Abstract

An attempt, based on a control theory, was made to develop a life stress scale for college students. Items used in the scale were selected from a variety of sources, including references on life stress in both English and Korean. In addition, some items were selected from a preliminary survey on life stress and coping, using an open questionnaire. In devising the scale, special attention was made to incorporate elements of both the objective approach (Dohrenwend & Shrout, 1985) and the subjective approach (Lazarus et al., 1985). More specifically, scale items were objectively described (Zautra et al., 1986) reflecting the objective approach, while scale items were also rated on the importance of the events reflecting the subjective approach. Furthermore, ratings on controllability over life stress were also made, based on a control theoretical perspective. Participants were 192 (Study 1) and 263 (Study 2) college students. Scales used in the studies were the life stress scale developed here and the Korean version of SCL-90-R (1984). Results revealed that (1) reliability and validity of the life stress scale were shown to be satisfactory, suggesting the utility of the present life stress scale, and that (2) as predicted from a control theory perspective, the impact of life stress on SCL-90-R was proportional to ① the importance of life events and ② the frequency of life events, while inversely proportional to ③ controllability of life events. Furthermore, when combined the multiple ratings on frequency, importance and controllability, the effects of life stress on psychological and physical distress were significantly increased in terms of explanatory power. Finally, implications for future study are discussed in the light of the present results.