The assessment of life change stress: a comparative and methodological inquiry.

A comprehensive life events questionnaire was administered to 416 men. Total life change scores were computed from published normative weights and from individuals' own ratings of events that occurred. The results showed that the rank order of life events was highly correlated between our sample and the original normative groups. However, in the population of men we studied, there were significant differences between the total life event scores derived by summing the published normative weights and the total adjustment or distress reported by those men who experienced the events. Other results indicated that life event scores based on normative weights reflect more on the number of life events that are experienced, whereas life change scores based on individuals' ratings may better reflect on the potential impact of life change. Finally, the psychometric properties of several life change inventories are poor.