Measuring positive memories of home and family during childhood: The development and initial validation of the 'Memories of Home and Family Scale'

Mark Shevlin; Enya Redican; Eoin McElroy; Menachem Ben-Ezra; Thanos Karatzias; Philip Hyland

doi:10.1007/s12144-022-03220-w

Measuring positive memories of home and family during childhood: The development and initial validation of the 'Memories of Home and Family Scale'

Curr Psychol. 2022 Jun 17:1-10. doi: 10.1007/s12144-022-03220-w. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Mark Shevlin¹, Enya Redican¹, Eoin McElroy¹, Menachem Ben-Ezra², Thanos Karatzias³, Philip Hyland⁴

Affiliations

¹ School of Psychology, Ulster University, Coleraine, UK.
² Ariel University, Ariel, Israel.
³ School of Health and Social Care, Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh, UK.
⁴ Department of Psychology, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Ireland.

Abstract

There is a burgeoning evidence base highlighting the positive influence of benevolent childhood experiences (BCEs), even in the context of adversity. However, few measures are available to assess BCEs. The current study sought to develop and validate a measure which assesses positive recollections of experiences and emotions at home and with family during childhood called the 'Memories of Home and Family Scale'(MHFS). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was employed to test the latent structure of the preliminary MHFS item scores in a sample of university students from the United Kingdom (N = 624). Following selection of the best-fitting model and final items for inclusion in the scale, total and subscale scores were correlated with a range of mental health outcomes. CFA results indicated that the latent structure of the MHFS items was best represented by a correlated six-factor first-order model. The final MHFS demonstrated high levels of internal reliability and convergent validity.

Keywords: Adverse childhood experiences; Benevolent childhood experiences; Resilience.