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Dimensions of experience

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

P. McC. Miller  and
J. G. Ingham
P. McC. Miller*
Affiliation:
Medical Research Council Unit for Epidemiological Studies in Psychiatry, University Department of Psychiatry, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Edinburgh
J. G. Ingham
Affiliation:
Medical Research Council Unit for Epidemiological Studies in Psychiatry, University Department of Psychiatry, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Edinburgh
*
1Dr P. McC. Miller, MRC Epidemiology Unit, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Morningside Park, Edinburgh EH10 5HF.
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Synopsis

Life-event data for a 3-month period were collected for 1058 adults. Six ways of categorizing life events and difficulties were analysed: namely, loss (L), threat (T), anti-social act (A), hopeless situation (H), uncertainty of outcome (U), and choice of action (C). Reliabilities were moderate to good. The number and the pattern of characteristics within a single event or difficulty were found to be the most important elements in predicting a depression score criterion. Two patterns were particularly predictive: CH present in an event or difficulty, and LH present with U absent. Approximately 21·9% of the depression score variance maybe explained using life events together with the respondent's social class, sex and social support. This represents a significant improvement over prediction based solely on the scoring methods of Brown & Harris (1978).

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 13 , Issue 2 , May 1983 , pp. 417 - 429
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1983

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References

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