Abstract
PurposeTo examine the undesirable stressful life events midlife women experience, including: 1) which life events midlife women reported most frequently; 2) which life events women rated as most undesirable; and 3) whether age, years of education, income, employment, race/ethnicity, marital status, being a parent, and the menopausal transition stage were associated with the impact scores of the life event categories.BackgroundIn addition to the menopausal transition, midlife is a time of increased responsibilities for women related to multiple roles such as taking care of children, caring for elderly parents, managing households, and working outside the home. These multiple roles put midlife women at risk for increased stress with little time for themselves in order to relieve stress.MethodsThe sample used in this study is part of a larger longitudinal study, The Seattle Midlife Women’s Health Study. Women (N = 380 for Occasion 1) completed the 77-item Life Events Scale on four occasions during the course of the SMWHS: Occasion 1 (1990), Occasion 2 (1992), Occasion 3 (1997), and Occasion 4 (2000). In addition to descriptive analyses of frequency of life events and the undesirable impact of life events, demographic correlates (age, education, income, employment, being a parent as well as marital status, race/ethnicity, and menopausal transition stages) were examined in relation to the stressful life event scores.ResultsHighest scores of undesirable life events were for categories of both Financial and Family/Friends over 3 of the 4 occasions. Health and Crime/Legal scores were among the highest for 2 occasions. Impact of the undesirable stressful life events was greatest for categories of Family/Friends; Personal/Social; Work; and, Health. Age, income, marital status, being a parent, and menopausal transition stage were each associated with specific categories of the stressful event impact scores.ConclusionMost commonly reported undesirable life events were not those women described as having the greatest impact. Impact of life event stress reflected women’s social roles and connections as seen in the categories with the highest impact scores: Family/Close Friends, Personal/Social, and Work. Menopausal transition stages were related only to undesirable health events.
Highlights
Stressful life events have been the focus of research for a variety of populations, there has been relatively little attention paid to understanding the stressful aspects of midlife women’s lives
Sample Participants in the current study provided at least one and up to four Life Event Scale (LES) questionnaires beginning in 1990 and who were in either the late reproductive (LR), early transition (ET), late transition (LT) or early post-menopause (PM) sometime during the course of the study
For Occasion 3, Family and Friends (.06) and Financial (.06) categories followed by Health, Personal/Social, Crime/Legal Matters (.05 each) were the largest adjusted mean total number of stressful events and for Occasion 4, the largest adjusted mean total number of events were in the categories of Family and Friends (.06), Health, Personal/Social, Financial, and Crime/Legal Matters (.05 each)
Summary
Stressful life events have been the focus of research for a variety of populations, there has been relatively little attention paid to understanding the stressful aspects of midlife women’s lives. Woods and colleagues [1] examined the relationship of menopausal transition (MT)-related factors (MT stage, urinary estrone glucuronide, follicle-stimulating hormone, aging), psychosocial factors (income adequacy, role burden, social support, parenting, employment, history of sexual abuse, depressed mood) and symptoms (hot flashes, depressed mood, lower sexual desire, difficulty getting to sleep, night-time awakening, early morning awakening, forgetfulness, difficulty concentrating) on perceived stress recorded by Seattle Midlife Women’s Health Study (SMWHS) participants in a daily health diary They found that perceived stress ratings were unrelated to the menopausal transition stage, but significantly associated with symptoms. These multiple roles put midlife women at risk for increased stress with little time for themselves in order to relieve stress
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