BACKGROUND: Childhood trauma constitutes a major public health issue, as it is associated with enduring mental and physical health complications, as well as an increased risk for a range of psychiatric disorders in adulthood. The Early Trauma Inventory Self Report-Short Form (ETISRSF) is a concise and eff ective instrument for assessing early traumatic experiences. The present study aimed to examine the psychometric properties and validate the Hungarian version of the ETISR-SF. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 300 psychiatric patients and 57 non-clinical control participants completed the Early Trauma Inventory Self Report-Short Form (ETISR-SF) and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF). RESULTS: Confi rmatory factor analysis supported the original four-factor structure, yielding satisfactory model fi t indices. The ETISR-SF demonstrated high internal consistency across all subscales (Cronbach's α = 0.78-0.94). Signifi cant diff erences between the clinical and non-clinical groups provided evidence of good discriminant validity. Correlations between the ETISR-SF and the CTQ-SF, both at the total and subscale levels, were signifi cant and ranged from low to moderate (r = 0.22-0.71, p ‹ 0.001), supporting the instrument's convergent and divergent validity. CONCLUSIONS: The fi ndings of the present study indicate that the Hungarian version of the ETISR-SF is a psychometrically sound instrument, demonstrating validity and reliability for assessing early traumatic experiences in Hungarian clinical populations. (Neuropsychopharmacol Hung 2026; 28(2): 85-101) Keywords: Childhood trauma, Early Trauma Inventory, Validation study.