Primary Children's Ratings of the Stressfulness of Experiences

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Abstract
To establish a better linkage between the results of earlier studies on upper elementary through junior high students' ratings of the stressfulness of experiences and those of primary children, responses were obtained to the same life events from 270 first graders, 108 third graders and 170 sixth graders. Across 20 life events, the ranks based upon the respective scale values (medians) of stressfulness ratings correlated .94 (1st–3rd), .81 (1st–6th), and .89 (3rd–6th). The scale values themselves correlated .95 between the first and third graders, while those of the sixth graders correlated above .97 with two other groups (4th through 6th) of previously studied American children. When the mean ratings were converted to the same standardized scale for comparison, they correlated .90 (1st–3rd), .89 (1st–6th), and .93 (3rd–6th). Meanwhile, the reported incidences of experience correlated .91 (1st–3rd), .79 (1st–6th), and .89 (3rd–6th). Thus, the overall similarity was clear in children's views regardless of their general developmental status. Nevertheless, some interesting variations were noted from grade to grade to suggest contrasting perceptions of certain individual experiences.

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