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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2014 May 1.
Published in final edited form as: Biol Psychiatry. 2013 Mar 26;73(9):827–835. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2013.01.032

Table 1.

List of Cumulative Stressful Events and Perceived Chronic Stressors Assessed in the Cumulative Adversitv Interview*

Major Life Event
(lifetime)		 Recent Life Event
(within the last 12 months)		 Life trauma Perceived Chronic Stress

  • Parents’ divorce and/or conflict

  • Loss of parent or significant other

  • Loss of child by death or removed

  • Unfaithful significant other

  • Separation from one or both parents

  • Family or significant other with substance abuse issues

  • Educational setback – failure

  • Isolation and abandonment

  • Loss of home to natural disaster

  • Victim of gun shooting or other violent acts

  • Observing violent victimization

  • Relationship difficulties

    • -

      significant increase in arguments

    • -

      unfaithful significant other

    • -

      divorce or separation

    • -

      ending of close relationship

  • Death of a loved one

    • -

      child or significant other

    • -

      close family friend

  • Job-related stress

    • -

      demotion/worse job

    • -

      pay loss

    • -

      job loss

  • Financial crisis

    • -

      bankruptcy

    • -

      going on welfare

  • Legal difficulties

  • Poor school performance

    • -

      failure or dropout

  • Living-situation stress

    • -

      moved to worse neighborhood

    • -

      kicked out of house

    • -

      kicked child out of house

  • Natural disaster – loss of home

  • Physical assault

  • Serious accident or injury

  • House/car broken into

  • Unwanted pregnancy

    • -

      abortion/miscarriage

  • Physical abuse/assault

    • -

      threatened or witnessed assault

    • -

      exposure to war or combat

    • -

      kidnapping

  • Death

    • -

      immediate family member or significant other (including suicide)

  • Emotional abuse

  • Serious accident

    • -

      self/witnessed one

  • Sexual abuse/assault

  • Trauma related to natural disaster

  • Relationship problems

    • -

      divorce/separation

    • -

      child-related stress

  • Chronic health/medical problems

  • Job/employment related stress

  • Financial difficulties

    • -

      unemployment

  • Legal problems

  • School-related stress

  • Living-situation stress
*

Cumulative Adversity Interview assesses subject’s experience of the above major and recent life events, life traumas and perceived chronic stressors and cumulative adversity scores are predictive of psychiatric disorders and development of addictions in prospective longitudinal studies (Turner RJ, Lloyd DA. Stress burden and the lifetime incidence of psychiatric disorder in young adults: racial and ethnic contrasts. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2004, May;61 (5):481-8;

Turner RJ, Lloyd DA. Cumulative adversity and drug dependence in young adults: racial/ethnic contrasts. Addiction 2003; 98:305-15; Lloyd DA, Turner RJ. Cumulative lifetime adversities and alcohol dependence in adolescence and young adulthood. Drug & Alcohol Dependence 2008; 93:217-26)