Life Events and Hospitalization in Children: A Comparison with a General Population

1981 ◽  
Vol 139 (3) ◽  
pp. 221-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Javad H. Kashani ◽  
Kay K. Hodges ◽  
John F. Simonds ◽  
Ernest Hilderbrand
Keyword(s):  
School District ◽  
General Population ◽  
Causal Relationship ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Hospitalized Children ◽  
Life Event ◽  
Common Life ◽  
New School

SummaryThis study compared life events in three groups: hospitalized psychiatric, hospitalized paediatric, and non-patient non-hospitalized children, all aged 7–12 years. The most common life event in each group respectively was moving to a new school district, hospitalization for physical illnesses, and outstanding personal achievement. The hospitalized children had a significantly greater number of life events and mean score of life events than that of the general population. The authors conclude that the study of life events alone is insufficient to infer a causal relationship between life events, onset of illness and hospitalization in children.

Life Events and Psychosis

1993 ◽  
Vol 162 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Bebbington ◽  
Soraya Wilkins ◽  
Peter Jones ◽  
Alice Foerster ◽  
Robin Murray ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
General Population ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Free State ◽  
Psychotic Symptoms ◽  
Significant Excess ◽  
Life Event ◽  
The Past ◽  
Healthy Sample ◽  
Event Histories

Data from the Camberwell Collaborative Psychosis Study were used to examine the proposition that there is an excess of life events preceding the onset of psychoses of all types. Of 97 patients from the study who had episodes within the past year that were datable, 51 had developed psychotic symptoms from an essentially symptom-free state, 29 had been suffering only from neurotic symptoms, and 17 had experienced a marked exacerbation of psychotic symptoms. DSM–III diagnoses were collapsed into three major groups: 51 cases of schizophrenia; 31 cases of mania; and 14 cases of depressive psychosis. Life-event histories were taken for the six months before onset, and when these were compared with equivalent histories from a psychiatrically healthy sample from the local general population, there was a significant excess of life events, particularly in the three months before onset of psychosis. This was apparent in all groups, and remained even when events were restricted to the independent category. The excess of events began rather earlier than has been found in previous studies. In our view, this study provides some of the strongest evidence for a link between life events and the emergence of psychotic symptoms.

The impact of life events in female patients with fibromyalgia and in female healthy controls

2000 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 295-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
U.M. Anderberg ◽  
I. Marteinsdottir ◽  
T. Theorell ◽  
L. von Knorring
Keyword(s):  
Life Events ◽  
Stressful Life Events ◽  
Negative Life Events ◽  
Negative Life Event ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Life Event ◽  
Common Life ◽  
Economic Problems ◽  
Healthy Women ◽  
The Impact

SummaryThe aim was to investigate if female fibromyalgia patients (FMS) had experienced more negative life events than healthy women. Furthermore, the life events experienced in relation to onset of the FMS were evaluated. Another important area was to investigate the impact of the events experienced in the patients compared to healthy women.A new inventory was constructed to assess life events during childhood, adolescence and in adulthood as well as life events experienced in relation to the onset of the disorder. Forty female FMS patients and 38 healthy age-matched women participated in the study.During childhood or adolescence 51% of the patients had experienced very negative life events as compared to 28% of the controls. Conflict with parents was the most common life event. Before onset, 65% of the patients experienced some negative life event. Economic problems and conflicts with husband/partner were common. During the last year, 51% of the patients had life events which they experienced as very negative, compared to 24.5% of the controls (P < 0.01).Stressful life events in childhood/adolescence and in adulthood seem to be very common in FMS. Furthermore, the life events were experienced as more negative than the life events experienced by healthy controls.

Stressful Life Events and Schizophrenia

1993 ◽  
Vol 162 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ross M. G. Norman ◽  
Ashok K. Malla
Keyword(s):  
General Population ◽  
Psychiatric Disorders ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Stressful Life Events ◽  
Life Event ◽  
Schizophrenic Patients ◽  
Stress Models ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Over Time

Empirical research concerning the relationship between life event stressors and schizophrenia is critically reviewed. In accordance with the view that patients suffering from schizophrenia are vulnerable to stress, there is evidence of a relationship between stressors and variation in severity of symptoms over time. There is less indication that schizophrenic patients have had higher levels of stressors than the general population or than patients suffering from other psychiatric disorders. These findings are consistent with vulnerability-stress models of the development of schizophrenia.

scholarly journals The List of Threatening Experiences: a subset of 12 life event categories with considerable long-term contextual threat

1985 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 189-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Traolach Brugha ◽  
Paul Bebbington ◽  
Christopher Tennant ◽  
Jane Hurry
Keyword(s):  
General Population ◽  
Random Sample ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Life Event ◽  
Economic Constraints ◽  
Inventory Method

