Social adjustment rating scale

As requested, the "social adjustment rating scale" is also known as the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS). It is more popularly called the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale.

Developed by psychiatrists Thomas H. Holmes and Richard H. Rahe in 1967, the SRRS is a tool used to identify and quantify the impact of stressful life events. The underlying principle of the scale is that significant life changes, both positive and negative, require a person to adapt, and this process of "readjustment" is a source of stress. The scale is designed to measure the cumulative stress a person has experienced over a recent period, typically the past year, and to correlate this stress level with the risk of future illness.

How the Scale Works

The SRRS consists of a list of 43 life events. Holmes and Rahe assigned a score to each event, called a "Life Change Unit" (LCU), based on the perceived degree of social readjustment required. The event of "marriage" was used as an arbitrary baseline with a score of 50. The most stressful event, "death of a spouse," has the highest score of 100 LCU.

To use the scale, an individual checks off all the life events they have experienced within the last year. The LCU scores for each selected event are then totaled.

Scoring and Interpretation

The total LCU score is used to estimate a person's risk of experiencing a major health breakdown in the near future:

Score of 300 or more: High risk of illness (approximately an 80% chance of a major health issue in the following two years).
Score of 150 to 299: Moderate risk of illness (approximately a 50% chance).
Score below 150: Low risk of illness (approximately a 30% chance).

The Social Readjustment Rating Scale (Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale)

Below is the list of the 43 life events and their corresponding Life Change Unit (LCU) scores:

Rank	Life Event	Life Change Units (LCU)
1	Death of a spouse	100
2	Divorce	73
3	Marital separation	65
4	Imprisonment	63
5	Death of a close family member	63
6	Personal injury or illness	53
7	Marriage	50
8	Dismissal from work	47
9	Marital reconciliation	45
10	Retirement¹	45
11	Change in health of a family member	44
12	Pregnancy	40
13	Sexual difficulties	39
14	Gain of a new family member	39
15	Business readjustment	39
16	Change in financial state	38
17	Death of a close friend	37
18	Change to a different line of work	36
19	Change in frequency of arguments	35
20	Major mortgage	32
21	Foreclosure of mortgage or loan	30
22	Change in responsibilities at work	29
23	Child leaving home	29
24	Trouble with in-laws	29
25	Outstanding personal achievement	28
26	Spouse starts or stops work	26
27	Beginning or end of school	26
28	Change in living conditions	25
29	Revision of personal habits	24
30	Trouble with boss	23
31	Change in working hours or conditions	20
32	Change in residence	20
33	Change in schools	20
34	Change in recreation	19
35	Change in church activities	19
36	Change in social activities	18
37	Minor mortgage or loan	17
38	Change in sleeping habits	16
39	Change in number of family reunions	15
40	Change in eating habits	15
41	Vacation	13
42	Major holiday	12
43	Minor violation of the law	11

It is important to note that while the SRRS has been an influential tool in stress research, it has also been criticized for not accounting for individual differences in coping abilities and perceptions of stress. More recent versions and alternative scales have been developed to address some of these limitations.