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Results for “Life Change Events”

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PubMed2004

Cognitive reorganization and stigmatization among persons with HIV.

BACKGROUND: A diagnosis of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a life-changing event, where persons must deal with a life-threatening, debilitating disease and its associated stigma and isolation. Studies over the past decade have shown that writing and talking about stressful and traumatic experiences, such as a life-threatening illness, causes emotions surrounding the trauma to change and to become cognitively reorganized. The result is a reduction in inhibition and change in basic cognitive and linguistic processes, which have contributed to meaningful behavioural, psychological, and physical health benefits across a variety of populations. AIMS: To describe the construction of the Integrated Model of Health Promotion for persons with HIV/AIDS, and present initial empirical support of the model from a feasibility pilot study of women with HIV/AIDS. APPROACH: The Integrated Model of Health Promotion is described and relevant literature in the field is reviewed. The model is implemented in a feasibility pilot study utilizing the emotional writing disclosure intervention. RESULTS: Participants in the experimental condition demonstrated a promising pattern of cognitive reorganization, a reduced perception of stigma, and an improvement in mental health scores compared with the control condition. CONCLUSION: Implications of these findings are discussed within the framework of the Integrated Model of Health Promotion. The model explores health and behavioural benefits associated with emotional writing in individuals with HIV/AIDS. The limited sample size of this pilot study precludes testing for significance. Further studies are required prior to the development of practice guidelines.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Does the impact of major stressful life events on the risk of developing depression change throughout life?

BACKGROUND: It is unclear whether there is an interaction of ageing on the association between major life events and onset of depression. METHOD: This was a population-based nested case-control study with linkage of the Danish Psychiatric Central Research Register and the Integrated Database for Longitudinal Labour Market Research. The study includes data on all admissions at psychiatric wards in Denmark from 1981 to 1998 and data on sociodemographic variables and death/suicide of first-degree relatives. RESULTS: A total of 13 006 patients who received a diagnosis of depression at the first ever admission at a psychiatric ward and a gender- and age-matched control group of 260 108 subjects were identified. A recent divorce and recent unemployment and suicide of a relative (mother, father, sibling, child, spouse) were associated with increased risk of being admitted for the first time ever at a psychiatric ward with a diagnosis of depression whereas death of a relative by causes other than suicide had no significant effect. In general, no interaction was found with age with any of the variables, totally, or for men or women, separately. CONCLUSIONS: The susceptibility to major life stressors does not seem to change throughout life.

Adult↗

PubMed1982

Recent life change measurement in Canadian Forces pilots.

This study is the first in a series of steps aimed at developing a management tool that will provide a technique for screening accident-prone aviators. Because "life change" is found to be a contributing factor to stress and development of illness in both civilian and military populations, the study of life change events in aviators is a reasonable point from which to begin. The Holmes and Rahe Recent Life Change Questionnaire was administered to an experimental group of 158 aviators and two control groups: one group of 127 ground crew who were matched for age and location, and a group of 46 who were matched for rank. Significant differences were found between some of the subgroups but there were no significant differences between the experimental group and either of the control groups. Nonetheless, this aviator population is functioning at a level of life change-induced stress which would normally predict health changes in 50% of the general population. Therefore, it is concluded, the effect of excessive life change as a contributing factor to personal stress and illness or accident merits further study.

Accidents, Aviation↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Continuity and discontinuity of attachment from infancy through adolescence.

This study reports relations between infant Ainsworth Strange Situation classifications, negative life events, and Adolescent Attachment Interview classifications. Overall, the stability of secure versus insecure classifications was 77%, and infant attachment classification was a significant predictor of adolescent attachment classification. Chi-square analyses indicate that negative life events are significantly related to change in attachment classification. The sample (n = 30) is drawn from the Family Lifestyles Project (FLS), an ongoing longitudinal study of children's development within the context of nonconventional family lifestyles. The distribution of family lifestyles within this study, unlike those in the full FLS sample, represent a higher proportion of conventional two-parent families (40%). There were no differences between adolescents reared in conventional or nonconventional families in the distribution of adolescent attachment security, the experience of negative life events, or the continuity of attachment from infancy through adolescence.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1980

Adaptation problems of Vietnamese refugees. II. Life changes and perception of life events.

