THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

The conceptual framework associated with this measure has been developed and employed in the study of several normative life changes (e.g., school change, marriage, parenthood), and two negative life changes (divorce, death of a spouce). Development of this framework grew directly out of earlier research on stressful life events. During the 1970s a number of researchers demonstrated a consistent, modest relationship between experiencing life changes (assessed in terms of the overall readjustment they required) and a variety of indicators of physical and emotional health (Holmes, 1978; Myers, Lindenthal, & Pepper, 1971; Myers, Lindenthal, Pepper, & Ostrander, 1972; Paykel, 1974; Rahe & Arthur, 1978). Several important moderators of this relationship have since been suggested (hardiness, social support, gender; see Dohrenwend, 1973; Holahan & Moos, 1985; Kessler, 1979a, 1979b; Kessler & Cleary, 1980; Kobasa, 1982; Kobasa & Puccetti, 1983; Neff, 1985; Sarason, Johnson, & Siegel, 1978; Vinokur & Selzer, 1975; Wilcox, 1981). Career and family role life structure proved an important moderator of the relationship, at least for women (Stewart & Salt, 1981). However, a number of critics of the stressful life events approach (G. W. Brown, 1974; Hurst, 1979; Kellam, 1974; D. P. Mueller, Edwards, & Yarwis, 1977; Paykel, 1979) argued that it was important to supplement that approach with detailed study both of particular events, and of the processes underlying the relationship between life change and illness.