Stress, outline one technique to measure stress.Evaluate the difficulties in measuring stress.

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  1. outline one technique to measure stress. (6)

One technique used to measure stress is the social readjustment rating scale. The scale lists a number of life events which can be used to used to estimate the likelihood of a stress related illness.

The social readjustment rating scale has forty two life events which range from the death of a spouse to more minor events such as a change in eating habit. Each life event is given a value from one to one hundred based on the amount of stress it is likely to cause. A divorce for example is given a high value of seventy three wheras a change in sleeping habits is given a lesser value of fifteen. The  person in question then identifies all the events that have occurred in the last twelve months noing the rating each is given. At the end the participant adds up their total score which could range from a low score such as 15 to a high score such as 400. If the participant attains a score of more than 200 points In the last two years then they can be said to ave encountered such high levels of stress that they have a 40% chance of suffering from a stress related illness. This likelihood is increased to an alarming 70% if the participant attains a score higher than 300 points.  

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  1. Evaluate the difficulties  in measuring stress. (10)

In measuring stress there are like to be many difficulties encountered. One problem in measuring stress is that it is likely to be reductionist. Reductionism is defined as suggesting that ,stress for example, is explained through a restricted nuuber of reasons.  This proves to be a difficulty in measuring stress because the reasons for stress could be incredibly vast however in Kobasa’s study on hardiness for example we see just three “C’s” taken into consideration (control, commitment, challenge). Kobasa suggests that these are the reasons for people ...

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