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The Epidemiology of Life Events and Long-term Difficulties, with some Reflections on the Concept of Independence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

P. McC. Miller ,
C. Dean ,
J. G. Ingham ,
N. B. Kreitman ,
S. P. Sashidharan  and
P. G. Surtees
P. McC. Miller*
Affiliation:
MRC Unit for Epidemiological Studies in Psychiatry, University Department of Psychiatry, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Momingside Park, Edinburgh EH 10 5HF
C. Dean
Affiliation:
MRC Unit for Epidemiological Studies in Psychiatry, University Department of Psychiatry, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Momingside Park, Edinburgh EH 10 5HF
J. G. Ingham
Affiliation:
MRC Unit for Epidemiological Studies in Psychiatry, University Department of Psychiatry, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Momingside Park, Edinburgh EH 10 5HF
N. B. Kreitman
Affiliation:
MRC Unit for Epidemiological Studies in Psychiatry, University Department of Psychiatry, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Momingside Park, Edinburgh EH 10 5HF
S. P. Sashidharan
Affiliation:
MRC Unit for Epidemiological Studies in Psychiatry, University Department of Psychiatry, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Momingside Park, Edinburgh EH 10 5HF
P. G. Surtees
Affiliation:
MRC Unit for Epidemiological Studies in Psychiatry, University Department of Psychiatry, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Momingside Park, Edinburgh EH 10 5HF
*
∗Correspondence
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Abstract

A total of 576 women aged 18–65, drawn from an area in Edinburgh, were interviewed. Data on life events and long-term difficulties over a six-month period prior to interview were gathered and classified according to area of life, the Bedford system, the Edinburgh system, and the independence of the event or difficulty from the subject's own actions. The highest rates of Bedford system ‘provoking’ situations were found in the working class, among those not employed, among women with three or more children under 14, and in the separated, divorced, widowed or cohabitating group. Similar findings emerged for hopeless situations involving choice or loss. Dependent situations were four times more common in the youngest group than the oldest, and showed a high rate among those divorced, separated, widowed, or cohabiting. It is suggested that both dependent and independent life situations should be studied.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 148 , Issue 6 , June 1986 , pp. 686 - 696
Copyright
Copyright © 1986 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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