Development and Initial Validation of the Neglectful Experiences and Deprivation Scale

Socioemotional deprivation, or the absence of developmentally expected social experiences, has been linked to long-lasting health and psychological outcomes. To date, current measures of socioemotional deprivation fail to capture the cumulative impact of neglectful experiences across multiple social relationships and developmental periods. The current study developed and validated the Neglectful Experiences and Deprivation Scale (NEADS) on a sample of 547 stress-exposed adults (M/SD age =27.77/6.54 years old; 56.5% male). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses in independent samples revealed a three-factor solution as the best fitting model: Caregiver Deprivation (four items; e.g., abandonment), Peer Deprivation (four items; e.g., physical isolation), Romantic Partner Deprivation (four items; e.g., emotionally unavailable). Indicators of construct validity and internal consistency support the selected three-factor model. Results provide strong preliminary evidence of the validity of the NEADS for assaying the severity, developmental timing, and psychological impact of socioemotional deprivation across the lifespan.