The stress scale, according to Holmes and Rahe

The Holmes and Rahe stress scale is actually called the Social Readjustment Scale or SRRS, for its acronym in English.. It is a very simple and functional instrument at the same time, which makes it frequently used by doctors and psychologists. Although it is a very basic tool, it has a significant degree of reliability.

This stress scale was created by psychologists Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe in 1967. They did so after examining the clinical records of more than 5,000 patients. The objective was to determine whether stressful events were related to the development of diseases.

To establish this, the patients were asked to sort a list of stressful events and give each of them a score. The instrument was applied several times and the results were always very similar. It was then found that there was a correlation between the disease and traumatic or stressful events. This is how this stress scale was born.

The use of the stress scale

Of the investigation carried out by Holmes and Rahe, a list emerged containing 43 items. Each one of them corresponds to a stressful event. In front of each event there is a number. This number indicates the degree to which said event can affect a person according to the studies carried out.

Holmes and Rahe’s stress scale ranges from one to one hundred. The higher the number, the more likely it is to impact health. Likewise, if the number is low, the incidence is also low. However, the results are obtained from the sum of the items. If a person, for example, has experienced a situation with a score of 30 and another with a score of 55, his or her stress level will be 85.

The way to complete the stress scale is to look at the list and circle the events that have taken place in your personal life during the last year.. At the end, all the scores are added up. If the result is 150, the health risk is medium-low. If it is 200 or more, the person would be at risk. And if it adds up to 300 or more, the risk would be very serious.

The items of the stress scale

The items that make up the Holmes and Rahe stress scale are 43. Among them there are some that are clearly stressful, while others seem at first glance neutral or even positive. However, we repeat it, This list is the result of a survey thorough.

The items and their respective scores are the following:Death of spouse – 100 Divorce – 73 Marital separation – 65 Imprisonment – 63 Death of a close family member – 63 Personal injury or illness – 53 Marriage – 50 Dismissal from work – 47 Unemployment – 47 Marital reconciliation – 45 Retirement – 45 Change in health of a family member – 44 Drug addiction and/or alcoholism – 44Pregnancy- 40Sexual difficulties or problems- 39Addition of a new member to the family- 39Business readjustment- 39Change in economic situation- 38Death of a close friend- 37Change in the type of work- 36Bad relationship with the spouse- 35Judgment for credit or mortgage- 30Change of responsibility at work- 29Son or daughter leaving home- 29Legal problems- 29Notable personal achievement- 28Wife starts or stops working- 26Start or end of schooling- 26Change in living conditions- 25Review of personal habits – 24Problems with the boss- 23Change of shift or working conditions- 20Change of residence- 20Change of school- 20Change of leisure activities- 19Change of religious activity- 19Change of social activities- 18Change of sleeping habit- 17Change in the number of meetings family- 16Change in eating habits- 15Vacation- 13Christmas- 12Minor transgressions of the law- 11

Adaptations and criticisms

This stress scale has been questioned several times. At first, it was said that perhaps it was only valid for North American society, since the entire study was carried out in the United States. However, to the surprise of many, The research was replicated in places as distant as Belgium, Japan and Chile with similar results.

Currently it has also been said that due to the age of the study, perhaps it no longer corresponds to the perception of contemporary generations. Although it could be true, again Other similar experiments show that, in general terms, all items continue to be valid.

What has been detected is a different valuation of the items between men and women, as well as between rich and poor. Despite this, this variation is not significant either.

Therefore, it can be said that The Holmes and Rahe scale continues to be a valid instrument to measure stress level. It is worth having on hand as an indicator of disease risks.

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