Life changes (sos)

• Life changes as a source of stress

  • SOS are often the big events in our lives - major SOS are the really important but infrequent things that happen to us
  • Eg = getting married/divorced, close relative dies, financial state changes (better or worse), new child is born
• LCs require significant adjustment => are stressful

  • LCs are stressful because you make major psychological adjustment to adapt to changed circumstances - the bigger the change, the greater the adjustment and associated stress
  • LCs are cumulative = they add together to create more stress because they require even more change to adapt
  • Applies as much to positive LCs as to negative ones
• LCs measured using SRRS, calculating LCUs

  • Holmes and Rahe = social readjustment rating scale (SRRS) - gives number of life change units (LCUs)
  • The higher the LCU value = the more adjustment the life changes needs, making it more stressful
  • Eg = divorce is 73 LCUs, marriage is 50
  • pps tick all the LCs they recall over previous months (usually 12mo)
• LCs linked to illness if LCUs more than 300

  • Rahe claimed:
  • Under 150 LCUs = means you are likely to experience reasonable health in the following year
  • Between 150-300 LCUs = means you have 50% chance of experiencing illness the next year
  • over 300 LCUs = means you have an 80% chance of experiencing illness the next year
• Rahe LCs and illness study (procedure)

  • US navy personnel assigned to 3 ships completed a version of the SRRS = schedule of recent experiences
  • Total LCU score was calculated for each pp for a 6 month period before tour of duty AND every illness on board ship was reported to the medical unit
  • At the end an independent researcher reviewed the medical records and calculated an illness score for each pp
  • Neither pps or on-board medical staff were aware of the purpose of the study or what data was being used for
• Rahe et al LCs and illness study (findings/conclusions)

  • Researchers found a significant positive correlation (+.118) between LCU scores and illness scores aboard ship
  • Those who experienced most stressful LCs in the final 6 months before leaving had most illnesses on ship
  • Researchers concluded LCs were a reasonably robust predictor of later illness
• strength = LC concept supported by research evidence

  • Lietzen et al = followed 16,000 asthma-free adults from the HeSSup study in Finland (prospective study like Rahe et al)
  • Found that a high level of LC stress reliably predicted asthma onset (nor explained by other factors, eg being a smoker)
  • This study suggests that stressful LCs can contribute to the onset of a chronic illness
• counterpoint to supporting research evidence

  • In Lietzen et al’s study = 48% of pps experienced just one or no LCs
  • Lazarus et al = suggested that daily hassles are more important sources of stress than LCs
  • => daily hassles may have been better predictors of asthma than LCs for most pps in Lietzen et als study
• limitation = LC research ignores individual differences

  • Stress is perceived differently by different individuals
  • Eg = moving house is more stressful when due to a lack of money than as a result of being better off
  • Byrne and Whyte = were able to predict heart attacks using SRRS scores, but only if subjective interpretations of LCs were taken into account
  • => the LC approach lacks validity because it does not consider individual differences in how LC were perceived
• Limitation = SRRS includes positive and negative LCs

  • The LC approach assumes all change is stressful
  • BUT Turner and Wheaton found (when asking pps) that negative SRRS items caused the most stress
  • They argued this is because there are frustrations associated with negative changes that are not associated with positive ones
  • This challenges the validity of the changes approach, because positive and negative LCs have different effects
• extra evaluation = issues of causation

  • the LC approach claims that LCs directly cause stress = change requires psychological adjustment with direct effects on health
  • BUT = this relationship may not be causal as most research is correlational (a 3rd factor could cause both LCs and illness, eg anxiety)
  • => the evidence that LC are related to stress and illness is reasonably strong, but this relationship is probably not directly causal
• LCs have indirect effects

  • LCs have indirect effects on our lives = they are distal sources of stress