Table 1.

Severity of psychosocial stressors in adults: DSM-III-R axis IV [4].

	Examples of psychosocial stressors in adulthood
Severity	Acute events	Enduring circumstances
None	None	None
Mild	Broke up with boyfriend/girlfriend	Family arguments
	Started or graduated from school	Job dissatisfaction
	Child left home	Residence in high-crime region
Moderate	Marriage	Marital discord
	Marital separation	Serious financial problems
	Loss of job	Trouble with boss
	Miscarriage	Being a single parent
Severe	Divorce	Unemployment
	Birth of first child	Poverty
Extreme	Death of spouse	Serious chronic illness
	Serious physical illness diagnosed	Ongoing physical or sexual abuse
	Victim of rape
Catastrophic	Death of child	Captivity as hostage
	Suicide of spouse	Concentration camp experience
	Devastating natural disaster