The Centrality of Event Scale (CES): Psychometric properties in polish adults with spinal cord injury

Stanisława Byra, Agnieszka Gabryś

Abstract


Introduction: Traumatic events may become central to an individual’s identity and life narrative. The Centrality of Event Scale (CES), originally developed by Berntsen and Rubin (2006), is widely employed to assess this phenomenon.

Research Aim: To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Polish version of the CES among individuals with spinal cord injury.

Method: Two versions of the scale were examined: the original CES-20, comprising three subscales, and the shortened CES-7, which provides a general measure of event centrality. Psychometric analyses included assessments of dimensionality, reliability, and validity.

Results: The findings indicated that only the Polish CES-7-SCI demonstrated satisfactory psychometric indicators. The short version revealed a unidimensional structure, high internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = .87), and evidence of validity.

Conclusions: The Polish CES-7-SCI is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring traumatic event centrality in individuals with spinal cord injury, whereas the CES-20 did not meet psychometric standards in this sample.


Keywords


centrality of event, psychometric properties, spinal cord injury

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References


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17951/lrp.2026.45.1.165-183
Date of publication: 2026-03-16 10:06:06
Date of submission: 2025-11-28 14:32:34


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