Assignment task:
Article: The Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale
In 1967, psychiatrists Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe decided to study whether or not stress contributes to illness. They surveyed more than 5,000 medical patients and asked them to say whether they had experience any of a series of 43 life events in the previous two years. Each event, called a Life Change Unit (LCU), had a different "weight" for stress. The more events the patient added up, the higher the score. The higher the score, and the larger the weight of each event, the more likely the patient was to become ill.
As you complete the stress scale, think about how it might be interpreted for your age and stage of life. For example, you may have experienced a break up with a significant other, instead of experiencing a divorce.
Answer the following questions:
1. What were the results of your stress scale?
2. Do you think the results were accurate? Why or why not?
3. What changes will you make in your life as a result of completing this stress scale? Will you incorporate different stress management techniques? Explain your answer.