Holmes-Rahe Social Adjustment Scale

Question 1

Define stress

Answer 1

A state of emotional strain caused by a circumstance

Question 2

What is the purpose of this scale

Answer 2

To see if stressful events correlated with psychological illnesses

Question 3

How does the rating work in this scale

Answer 3

Each life event , called life changing unit (LCU) has different weight for stress

More events=more score

Question 4

What are the negatives of this scale

Answer 4

-assume that everyone takes stress the same way

-doesn’t take individual differences into account

Question 5

What are the 2 types of life events

Answer 5

-predictable life events (revising for exam)

-unpredictable life events (death of loved one)

Question 6

What did the study method

Answer 6

Holmes and Rachel listed 43 life events and people may experience

Each event had a different score depending on how stressful it is

Patients were asked to choose which life events they had experienced and add up their scores

Question 7

What were the results from this study

Answer 7

Holmes and Rahe found a correlation between the number of stressful events and the psychological illnesses