The Holmes and Rahe stress scale was developed by psychiatrists Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe in 1967. The pair wanted to know if the most stressful life events could predict future illness. The Holmes and Rahe stress scale is a list of 43 stressful situations an individual can experience that can lead to illness.
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Understanding the Holmes and Rahe stress scale
After examining the medical records of 5,000 patients, Holmes and Rahe discovered a strong correlation between illness and the most stressful life events. These situations were then ranked on a scale from most stressful to least stressful, providing clarity on the sort of life situations deleterious to human health.
The reliability of the scale was then tested in 1970 with a study involving 2,500 U.S. Navy personnel. Rahe asked each sailor to rank their most stressful life events and then monitored them for six months to see if any event correlated with visits to the doctor. Once again, Rahe found that the more stressful an event, the higher likelihood of illness.
The top ten most stressful events on the Holmes and Rahe scale
Holmes and Rahe found a total of 43 events contributing to illness. Each event was assigned a specific life change unit score according to how traumatic it was felt across a large sample of study participants.
For the sake of brevity, we will take a look at the top twenty events and their associated score below:
Death of a spouse or child – 100 units.
Divorce – 73 units.
Marital separation – 65 units.
Detention in jail or related institution – 63 units.
Death of a close family member – 63 units.
Major personal injury or illness – 53 units.
Marriage – 50 units.
Being fired from employment – 47 units.
Marital reconciliation – 45 units.
Retirement from work – 45 units.
Major change in the health or behavior of a family member – 44 units.
Pregnancy – 40 units.
Sexual difficulties – 39 units.
Gaining a new family member through birth, adoption, etc. – 39 units.
To calculate stress levels and the associated risk of illness, the individual must run through the list of events and determine how many they’ve been subject to in the last twelve months. If the same event occurred twice, then it should be counted twice.
Then, the life change unit score for each should be added together to form a total score.
For scores over 300, there is an 80% chance of illness.
For scores between 150-299, there is a 50% chance of illness.
For scores of less than 150, there is a 30% chance of illness.
The types of illnesses stress can cause are not overly surprising. They may include chronic back and neck pain, obesity, depression, diabetes, anxiety, and gastrointestinal disorders. Chronic stress can also accelerate the aging process and the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
Examples of Stressful Life Events on the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale
Death of a Spouse or Child (100 units): Experiencing the loss of a spouse or child, which can be emotionally devastating and lead to significant stress and grief.
Divorce (73 units): Going through a marital divorce, dealing with the legal process, emotional upheaval, and adjusting to a new life situation.
Marital Separation (65 units): Living apart from one’s spouse, facing uncertainty about the future of the relationship.
Detention in Jail or Related Institution (63 units): Being incarcerated or facing legal issues, which can be highly stressful and disruptive to one’s life.
Death of a Close Family Member (63 units): Coping with the loss of a close family member, such as a parent or sibling.
Major Personal Injury or Illness (53 units): Suffering a severe injury or illness that affects daily functioning and requires medical attention.
Marriage (50 units): Getting married, which can bring joy but also involves significant adjustments and responsibilities.
Being Fired from Employment (47 units): Losing a job, dealing with financial uncertainty and job search stress.
Marital Reconciliation (45 units): Attempting to reconcile with a separated or estranged spouse, facing emotional turmoil and uncertainty.
Retirement from Work (45 units): Transitioning to retirement, adjusting to a new routine and identity as a retiree.
Major Change in the Health or Behavior of a Family Member (44 units): Dealing with the health issues or behavioral changes of a family member, which can be emotionally challenging and require caregiving.
Pregnancy (40 units): Going through pregnancy, which involves physical and emotional changes and the anticipation of becoming a parent.
Sexual Difficulties (39 units): Facing challenges in one’s sexual life or relationship, which can lead to stress and emotional strain.
Gaining a New Family Member through Birth, Adoption, etc. (39 units): Welcoming a new family member, such as a child, through birth or adoption, which involves adjustments and responsibilities.
Major Business Readjustment (39 units): Going through significant changes in one’s business or work environment, such as a major restructuring or downsizing.
Major Change in Financial State, such as a Windfall or Bankruptcy (38 units): Experiencing a drastic change in financial circumstances, whether positive or negative.
Death of a Close Friend (37 units): Coping with the loss of a close friend, which can be emotionally impactful.
Changing to a Different Line of Work (36 units): Making a career change, which involves uncertainty and adjustments.
Major Change in the Number of Spousal Arguments Regarding Child-Rearing, Personal Habits, etc. (35 units): Experiencing significant conflict in a marital relationship, which can be stressful and emotionally draining.
Taking on a Home or Business Loan (31 units): Dealing with the financial responsibilities and stress associated with taking on significant debt.
Key takeaways:
The Holmes and Rahe stress scale describes a list of 43 stressful situations an individual can experience that can lead to illness. It was developed by psychiatrists Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe in 1967.
The Holmes and Rahe stress scale is backed by several studies which resulted in a list of 43 stressful life events. The top five most stressful situations are the death of a spouse or child, marital divorce, marital separation, jail, and the death of a close family member.
The Holmes and Rahe stress scale estimates the likelihood of becoming ill based on the total life change unit score for events experienced in a twelve-month period.
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The concept of cognitive biases was introduced and popularized by the work of Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman in 1972. Biases are seen as systematic errors and flaws that make humans deviate from the standards of rationality, thus making us inept at making good decisions under uncertainty.
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Lateral thinking is a business strategy that involves approaching a problem from a different direction. The strategy attempts to remove traditionally formulaic and routine approaches to problem-solving by advocating creative thinking, therefore finding unconventional ways to solve a known problem. This sort of non-linear approach to problem-solving, can at times, create a big impact.
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Groupthink occurs when well-intentioned individuals make non-optimal or irrational decisions based on a belief that dissent is impossible or on a motivation to conform. Groupthink occurs when members of a group reach a consensus without critical reasoning or evaluation of the alternatives and their consequences.
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Murphy’s Law states that if anything can go wrong, it will go wrong. Murphy’s Law was named after aerospace engineer Edward A. Murphy. During his time working at Edwards Air Force Base in 1949, Murphy cursed a technician who had improperly wired an electrical component and said, “If there is any way to do it wrong, he’ll find it.”
The law of unintended consequences was first mentioned by British philosopher John Locke when writing to parliament about the unintended effects of interest rate rises. However, it was popularized in 1936 by American sociologist Robert K. Merton who looked at unexpected, unanticipated, and unintended consequences and their impact on society.
Fundamental attribution error is a bias people display when judging the behavior of others. The tendency is to over-emphasize personal characteristics and under-emphasize environmental and situational factors.
Outcome bias describes a tendency to evaluate a decision based on its outcome and not on the process by which the decision was reached. In other words, the quality of a decision is only determined once the outcome is known. Outcome bias occurs when a decision is based on the outcome of previous events without regard for how those events developed.
Hindsight bias is the tendency for people to perceive past events as more predictable than they actually were. The result of a presidential election, for example, seems more obvious when the winner is announced. The same can also be said for the avid sports fan who predicted the correct outcome of a match regardless of whether their team won or lost. Hindsight bias, therefore, is the tendency for an individual to convince themselves that they accurately predicted an event before it happened.
Gennaro is the creator of FourWeekMBA, which reached about four million business people, comprising C-level executives, investors, analysts, product managers, and aspiring digital entrepreneurs in 2022 alone | He is also Director of Sales for a high-tech scaleup in the AI Industry | In 2012, Gennaro earned an International MBA with emphasis on Corporate Finance and Business Strategy.
