The Link Between Stress and Sickness Introduction & Hypothesis Stress is commonly defined as an unpleasant negative experience. It is something that everyone can relate to. Researchers Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe wanted to investigate the relationship between stress and sickness. They Hypothesized that there would be a positive correlation between stress and illness, but before analyzing the relationship of these two factors, they begin by defining stress as psychological adjustment to an event. Meaning that an emotion in an extreme state, whether it is traveling for a Christmas vacation or struggling with family relations, constitutes a stressful event. Method of Study The first challenge that these researchers faced, was that there was not a quantitative measure to define stress. Relative measures, the number of stressful occurrences, or the type of stress, would not suffice for the development of this scale. To solve this, Holmes and Rahe came up with the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS), to obtain a quantitative measure of life stress. This scale measured the size and magnitude of stress, by having 400 individuals rate 43 life events on a numerical scale, where marriage was given a predefined value of “500”, and the other events were given a score relative to this point, based on the amount of adaptation or change that the
event would require. After adjusting the data, a “Death of a Spouse” was measured to have the highest score of 100, and “Minor Law Violation” had the lowest score of 11 (figure 1). The created unit for this scale was the life change unit (LCU).
Figure 1
Holmes and Rahe wanted to verify the accuracy of these results, and subdivided their participants by factors such as gender, relationship status, race, education, age, and compared the values that were given to the events within the group. They found a strong correlation within these groups, and determined that the scale would be an accurate measure for the general population. Findings Once an accurate measure of life stress was created, Holmes and Rahe began to look at how stress impacted the health of the individual. When looking at these events, the emphasis was placed on how much change was required to adapt to the new event, and not the emotional connection to the event, so that the perception of a particular event was neutralized, in order to focus on psychological change and adjustment. The first of their
further studies looked at the cumulative LCU score of thousands of individuals, and compared this score to their health history. Holmes found that the number of sicknesses or health issues increased with respect to their LCU score. The second of the further studies examined the total LCU score of 2500 sailors in the six months prior to their departure, and then tracked the number of sicknesses during the first six months of their tour. There was a positive correlation between the total LCU score and the number of sicknesses that the individual experienced. Implications While the results from this study are in good standing for western culture, the measure of stress changes as a more collectivistic cultural view is applied. In India, Israel, or Japan, where there is more focus on the good of the family or group, and less focus on individual, the magnitude of the stressful event differs from that of western culture. Rahe also found that experience with stressful events, coping skills, physiological strength and immune system function, and ability to deal with illness, all factored into the relation of stress and illness. Conclusion Holmes and Rahe found that there is a complex relationship between stress and illness. They conclude that treatment for illness should include both the body and mind.