LIFE EVENTS AND PERSONAL PROBLEMS - THEIR PHYSIOLOGICAL AND EMOTIONALEFFECTS

A large body of research deals with the effect of life events (LE) on stress and health. Since the findings were controversial, attempts wer e made to circumscribe the kind or aspect of LEs affecting stress. Our purpose was to show that it is not the LE per se but the problem to w hich it is related (problem-ladenness) or personal problems which are stress related. Subjects were 68 healthy men and women, 29 to 53 years old. They were examined on physiological stress measures (erythrocyte sedimentation rate [ESR], white blood cell count and aggregated white blood cells in peripheral blood), and were administered the Life Expe riences Survey, the Personal Problems (PP) scale, Eysenck's neuroticis m scale, Tellegen's stress reaction, emotional scales (The Profile of Mood States and the Positive Emotions Check List) and the Strelau Temp erament Inventory. The findings showed that problem-ladeness was a dis tinct aspect of LEs, related only lowly to the number of LEs, regardle ss of their appraisal, but correlated highly with number of PPs. The n umber of LEs and the number of negative LEs were each related to only one stress index. The number of positive LEs was related to counter-st ress indices, mainly increased positive emotions. LEs high on problem- ladenness were related to many stress indices (e.g., neuroticism, tens ion-anxiety, depression). The number of PPs was related to these, to i ncreased ESR, anger, and to decreased excitation and vigor. The conclu sions are that problem-ladeness is the stress-effective element in LEs and that the number of PPs provides a preferable, direct, simple and fast measure of a major stress determinant for both genders.