Adversity and mental health: an empirical investigation of their relationship.

Life event and symptom severity data were obtained from both a community and a hospital population approximately 6 months following initial study contact. The relationship between adversity and symptoms was then explored using a model in which the stressful impact of life events was assumed to decay with the passage of time. The period of decay of event stress was allowed to vary. The results demonstrated that a maximal association between the measure of residual adversity based upon the decay model, and symptomatic disability could thus be obtained. Variation within and between the sampled populations, revealed by the analyses, in terms of their respective maximizing decay periods may act as potential indicators of differences in the ability of those populations to cope with and adapt to adversity.