The Vietnamese refugees have encountered a multitude of acute psychological, social, cultural, economic, and political upheavals. This study documents the Vietnamese perceptions of the life events that have swirled about them as well as the occurrences of these life events. Questionnaires were administered in 1975 and 1976 as part of an ongoing study. The expected high amount of life change in the year of the evacuation and resettlement (1975) continued into the following year (1976). Financial, life-style, work, spouse, and schooling problems continued to plague them and were increased in the second year. There was a positive correlation between life change and health status. The Vietnamese rank ordered the impact of life events in a fashion similar to the Americans, but there were differences in mean magnitude estimations. Substantial reductions in magnitude estimations at second administration of the Social Readjustment Rating Questionnaire indicated a change in the situational perception set with time.

Acculturation↗

PubMed1981

Life events stress, subjective appraisal and somatization in hypertension: a pilot study.

The present pilot study was designed as a multivariate test of stress as a factor in hypertension. A model is proposed that includes family history of hypertension, high life stress exposure, the subjective appraisal of being under considerable stress, and the tendency to somatize stress cardiovascularly. Health risk behaviors frequently implicated in hypertensive disease were also measured. A sample of 76 low income black adults were interviewed privately and classified into two groups on the basis of "no elevated blood pressure readings" or "1 + elevated readings." Univariate comparisons generally supported the hypotheses. Multivariate stepwise discriminant analyses also were conducted as a stricter test of the model. Six factors were identified as the major discriminators between the groups: cardiovascular and renal symptoms, family history of high blood pressure, proportion of negative to total life change events, and electrodermal and gastrointestinal somatic reactions. Age and positive life stress experiences were also important discriminators.

Adult↗

PubMed1984

Physical activity as a moderator of life events and somatic complaints: a longitudinal study.

During the past 15 years a very large number of studies have shown that life events are a significant stressor with attendant physiological and psychological outcomes. Much of this research was summarized by Dohrenwend and Dohrenwend (1974). There is also considerable literature suggesting that physical activity may be an effective coping mechanism which can buffer the relationship between an environmental stressor and such psychological and physiological outcomes. This paper reports on the relationship of life change events and somatic complaints and the moderating effects of physical activity. The study was longitudinal involving 278 managers from 12 different corporations. All participants were men. Data have been collected at entry, two years later, and four years later. This provides two test periods in which the data are analysed. Analyses are by way of multiple regression and in both time periods the change data support the hypothesis that somatic complaints are significantly related to both life events and physical activity. The results also show that physical activity has a significant buffering effect on the relationship between life events and somatic complaints. These findings lend strong support to the hypothesis that physical activity can be a significant moderator of the effects of environmental stress.

Administrative Personnel↗

PubMed1981

Life events and burnout.

A sample of 54 males and 134 females, most of whom were in direct service positions of a counseling and social work nature, was given a battery of instruments, including a measure for burnout (an occupational form of excessive stress), life events, and items concerning satisfaction with work and life in general. The results indicate that negative life change events may promote burnout or aggravate it but positive events will buffer its impact. The outcome implies that reducing negative factors on the job is important but promoting positive events also plays a vital role in reducing the likelihood of its occurrence.

Adult↗

PubMed1979

Life changes. Do people really remember?

The question, "How well do people remember life changes?" was approached in a longitudinal study of nearly 400 healthy men in a responsible profession. Three scales for assessing life changes were administered by questionnaire at two examinations nine months apart. The subjects were asked to report life change events occurring during a specific six-month period--that which immediately preceded the first examination. For all three life change scales there was substantial forgetting over the interval between reports, with a second report yielding total scores 34% to 46% less than those from the first report for the same period. The amount of change over time varied greatly across persons. These findings raise serious questions about the validity of retrospective studies of life change and illness when the period being reported is greater than six months in the past. They do not, however, jeopardize the potential of the method for prospective studies.

Adult↗

PubMed2000

Continuity and change in women's weight orientations and lifestyle practices through pregnancy and the postpartum period: the influence of life course trajectories and transitional events.

