life changes

• There are varying circumstances associated with each life event which can make it more or less stressful
• Correlational studies can never demonstrate a ‘cause and effect’ relationship between two variables and also do not account for the ‘third variable problem’
• Life changes may be able to predict the likelihood, and even types, of falling ill
• Each stressful event is given a different unit, or (Life Change Unit) LCU e.g. divorce having an LCU of 73 whilst marriage has an LCU of 50
• Positive correlation between an increasing extent of adaptation required and the increasingly high levels of stress associated with life changes


  Problematic due to people often experiencing several life changes, and the associated stress accumulates i.e. a ‘cumulative effect’
• Most of the research is based upon non-human animals, who are exposed to ‘stressors’ such as electric shocks or food deprivation
• Life changes can be considered stressful because they often require physical and/or psychological adaptations


  Supported by stress
• Practical and theoretical issues with the use of the majority of stress research
• Second key methodological issue is the reliance of research into life changes on correlational studies
• In a prospective and double-blind study, Rahe et al (1970) confirmed his previous conclusions by finding that US Navy personnel who had experienced highly stressful life events 6 months before deployment were significantly more likely to experience illness during their deployment
• The accumulative effect of several seemingly ‘minor’ daily hassles produced greater stress than any one life change
• Each life event affects each person differently, alongside changing circumstances unrelated to the original life change
• Previous studies investigating life changes may not have accounted for the confounding variable of daily hassles
• Sources of stress

  • Life changes
• Researchers, Holmes and Rahe (1967), found a positive correlation between increasing LCU scores and the increasing likelihood of developing an illness, with this risk increasing by 50% once the 300 LCU threshold had been reached
• Some researchers, such as DeLongis et al (1988), have suggested that it is important to make the distinction between life changes and daily hassles
• Such research may lack mundane realism and the findings may have low ecological validity as a consequence
• Researchers who have attempted to quantify the stress associated with each life change may be ignoring the effects of individual differences, as suggested by Byrne and Whyte (1980)
• Stress associated with life changes can be objectively and quantitatively measured using the SRRS or Social Readjustment Rating Scale