Dimensions of experience

Life-event data for a 3-month period were collected for 1058 adults. Six ways of categorizing life events and difficulties were analysed: namely, loss (L), threat (T), anti-social act (A), hopeless situation (H), uncertainty of outcome (U), and choice of action (C). Reliabilities were moderate to good. The number and the pattern of characteristics within a single event or difficulty were found to be the most important elements in predicting a depression score criterion. Two patterns were particularly predictive: CH present in an event or difficulty, and LH present with U absent. Approximately 21.9% of the depression score variance may be explained using life events together with the respondent's social class, sex and social support. This represents a significant improvement over prediction based solely on the scoring methods of Brown & Harris (1978).