SynopsisIn a survey of a random sample of the general population recent life events, collected and rated for long-term contextual threat according to the methods of Brown & Harris (1978), were also recorded where possible on an inventory of life event categories (Tennant & Andrews, 1977). Of the 82·5% of all events collected which were covered by the inventory, 12 of the 67 event categories accounted for 77% of life events with an aetiologicaly significant rating of marked or moderate long-term threat. Where practical and economic constraints oblige research workers to choose the inventory method, a brief list of event categories, such as the List of Threatening Experiences, is recommended in preference to much longer lists.

scholarly journals How Are Common Major Live Events Perceived? Exploring Differences Between and Variability of Different Typical Event Profiles and Raters

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Kritzler ◽  
Andrew Rakhshani ◽  
Sophia Terwiel ◽  
Ina Fassbender ◽  
Brent Donnellan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Events ◽  
Personality Change ◽  
Subjective Ratings ◽  
Major Life Events ◽  
Major Life ◽  
Life Event ◽  
Common Life ◽  
Individual Perceptions ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Typical Event

Research on major life events and personality change often focuses on the occurrence of specific life events such as childbirth, unemployment, or divorce. However, this typical approach has three important limitations: (1) Life events are typically measured categorically, (2) it is often assumed that people experience and change from the same event in the same way, and (3) external ratings of life events have unknown levels of validity. To address these limitations, we examined how common life events are typically perceived, how much perceptions of life events vary within events, and how well external ratings of events correspond to subjective ratings from people who experienced the events. We analyzed ratings of nine psychologically relevant characteristics of 10 common major life events from three different types of raters (N = 2,210). Each life event had a distinct subjectively rated profile that corresponded well to external ratings. Collectively, this study demonstrates that life events can be meaningfully described and differentiated with event characteristics. However, people’s individual perceptions of life events varied considerably even within events. Therefore, research on major life events and their associations with personality change should incorporate individual perceptions of the events to advance the understanding of these associations.

Prenatal exposure to maternal stressful life events and earlier age at menarche: the Raine Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
E V Bräuner ◽  
T Koch ◽  
A Juul ◽  
D A Doherty ◽  
R Hart ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Stress ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Prenatal Stress ◽  
Stressful Life Events ◽  
Maternal Stress ◽  
Stressful Life Event ◽  
Stressful Life ◽  
Age At Menarche ◽  
Complete Case ◽  
Life Event

Abstract STUDY QUESTION Is there an association between prenatal exposure to stressful life events and age at menarche, and does childhood BMI mediate this association? SUMMARY ANSWER Girls exposed to prenatal stress had a slightly earlier age at menarche, but this association did not show a dose-response effect and was not mediated by childhood offspring BMI. WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN Prenatal stress may impact on reproductive function in females including age at menarche, but human data are very limited. High childhood BMI is known to be associated with earlier age at menarche. Only one small study has measured the association between maternal stress and age at menarche and reported that childhood BMI mediated the association between maternal stress and earlier age at menarche. However, neither maternal stress nor age at menarche was prospectively recorded and the study was limited to 31 mother–daughter pairs. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION The Raine Study is a large prospective population-based pregnancy cohort study (n = 1414 mother–daughter pairs) continuously followed from prenatal life through to adolescence. In the present study, we examined the association between exposure to maternal stressful life events during early, late and total gestation and age at menarche in offspring using 753 mother–daughter pairs with complete case information. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS Mothers prospectively reported stressful life events during pregnancy at 18 and 34 weeks using a standardized 10-point questionnaire. Exact date of menarche was assessed using a purpose-designed questionnaire at 8, 10, 14 and 17 years of age. Complete information on exposure, outcome and confounding variables was obtained from 753 mothers–daughter pairs. Multivariate linear regression complete case analysis was used to examine associations between maternal stressful life event exposure and age at menarche. Potential selection bias was evaluated using multiple imputations (50 datasets). The mediating effects of offspring childhood BMI (ages 5, 8, or 10 years) on these associations were measured in separate sub-analyses. MAIN RESULTS AND ROLE OF CHANCE Most (580/753, 77%) daughters were exposed to at least one prenatal stressful life event. Exposure to maternal stressful life events during the entire pregnancy was associated with a non-linear earlier age at menarche. Exposure to one event and two or more psychological stressful events was associated with a 3.5 and 1.7-month earlier onset of puberty, respectively when compared to the reference group with no exposure maternal stressful life events. The estimates from multiple imputation with 50 datasets were comparable with complete case analysis confirming the existence of an underlying effect. No separate significant effects were observed for exposure during early or late gestation. The association between prenatal stressful events and age at menarche was not mediated by childhood BMI in the offspring. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION Stressful life events may have affected pregnant women in different ways and self-perceived maternal stress severity may have provided a more precise estimate of gestational psychological stress. The observed non-linear U-shape of the association between maternal psychological stress and age at menarche did not reflect a dose-response. This suggests that the first exposure to prenatal stress exerts a greater effect on fetal reproductive development. A potential mechanism is via dramatic initial activation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis following the first stressful life event which is greater than that observed following subsequent exposure to two or more maternal stressful life events. Whilst we adjusted for a priori chosen confounders, we cannot exclude residual confounding or confounding by factors we did not include. Maternal age at menarche was not available so the effects of familial history/genetics could not be assessed. There was a large loss due to the number of girls with no information on date of menarche and missing confounder information implying risk of selection bias and multiple imputation analyses did not fully exclude this risk (similar direction but slightly weaker estimate magnitude). WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS Menarche is a sentinel reproductive event and earlier age at menarche carries implications for psychological, social and reproductive health and for long-term risk of common non-communicable diseases. Understanding the factors regulating age at menarche has extensive health implications. This is the first population-based cohort study in humans to demonstrate that prenatal psychological stress might directly modify age at menarche. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S) Dr. Bräuner and Trine Koch’s salaries were supported by Doctor Sofus Carl Emil Friis and spouse Olga Doris Friis foundation, The Danish Cancer Society (Kræftens Bekæmpelse, RP15468, R204-A12636, Denmark) and The Danish Health Foundation (Helsefonden, F-22181-23, Denmark). Martha Hickey was funded by NHMRC Practitioner Fellowships. The funding bodies played no role in the design, collection, analysis, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to submit the manuscript for publication. Dr. Hart has received personal fees in his function as the Medical Director of Fertility Specialists of Western Australia and received educational sponsorship grants from MSD, Merck-Serono and from Ferring Pharmaceuticals. Dr Hart has also received personal fees from Shareholders in Western IVF outside the submitted work. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER NA.

