Hostname: page-component-f554764f5-nt87m Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-04-21T06:20:22.519Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Life-events and psychiatric disorders1 Part 1: some methodological issues

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

G. W. Brown ,
F. Sklair ,
T. O. Harris  and
J. L. T. Birley
G. W. Brown
Affiliation:
From the Department of Sociology, Bedford College, University of London
F. Sklair
Affiliation:
From the Department of Sociology, Bedford College, University of London
T. O. Harris
Affiliation:
From the Department of Sociology, Bedford College, University of London
J. L. T. Birley
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, University of London
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Synopsis

The paper focuses on recent criticisms of the study of the role of life-events in the onset of psychiatric conditions and suggests that measurement error and bias can be reasonably well controlled by various methodological procedures. Failure to comply with these may be expected, however, to increase rather than decrease the chances of establishing a ‘positive’ resuit. Three further factors to do with the design of studies and the analysis of data are discussed which are likely to mask real differences between patient and comparison group, and which therefore might explain the ‘negative’ results reported in the literature. They concern: (1) the choice of an appropriate comparison group; (2) specification of the length of the period between event and onset; and (3) specification of the event in terms of some measure of severity. Results from two London studies of schizophrenic and depressive patients are presented to illustrate the argument. The studies suggest that life-events do play an important causal role in bringing about both disorders.

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 3 , Issue 1 , February 1973 , pp. 74 - 87
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1973

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

REFERENCES

Bartlett, F. C. (1932). Remembering: A Study of Experimental and Social Psychology. Cambridge University Press: London.Google Scholar
Bell, D. S. (1971). The precipitants of amphetamine addiction. British Journal of Psychiatry, 119, 171–177.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Birley, J. L. T. and Brown, G. W. (1970). Crises and life changes Preceding the onset or relapse of acute schizophrenia: clinical aspects. British Journal of Psychiatry, 116, 327–333.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brown, G. W., and Rutter, M. (1966). The measurement of family activities and relationships. A methodological study. Huntan Relations, 19, 241–263.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, G. W., and Birley, J. L. T. (1968). Crises and life changes and the onset of schizophrenia. Journal of Health and Social Behaviour, 9, 203–214.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cannell, C. F., and Kahn, R. L. (1968). Interviewing. Edited by Lindzey, G., and Aronson, E., The Handbook of Social Psychology, 2nd edn.Addison-Wesley: Reading, Mass.Google Scholar
Forrest, A. D., Fraser, R. H., and Priest, R. G. (1965). Environmental factors in depressive illness. British Journal of Psychiatry, 111, 243–253.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goddard, K. E., Broder, G., and Wenar, C. (1961). Reliability of pediatric histories. A preliminary study. Pediatrics, 28, 1011–1108.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Haggard, E. A., Grekstad, A., and Skard, Å. G. (1960). On the reliability of the anamnestic interview. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 61, 311–318.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Holmes, T. H., and Rahe, R. H. (1967). The Social Readjustment Rating Scale. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 11, 213–218.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hudgens, R. W., Morrison, J. R., and Barchha, R. G. (1967). Life events and onset of primary affective disorders: a study of 40 hospitalized patients and 40 controls. Archives of General Psychiatry, 16, 134–145.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hudgens, R. W., Robins, E., and Delong, W. B. (1970). The reporting of recent stress in the lives of psychiatric patients. British Journal of Psychiatry, 117, 635–643.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Morrison, J. R., Hudgens, R. W., and Barchha, R. G. (1968). Life events and psychiatric illness. British Journal of Psychiatry, 114, 423–432.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Paykel, E. S., Myers, J. K., Dienelt, M. N., Klerman, G. L., Lindenthal, J. J., and Pepper, M. P. (1969). Life events and depression: a controlled study. Archives of General Psychiatry, 21, 753–760.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Paykel, E. S. Life events and acute depression. In Separation and Depression: Clinical and Research Aspects, edited by Scott, J. P. and Senay, E.. American Association for the Advancement of Science: Chicago. (In press).Google Scholar
Polani, P. E., Briggs, J. H., Ford, C. E., Clarke, C. M., and Berg, J. M. (1960). A mongol girl with 46 chromosomes. Lancet, 1, 721–724.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rahe, R. H. (1969). Life crisis and health change, pp. 92–125. In Psychotropic Drug Response: Advances in Prediction. Edited by P. R. A. May and J. R. Wittenborn.Google Scholar
Rutter, M., and Brown, G. W. (1966). The reliability and validity of measures of family life and relationships in families containing a psychiatric patient. Social Psychiatry, 1, 38–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stott, D. H. (1958). Some psychosomatic aspects of casualty in reproduction. Journal of Psychomatic Research, 3, 42–55.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
U.S. National Certificate for Health Statistics (1965). health Interview Responses Compared with Medical Records. Public Health Service Publication No. 1000, and Ser. 2, No. 7. Public Health Service: Washington.Google Scholar
Wing, J. K., Birley, J. L. T., Cooper, J. E.Graham, P., and Isaacs, A. D. (1967). Reliability of procedure for measuring and classifying ‘present psychiatric state’. British Journal of Psychiatry, 113, 499–515.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed