Abstract
In the present study, 87 male and 91 female undergraduate students (18 to 30 yr. old) were surveyed to determine whether the previously observed inverse relationship between life-change events and mental impairments holds. The Schedule of Recent Experience was used to measure stress to relate results of this study and past findings. The General Well-being Schedule, reliable and internally consistent, was the measure of mental health. Comparison of the scores on recent experiences with normative criteria indicated that 84.8% of the subjects had scores indicative of major life crises. An inordinately large number of participants should have also experienced clinical distress as measured on the schedule; however, the results provide modest empirical support for this assumption. Subsequently, it seems appropriate to question the predictive validity of the life-events approach to research on stress among college students.
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