EMERGENCY UNIT PATIENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF STRESSFUL LIFE EVENTS

Abstract

Perceptions of recent stressful life events of 52 emergency unit patients were studied. The readjustment required by the stressful events was measured using the Social Readjustment Rating scale, developed by Holmes and Rahe. Patients' total readjustment magnitude score was found to be extensive and significantly related to their perception of the severity of their medical problems. However, their readjustment magnitude score was not related to their physicians' perception of the severity of their medical problem. And, when the relationship between specific stressful life events and specific symptomatology and diagnoses was examined, the readjustment magnitude score was found to be negligible. The extensive degree of recent stress in this sample of patients and the relationship to their perception of severity add credibility to the growing theory that health professionals should routinely assess their patients' degree of readjustment to recent life changes and examine illness from this perspective.