APFCC+-+Rahe

APFCC: Rahe

 * Theorist: ** Rahe
 * Study of: ** Correlation between life events and illness
 * Year: ** 1967

Studied the link between stressful life events and illness. Using a life change scale 5000 participants were asked about recent events and then their health.
 * Summary: **

To investigate the relationship between life changing events and illness.
 * Aim: **

They used 5,000 medical patients and asked them questions about whether they had experienced any of these particular events in the last year. Each Life Change Unit was given a different weighting.
 * Procedures: **

They found that higher the result the more likely they were to get sick.
 * Findings: **

Rahe suggest that the stress of life events is correlated with physical illness. The correlation appears weak. Implications include the importance of using stress management techniques when experiencing life events.
 * Conclusions: **

As the experiment used the correlation method, a cause and effect cannot be concluded. This means that it cannot be concluded that life events cause illness. It is also likely that in many cases the illness may have caused the life event rather than the other way around. The sample was also biased as it was only American men investigated. This means that the sample was ethnocentric as only one culture was sampled.
 * Criticisms: **

Page 194 Hill
 * Resources: **


 * ** Life Event ** || ** Value ** ||
 * ** 1 ** || Death of spouse ||  ** 100 **  ||
 * ** 2 ** || Divorce ||  ** 73 **  ||
 * ** 3 ** || Marital separation ||  ** 65 **  ||
 * ** 4 ** || Jail term ||  ** 63 **  ||
 * ** 5 ** || Death of close family member ||  ** 63 **  ||
 * ** 6 ** || Personal injury or illness ||  ** 53 **  ||
 * ** 7 ** || Marriage ||  ** 50 **  ||
 * ** 8 ** || Fired at work ||  ** 47 **  ||
 * ** 9 ** || Marital reconciliation ||  ** 45 **  ||
 * ** 10 ** || Retirement ||  ** 45 **  ||
 * ** 11 ** || Change in health of family member ||  ** 44 **  ||
 * ** 12 ** || Pregnancy ||  ** 40 **  ||
 * ** 13 ** || Sex difficulties ||  ** 39 **  ||
 * ** 14 ** || Gain of new family member ||  ** 39 **  ||
 * ** 15 ** || Business readjustment ||  ** 39 **  ||
 * ** 16 ** || Change in financial state ||  ** 38 **  ||
 * ** 17 ** || Death of close friend ||  ** 37 **  ||
 * ** 18 ** || Change to a different line of work ||  ** 36 **  ||
 * ** 19 ** || Change in number of arguments with spouse ||  ** 35 **  ||
 * ** 20 ** || A large mortgage or loan ||  ** 31 **  ||
 * ** 21 ** || Foreclosure of mortgage or loan ||  ** 30 **  ||
 * ** 22 ** || Change in responsibilities at work ||  ** 29 **  ||
 * ** 23 ** || Son or daughter leaving home ||  ** 29 **  ||
 * ** 24 ** || Trouble with in-laws ||  ** 29 **  ||
 * ** 25 ** || Outstanding personal achievement ||  ** 28 **  ||
 * ** 26 ** || Spouse begins or stops work ||  ** 26 **  ||
 * ** 27 ** || Begin or end school/college ||  ** 26 **  ||
 * ** 28 ** || Change in living conditions ||  ** 25 **  ||
 * ** 29 ** || Revision of personal habits ||  ** 24 **  ||
 * ** 30 ** || Trouble with boss ||  ** 23 **  ||
 * ** 31 ** || Change in work hours or conditions ||  ** 20 **  ||
 * ** 32 ** || Change in residence ||  ** 20 **  ||
 * ** 33 ** || Change in school/college ||  ** 20 **  ||
 * ** 34 ** || Change in recreation ||  ** 19 **  ||
 * ** 35 ** || Change in church activities ||  ** 19 **  ||
 * ** 36 ** || Change in social activities ||  ** 18 **  ||
 * ** 37 ** || A moderate loan or mortgage ||  ** 17 **  ||
 * ** 38 ** || Change in sleeping habits ||  ** 16 **  ||
 * ** 39 ** || Change in number of family get-togethers ||  ** 15 **  ||
 * ** 40 ** || Change in eating habits ||  ** 15 **  ||
 * ** 41 ** || Vacation ||  ** 13 **  ||
 * ** 42 ** || Christmas ||  ** 12 **  ||
 * ** 43 ** || Minor violations of the law ||  ** 11 **  ||
 * || ** Your Total ** ||  ||
 * Note: ** If you experienced the same event more than once, then to gain a more accurate total, add the score again for each extra occurrence of the event.
 * Score Interpretation **
 * ** Score ** || ** Comment ** ||
 * 300+ || You have a high or very high risk of becoming ill in the near future. ||
 * 150-299 || You have a moderate to high chance of becoming ill in the near future. ||
 * <150 || You have only a low to moderate chance of becoming ill in the near future. ||