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KEY ISSUE

How can life events affect an individual's personal development?

EXPECTED AND UNEXPECTED EVENTS

Using the Holmes and Rahe 1967 `Social Readjustment Rating Scale'

LEARNING OJECTIVES

Classification of life stages

Identification of expected and unexpected changes

Identification of all the areas of an individual's life that are impacted by change

Identification of sources that might be available to support individuals going through change


SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES
TASK A - LIFE EVENTS

Photocopy and cut out the different life changes so that each group of students has a set. Then, in pairs or groups of 3, get students to arrange the life events in order, where the one they think would be most difficult to handle is at the top and easiest to handle is at the bottom. Them compare them with the actual rankings found by Holmes and Rahe in 1967. See Resource section at end.

 
TASK B

In pairs or threes, ask students to rank the life events from the following perspectives:

  • A child of 5
  • Yourself
  • A woman of 40
  • A man of 50
  • A woman of 80

Follow this exercise with a discussion on:

What life events are more common at the different life stages:

  • Infancy (0 - 3)
  • Childhood (4 ­ 10)
  • Adolescence (11 ­ 18)
  • Adulthood (19 ­ 65)
  • Later Adulthood (65+)

How age and gender might make a difference to how events are viewed

How age and gender might make a difference to how events can be handled

 
TASK B

In pairs or threes, ask the students to sort out the life changes into the following categories:

  • Usually Expected
  • Usually Unexpected

Follow up this exercise with a discussion about the difference between expected and unexpected life events. Then brainstorm a list of what other 'expected' life events occur, e.g. starting school, birth of a sibling, onset of puberty, leaving school and other 'unexpected' life events, e.g. becoming ill, being involved in a car accident, unplanned pregnancy

 
TASK D

Students work in pairs to describe to each other an occasion when they experienced an expected change in their lives. Guide students to consider all the aspects of their lives that were involved, (physical, emotional, social, intellectual). The partners take it in turns to listen and to demonstrate good listening skills. Each student to:

  • describe the circumstances of the change itself
  • describe how they felt about it
  • describe how they prepared for it
  • describe what support they got in preparing for it (considering all sorts of support
  • physical, social, emotional and intellectual)
  • describe what helped them most
  • describe what could have helped them more
  • describe how they feel they coped with it

Follow this up by asking for one or two 'good' stories from amongst the pairs.

Gather a list of what support was most useful.

Gather a list of what needs had not been met and what additional support could have been useful.

Do the same for an unexpected change

NOTE: It might be best to ask the students to prepare for this lesson by writing out the changes they will describe in the class. This could be a homework activity.

 
TASK E

Students work in small groups to consider the needs of each individual in the following scenarios:

  • a child of 4 starting school
  • a couple getting a divorce
  • someone facing redundancy
  • an elderly person going into residential care
  • a 12 year old girl entering puberty
  • a young married woman who discovers that her new born baby has Downs Syndrome

The students should consider the following aspects of each individual's life:

  • physical needs
  • social needs
  • emotional needs
  • intellectual needs

The groups then discuss what could be done to prepare for the life events.

Each group could take one scenario and then present their case to the whole class.

 
Extension Questions:

Holmes and Rahe carried out this research in America in 1967. Do you think that the results would have been different if the research had been done in England? Do you think the results would be different if the research was conducted today? Explain what the differences might be and why?

Draw a labelled timeline for your own life to show all the changes that you have experienced so far. Create a colour code system to indicate how difficult the changes were for you to handle. Indicate whether the changes were expected or unexpected.

What life events are missing from the Holmes and Rahe list?

 
Life Events

Adapted from: 'The Social Readjustment Rating Scale'. Holmes and Rahe (1967)

Click here to download this resource material as a pdf file
RANK LIFE EVENT MEAN VALUE
1 Death of husband or wife (parent) 100
2 Divorce 73
3 Martial separation 65
4 Prison sentence 63
5 Death of a close family member 63
6 Personal injury or illness 53
7 Marriage 50
8 Fired at work 47
9 Retirement 45
10 Change in health of family member 45
11 Pregnancy 40
12 Sexual difficulties 39
13 Gain a new family member 39
14 Death of a close friend 37
15 Change of job 36
16 Starting or leaving school 26
17 Trouble with boss 23
18 A change in where you live 20
19 Holiday 13
20 Christmas 12

Life Events

Click here to download this resource material as a pdf file
  For use with `Life Events Suggested Activities'

Which of these life events would be most difficult to handle? Which are expected and which are unexpected?

Change in where you live Gain of new family member
Change in health of family member Death of a close friend
Death of close family member Death of husband or wife
Starting or leaving school Personal injury or illness
Change of job Holiday
Christmas Marital separation
Divorce Marriage
Fired at work Pregnancy
Sexual difficulties Prison sentence
Trouble with boss Retirement

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