The relationship between the extent of life changes and psychological problems

Aim. To examine the eventual relationship between the extent of life changes and psychological problems, assessed with the recently developed version of the MMPI-2: the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF). Method. The Life Events Form (LES; Butcher et al.,1990), was translated into Italian and administered, along with the Italian version of the MMPI-2-RF, to 267 males and 307 females (mean age respectively: M=31.72+12.51 and M=32.64+16.57 years). The LES is a modified version of the Recent Life Events Survey by Holmes and Rahe, covering significant changes in life during six-month period preceding completion of the MMPI-2-RF by participants. The MMPI-2-RF comprises – among others – three Higher Order (H-O) scales, and 9 Restructured clinical scales (RC). Pearson product–moment correlations were calculated between the total number of recent life changes reported, and the raw scores of the MMPI-2-RF H-O, and RC scales. Results. The coefficients of correlation were all statistically significant and varied from .19 to .23, in the case of H-O scales, and from .09 to .24, in the case of RC scales. Discussion. The associations observed were rather similar to those reported in previous studies carried out using comparable techniques, suggesting a slight, but consistent impact of recent life changes on psychological wellbeing.