A Multidimensional Analysis of the Concept of Life Change

Extensive research has related life change to the onset and intensity of physical and mental illness. Attention has recently been focused on the dimensions of life change (i.e., the significance of the degree of change vs. the desirability of the change) with conflicting results. The purpose of the present research is to use a multidimensional scaling device to explicate the dimensions of life change and their relative significance. The results reveal that life change has three dimensions: the degree of change evoked, the desirability of the change, and the life area in which the event occurs. The analysis also indicates that while the life change data are multidimensional, the quantitative dimension (degree of life change) is more primary than the qualitative dimensions (desirability of life change and area of life change).