The life course perspective offers a framework for understanding continuity and change in health and health practices. Body weight, and the diet and physical activity strategies used to manage weight in pregnancy and the postpartum period, are a focus of much study because of an association between parity and body weight. The motherhood transition offers an opportunity to study weight concerns and weight management strategies during a period of weight fluctuation that is part of a life transition for many women. Our aim was to develop an in-depth understanding of women's experiences of pregnancy and postpartum weight changes, the strategies that women used to deal with weight changes, and patterns in their attitudes and strategies across pregnancy and the postpartum period. A longitudinal design, using multiple, in-depth, qualitative interviews with 36 women from pregnancy through the postpartum period, was chosen for data collection. Prepregnancy orientations towards body weight emerged as the primary influence on women's pregnancy and postpartum attitudes towards weight, on patterns of physical activity and diet, and on postpartum weight outcomes among most study participants. Four different trajectories ("relaxed maintenance", "exercise", "determined", and "unhurried"), characterized by differences in women's orientations towards their body weight and their diet and physical activity patterns across pregnancy and the postpartum period, emerged from the data. Only a few women diverged from prepregnancy trajectories in weight orientation and diet and physical activity patterns postpartum. Delayed resumption of prepregnancy physical activity and dietary patterns contributed to postpartum weight retention for a subset of "exercisers". Stress and age- or role-related changes in perspective interrupted the continuity of weight orientations and behavioral patterns for three other women. These findings highlight the direction and momentum provided by trajectories in health attitudes and strategies as processes shaping responses to a life transition.

Adult↗

PubMed1990

The relationship between life events and mental health in homosexual men.

In a study to determine the extent to which stigmatization influences mental health in homosexual men, 80 homosexual men were administered the General Health Questionnaire and the Gay Affect and Life Events Scale. Data indicated that there were significant associations between life events and mental health; events related to AIDS had the highest correlations. However, general life event scales that included Finances and Work also were associated significantly with mental health, as previously reported in the general population. These data suggest that the impact of life events may be amplified by stigmatization and that degree of life change is associated closely with psychological dysfunction. It is concluded that life events that are related to both stigmatization and life change and related emotional distress are significant predictors of psychology dysfunction.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

PubMed1985

Race and vulnerability to stress: an examination of differential vulnerability.

In this article the possibility of race differences in vulnerability to stress is considered. Structural models linking socioeconomic status, age, and life-change events to psychological distress are fit to blacks' and whites' data, which were obtained in a community survey of 829 Florida residents to evaluate differences in vulnerability. Life-change-distress paths were slightly larger among blacks than among whites, though not significantly so. The possible adaptive or coping resources provided by supportive social ties and by fatalistic responses to chronic stress are suggested as topics for further research with regard to psychological well-being among disadvantaged groups.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1985

The relationship between adolescent life stress events and delinquent conduct including conduct indicating a need for supervision.

Yeaworth, York, Hussey, Ingle, and Goodwin's (1980) Adolescent Life Change Event Scale was administered to 55 adolescents who were on probation or being held in detention for offenses ranging from a felony to conduct indicating a need for supervision (Texas Juvenile Probation Commission, 1983). The offenses committed during the previous 12 months were given weights, and weights obtained by Yeaworth (1980) were used for stress events experienced in the last 12 months. Pearson product moment correlation was computed to obtain a relationship between stress events and offenses. The results suggest that these adolescents are more stressed than nondelinquent adolescents when compared to the Yeaworth (1980) study. Nearly 82 percent of subjects in the present study had experienced the event of "failing one or more subjects in school." The correlation coefficient obtained relating stress events to offenses was -0.01727. The results were interpreted to mean that there is no relationship between total amount of stress experienced and total offenses committed. However, some patterns were found in runaway behavior and truancy that were related to several of the stress events; 87.5 percent of runaway subjects had experienced "hassling with parents," and 43.8 percent had experienced a "family member other than yourself having trouble with alcohol"; 94.1 percent of truancy subjects had experienced "failing one or more subjects in school," and 64.7 percent had experienced "getting into drugs or alcohol."

Acting Out↗

PubMed1984

Adjustment in aging: the roles of life stress, hassles, and self-efficacy.

