WHAT MAKES LIFE EVENTS STRESSFUL - RETROSPECTIVE STUDY OF PATIENTS WHO HAVE SUFFERED A 1ST MYOCARDIAL-INFARCTION

The hypothesis was tested that the adequacy of a person's adaptation following a 'stressful life event' can be assessed by means of a comparison before and after the event of (a) the overall extent of the person's involvement in goal-directed activities, and (b) the overall extent of the person's social contact. Information about their lives was obtained retrospectively from 25 post-infarction patients by means of a structured interview. Interview protocols were scored so as to measure reported changes in (a) and (b) attributable to life events throughout the pre-morbid year. It was found that post- infarction patients report a significantly greater reduction in socializing during this period than do matched healthy controls, and also a greater reduction in involvement in goal-directed activities, although this latter difference was not significant. A composite index derived from interviews which takes into account both (a) and (b) gives the most sensitive predictor of first infarction. © 1979.