Life event ratings in relation to sex and marital status in a 70-year-old urban population

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Abstract
A subsample of 151 subjects from a population study of 70 yr olds in Gothenburg, Sweden were given a questionnaire for life event ratings to be returned by mail. The 24 life events to be rated were events that are fairly common in advanced age. The ratings were in most cases similar for men and women. Some events, pertaining to children, were given more weight by the women, while loss of sexual ability or interest was given greater weight by the men. Single women gave less weight to events that could not happen to them. Events that cannot happen to yourself are seen as less important than events that can. Married women who had never worked outside their homes attributed more weight to some events than married women who had worked outside their homes. Men and women attributed similar weight to the event becoming mentally ill, which event was given more weight than the event becoming somatically ill. The results do not explain the higher incidence of neurosis among the women in the population.

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