Comparability and Short-Term Stability of Techniques to Assess Extension of Thinking about One's Personal Future

1983 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 559-564 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Rakowski ◽  
Clifton E. Barber ◽  
Wayne C. Seelbach
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Life Event ◽  
Term Stability ◽  
The Future ◽  
Changes Over Time ◽  
Over Time

Three techniques for assessing extension of one's personal future (line-marking, open-ended report, life-events) were compared in a sample of 74 respondents. Two points of data collection were employed to examine short-term stability. At both administrations, correlations among indices suggested that techniques were only moderately comparable. Short-term stabilities were variable; correlations ranged from .42 to .79. Across subgroups of the sample, the direct, open-ended report of extension showed the greatest stability, while life-event extension showed the least. Apparently, extension of thinking about the future should be assessed by more than one technique to investigate potential relationships with other variables or changes over time in perspective about the future.

Life Events and Schizophrenia in Nigerians

1988 ◽  
Vol 153 (3) ◽  
pp. 367-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oye Gureje ◽  
A. Adewunmi
Keyword(s):  
Life Events ◽  
First Episode ◽  
Life Event ◽  
Sociodemographic Variables ◽  
Male Control ◽  
Control Subjects ◽  
The Family ◽  
Schizophrenic Patients ◽  
Event Histories

Forty-two first-episode RDC schizophrenic patients were matched on sociodemographic variables with an equal number of control subjects. The life-event histories of both groups for 6 months before onset or interview were compared. Onset of illness was not preceded by an increase in life events. The only significant observation was that control subjects had experienced more events in the month previous to interview. These were reported mainly by male control subjects, involved the family, and were possibly related to the period when the control subjects were interviewed. The observations are discussed within the context of the Nigerian culture.

scholarly journals Perception and Impact of Life Events in Medically Hospitalized Patients With Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 699-705
Author(s):  
Katherine K. Bedard-Thomas ◽  
Simona Bujoreanu ◽  
Christine H. Choi ◽  
Patricia I. Ibeziako
Keyword(s):  
Life Events ◽  
Somatic Symptom ◽  
Functional Disability ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Patient Characteristics ◽  
Hospitalized Patients ◽  
Health Care Use ◽  
Life Event ◽  
Academic Events ◽  
The Impact

OBJECTIVES: We describe the prevalence and perceived impact of life events reported by medically hospitalized patients with somatic symptom and related disorders (SSRD) and highlight patient characteristics and outcomes associated with highly impactful life events. METHODS: Retrospective chart reviews were conducted of patients with SSRD at a tertiary pediatric hospital who were seen by the psychiatry consultation service and completed various instruments while medically admitted, including a de novo life events checklist. Descriptive statistics, correlations, χ2 tests, and internal consistency analyses were used. RESULTS: Charts of 70.2% of patients with SSRD who completed the life events checklist (N = 172; age range 8–25 years) were reviewed. Of those studied, 94% reported at least 1 life event in the last year, with academic events most prevalent, 81% reported life events across multiple domains, and 56% perceived the life event(s) as having a great impact on their lives. Patients who perceived more great impact life events were older, from households with lower median incomes, had higher self-reported somatization, greater functional disability, more comorbid psychiatric diagnoses, required more psychotropic medications, and had longer medical admissions. CONCLUSIONS: Findings reveal that although the majority of medically hospitalized patients with SSRD reported at least 1 relevant life event, it was the patients’ perception of the impact of the life event(s) that correlated with high levels of disability and health care use. An assessment of the perception of life events in patients with SSRD may help hospitalists and interdisciplinary providers identify high-risk patients for whom early psychiatry referrals can be made.

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