Stress and Illness

Personality and Social Psychology BulletinPublished 1 March 1982

Gary S. Stern, Terrie R. McCants, Paisley Woodrich Pettine

DOI10.1177/014616728281022

Source URL

Citations37

SJR quartileQ1

SJR score2.17

SNIP1.85

Abstract

Events on the Holmes and Rahe (1967) Schedule of Recent Life Events were separated into controllable and uncontrollable categories based on subjects' ratings. It was found that the relationship between life events and illness depended upon whether events were viewed as controllable. Specifically, the more life events individuals identified as uncontrollable, the greater the illness reported. Moreover, events perceived as uncontrollable were rated as significantly more stressful than events perceived as controllable. It was also demonstrated that the effect the controllability-uncontrollability dimension had in moderating the relationship between total life events and illness was stronger than the effect of severity (i.e., life change units) of life events.

Keywords

Psychology

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