This study examines the relationship of life stress, daily hassles, and perceived self-efficacy to adjustment in a community sample of 32 men and 32 women between ages 65 and 75. In a structured interview, negative life change events, daily hassles, self-efficacy, depression, psychosomatic symptoms, and negative well being were assessed. Both negative life events and daily hassles were related to psychological distress and physical symptoms for men, and hassles were associated with psychological distress and physical symptoms for women. An inverse relationship between self-efficacy and maladjustment was also found. Hassles showed the most powerful relationship to distress.

Aged↗

PubMed2006

Searching for meaning in negative events: concept analysis.

AIM: The aim of this paper was to synthesize the literature related to meaning and present a conceptual analysis of searching for meaning in unexpected, significant, negative events. BACKGROUND: Events or situations that are perceived as unexpected and negative (e.g. chronic and/or life-threatening illness) can disrupt life plans and lead to emotional distress. Nurses are in a key position to aid in the coping process by assisting individuals to integrate the meaning of an unexpected, negative event into the life experience. METHODS: In May 2004, a comprehensive literature search using the terms meaning, search for meaning, meaning-making, making meaning, life change events, adaptation-psychological, stress, and coping was carried out. Of 339 possible references, 86 were included in the analysis. FINDINGS: Global meaning refers to an individual's beliefs, values, and purpose/goals. Situational meaning refers to the meaning the individual attaches to a situation. When the meaning attached to the situation is not congruent with global meaning, meaning is considered shattered and a search for meaning ensues. In the search for meaning, people may attempt to change the meaning of the event (through reattributions or creating illusions) or change global meaning (through positive reappraisal, problem-solving coping, or revaluing ordinary events). CONCLUSION: Nurses are in a key position to assist people through negative events. The process of searching for meaning provides a solid foundation for the development of nursing interventions to assist individuals through difficult times. Research is needed to develop nursing interventions based on the process of the search for meaning, as well as measures reflective of the search for meaning.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1999

Differential immune system changes with acute and persistent stress for optimists vs pessimists.

This study investigated whether acute and persistent stressors and life change events were followed by changes in immune status, and whether dispositional optimism moderated these relationships. Thirty-nine healthy women ages 18-45 were followed prospectively for 3 months, with weekly assessment of acute and persistent stressors and monthly assessment of life events and immune parameters (NK cell cytotoxicity, and CD4 and CD8 T cell subsets). The study used an autoregressive linear model to examine how weekly appraised acute and persistent stress levels were associated with immune parameters in the subsequent week. Analyses revealed that the immune outcomes were differentially affected by acute and persistent stressors. Further, the association between acute stress and subsequent immune parameters was buffered by an optimistic perspective. However, when stress persisted at high levels, optimists showed more subsequent immune decrements than pessimists.

Acute Disease↗

PubMed2000

Major life events as antecedents to hip fracture.

BACKGROUND: This study sought to determine whether the number of antecedent life events reported in the year before hip fracture among elderly patients was normal for the population from which these patients derive. Major life events are events such as births, deaths, major financial dealings, and major health changes. METHODS: Life events reported in the year before a fall and hip fracture for 111 hip fracture patients were compared with those of a control sample of 90 nonfracture, community-dwelling ambulatory elderly. RESULTS: The total number of life events was higher in the hip fracture group (p = 0.0001) than in the community control group. Fracture was also associated with the number of events experienced (adjusted OR, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.6-2.7; p < 0.0007), notwithstanding age, marital status, and education. CONCLUSION: Older persons who had sustained a fall-related traumatic hip fracture experienced an increased number of major life events compared with a nonfracture population sample of community-dwelling elderly controls.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2001

Some factors involved in alcohol consumption of first-year undergraduates.

Three studies were conducted with samples of first-year undergraduates in order to assess relationships among college drinking, adjustment, recent life-changing events, interpersonal factors, self-control, and perceived risk. Significant correlations were found between alcohol use and life-change, but not between alcohol use and college adjustment. In addition, several significant findings linked alcohol use to social factors. Responses to open-ended interview questions suggest that self-control and risk may play a role in students' decisions regarding consumption, after initial experience with alcohol use. Non-social factors, namely stressful events, appear to play a role in consumption behavior; however, students more frequently report on social factors as motivating their decisions regarding alcohol intake.

Adolescent↗