Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2017 Feb 1.
Published in final edited form as: Child Psychiatry Hum Dev. 2016 Feb;47(1):23–34. doi: 10.1007/s10578-015-0540-4

Table 2.

Stressful life events and the frequency of occurrence within the current sample

Life Event Frequency Percent of Sample
Death of a grandparent 39 30%
Mother beginning to work 37 28.46%
Increase in number of arguments between parents/guardians 26 20%
Change in parent’s income 26 20%
A close friend moved away 24 18.46%
Increase in number of arguments between you and your child 22 16.92%
Beginning another school year 20 15.38%
Loss of a job by a parent/guardian 20 15.38%
Fighting with or problems with friends 19 14.62%
Change in father’s job requiring increased absence from home 15 11.54%
Serious illness requiring hospitalization of parent/guardian 14 10.77%
Move to a new home or neighborhood 13 10%
Marital separation of parents/guardian 12 9.23%
Brother or sister leaving home 11 8.46%
Serious illness requiring hospitalization of brother or sister 10 7.69%
Birth of a brother or sister 10 7.69%
Divorce of parents/guardian 10 7.69%
Move to new school district 6 4.62%
Serious illness requiring that he/she stay in hospital 5 3.85%
Marriage of parent/guardian to stepparent 4 3.08%
Having a visible deformity 3 2.31%
Change in your acceptance by peers 2 1.54%
Death of a brother or sister 2 1.54%
Death of a parent/guardian 1 0.77%
Jail sentence of parent/guardian 1 0.77%
Decrease in number of arguments between you and your parents/guardians 1 0.77%
Decrease in number of arguments between parents/guardians 1 0.77%
Addition of third adult to family (i.e., grandparent, etc.) 1 0.77%
Suspension from school 1 0.77%
Failure of a grade in school 1 0.77%
Death of a close friend 1 0.77%
Discovering that he/she was adopted 1 0.77%