[Life Changes] Sources Of Stress & Measuring Stress Flashcards
What are life changes?
Positive & negative life events that may cause stress and illness, requiring readjustment.
What are examples of life changes?
-Death of a spouse: 100 LCU.
-Marriage: 50 LCU.
-Job change: 36 LCU.
What are life changes measured with, and who was it devised by?
The Social Readjustment Ratings Scale (SRRS) by Holmes & Rahr (1967).
How was the SRRS devised?
Holmes & Rahr (1967) worked in hospitals, and noticed that many patients with heart disease reported ‘life changes’ within the prior year.
Upon examining the records of 5000 patients, they generated a list of 43 events and asked 400 people to rate them in life changing units (LCU).
What were the results of Holmes & Rahr (1967) SRRS study?
-LCU score < 150: 30% risk of stress-related disease.
-LCU score > 300: 80% risk of stress-related disease.
What was the conclusion of Holmes & Rahr (1967) SRRS study?
Stress can be measured objectively with an LCU score (positive correlation).
How did Rahr (1970) study support SRRS?
Rahr made 2,500 sailors complete the SRRS, then tracked the health status of each sailor over the next 6 months.
A significant positive correlation of 0.118 between LCU and illness scores was found.
Evaluation points for Rahr (1970) study:
-Rahr’s sample was restricted to American (ethnocentric) males (androcentric, beta bias). Cultural bias (e.g. America recognises divorce, some cultures frown upon it).
-Other factors play a role as there isn’t a perfect correlation.
-Individual differences (e.g. one may celebrate divorce, one may find it traumatic).
Evaluation points for SRRS:
-Individual differences: some react to the same events differently (due to different personality types & coping mechanisms).
-Cultural bias.
-Validity and reliability, as SRRS is repeatedly used for studies.
-Only a correlation of 0.118 (Rahr (1970)), cause and effect can’t be established, other factors may play a role.
