Stress Scale

Stress Scale

The stress scale was invented in 1967, it was however not completely reliable. Different events in our lives will cause us different amounts of stress. While everyone is distinctive in how strongly they may be affected, it can be safe to say that certain events can have very large impacts on a person no matter who they are. Since such information is widely accepted, in 1967 two men by the names of Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe did a study by examining thousands of medical records of patients in order to try and find out if a stressful event could lead to an illness.

The scale they created from their findings is now known as the Homes and Rahe Stress Scale. This scale ranges from 11 to 100 in relation to stressful events. The numbers are called “Life Change Units” and account for measuring stress over a year, the final sum being the number that determines how your stress can affect your health. For example, 11 is the number you would receive if you had committed a minor violation of the law. Beginning school is 26. Pregnancy is listed as 40. The death of a spouse is listed at 100. You would go through each event and add the number as needed until you had a final calculation. If your score was 150 or less, you only had a slight risk of becoming ill. For 150-299 you had a moderate risk, and if it was 300 and over, you were quite likely to be at risk.

The only trouble with this scale is that it is not necessarily reliable. While you may have had a minor law violation, it could have happened years before now and it is no longer a stressor to you. The data can be considered more retrospective than up to date. The scale is not very advantageous as it only provides a possible look at illness, which does not help you find ways of relieving or reducing stress.