Differential weights in life change research: useful or irrelevant?

The simple count of life event changes (SRE) and the differential weighting of these events (SRRS) were compared in a clinical sample (N = 353). Composite scores from the SRE and SRRS correlated almost perfectly at 0.97, and correlations from brief subscales (3 to 8 events) ranged from 0.93 to 0.99. Moreover, a virtually identical pattern of correlations for either composite was evident with external variables (demographic characteristics, physical symptoms, psychopathology). Under fairly general conditions, the use of differential weights in scaling life events makes little difference, since alternative schemas yield composite scores that are substantially correlated.