or told me’. ‘It highlighted issues that were and

were not still having an effect’. One social worker reported that they were

able to find out the ‘carer’s view of issues’.

14. It is clear that social workers should be prepared for what may emerge if this

instrument is used.

Administration

15. The scale should be given to the respondent, usually a main caregiver, after

appropriate preparation. This will depend on whether the context is an

assessment or a review.

16. It may be helpful to acknowledge that the worker appreciates that thinking

about important family events may stir up painful memories.

17. The questionnaires take about 15 minutes to complete, but discussion can

take considerably longer.

18. Although not used in this way in the piloting, it could form a valuable basis

for a family discussion. This would require further preparation and

negotiation.

RECENT LIFE EVENTS QUESTIONNAIRES

Background

1. Life events are usually short-lived but may have more enduring

consequences.

2. They can be distinguished from ‘chronic difficulties’, such as poverty or

persistently discordant relationships. However life events can be both an

indicator of chronic difficulties, or a precipitant of them.

3. Life events affect individuals and families in different ways, so it is important

to explore how they impact on the caregivers and the family. For example,

the death of a grandparent may have a practical as well as an emotional

impact on the family if they have helped to support and care for the

children.

4. Negative life events such as divorce, death of someone close, physical

illness and unemployment have the capacity to affect any family member,

not just those directly involved. Losing a parent at a young age, particularly

before 11, has been reported to independently influence wellbeing in both

childhood and adult life.

5. Most negative life events can be seen as involving the experience of loss, or

threat of loss, including the loss of self esteem. Some apparently positive

events such as job promotion may act in this way.

6. An important issue is whether an event is felt to continue to exert a negative

affect. This aspect has not always been included in questionnaires.

The Questionnaire

7. This Life Events questionnaire has been developed from one devised by

Brugha et al (1985), with 9 additional items.

8. The scale aims to look at recent life events, those occurring in the last 12

months and whether the respondent thinks they have a continuing

influence. However it can be used to evaluate events and impact over a

longer period if desired.

RECENT LIFE EVENTS 2b

Document available

http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Policyandguidance/Healthandsocialcaretopics/ChildrenServices/index.htm