Desirable versus undesirable life events: their relationship to stress and mental distress

Abstract

The research of Holmes, Rahe, and their associates disclosing that life events and stress are related to the onset of physical illness is extended to the psychological domain in the present study. Using a modified version of their life events checklist, it is shown that an accumulation of life events is correlated with self-reported tension and distress, with emotional disturbances manifested by depression, paranoid thinking, suicidal proclivity, and anxiety, as well as with behavioral indications of stress such as drinking and traffic accidents. Most importantly, it is shown that these relationships do not hold for desirable life events but primarily for undesirable events. Thus, the authors suggest that the quality of the events in terms of their desirability is the crucial determinant of stress and the above-mentioned relationships rather than simply the life change produced by the events, as suggested in earlier studies. Methodological and theoretical implications for future research are discussed, emphasizing the importance of studying additional stress-relevant dimensions such as anticipation of the events and control over their outcome.