LIFE EVENTS, SOCIAL SUPPORT AND THE RISK OF SUDDEN-INFANT-DEATH-SYNDROME

The effects of a lack of maternal social support and stressful life ev ents on the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) were examined by case-control design: 390 cases and 1592 control infants. A seven it em index of mother's social support was used. A possible 21 life event s experienced by each family were summed and then put into one of thre e categories: 0-2, 3-5, and 6 or more life events. Similar levels of m aternal social support were found for both groups. SIDS families exper ienced significantly more stressful life events than control families, but once social factors had been taken into account this association was lost. Copyright (C) 1996 Association for Child Psychology and Psyc hiatry.