What Is the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale?

Key Takeaways

• The Holmes and Rahe stress scale measures how life events contribute to your stress levels and potential health risks.
• Your total score reflects your risk for stress-related illness, with higher scores indicating greater risk.
• The scale can offer insights into stress and health, but it has limitations and should be used alongside other tools and professional guidance.

The Holmes and Rahe stress scale lists 43 stressful life events that can contribute to illness. Health care professionals use it to help identify whether a person is experiencing a high amount of stress. This can help determine whether someone is at risk for developing an illness or if they may benefit from stress-reduction interventions.

Since its inception, the Holmes and Rahe stress scale has been widely used by healthcare professionals. It is one of the most well-known and researched tools for measuring stress.

Why the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale Is So Useful

The Holmes and Rahe stress scale is a widely used tool that can help identify people at an increased risk for developing an illness. It can also help design interventions to reduce stress levels. While the scale is not perfect, it can be useful for both health care professionals and individuals.

Ways it can help include:

• The scale can help healthcare professionals identify people at an increased risk for developing an illness.
• The scale may aid in identifying individuals at risk for suicide attempts.
• The scale can raise awareness about the importance of reducing stress.

Stressful Life Events on the Holmes and Rahe Scale

There are 43 items on the Holmes and Rahe stress scale. Each item is assigned a certain number of points, based on its perceived stressfulness. The total number of points a person scores can give an indication of their overall stress level. Some of the items on the scale include the following:

Origins of the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale

The Holmes and Rahe stress scale was developed in 1967 by psychiatrists Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe while working at the University of Washington. The scale was based on a study of over 5,000 medical patients who were asked to rate the life-changing events they had experienced in the previous two years. They originally designed the scale for research to help identify possible links between stress and illness.

What Your Score on the Stress Scale Means

Overall, total scores can range from 0 to 430 points.

• A score of 300 or more on the Holmes and Rahe stress scale indicates high stress. This means that the person is at an increased risk of developing an illness.
• A score between 150 and 299 points indicates a moderate amount of stress.
• A score below 150 indicates a low amount of stress.

However, it is essential to remember that the scale is only meant to be used as a guide and that other factors, such as a person’s individual stress tolerance, can also affect their risk for illness.

How to Take the Test

The Holmes and Rahe stress scale can be self-administered or it can be administered by a healthcare professional.

• If you are administering the scale yourself, you will need to recall the stressful events that have occurred in your life over the past year. For each event, you will need to note the date it occurred and find the number of points it is worth. Once you have all of this information, you can add up your total score to get an idea of your overall stress level.
• If a healthcare professional is administering the scale, they will likely ask you about stressful events that have occurred in your life over the past year. They will then record your answers and calculate your total score.

What Your Results Say About Your Stress Levels

If you have a high stress score on the Holmes and Rahe stress scale, it does not necessarily mean that you will develop an illness. However, it does indicate that you are at an increased risk. If you are experiencing a high amount of stress, it is important to take steps to reduce your stress level. This may include:

The Holmes and Rahe stress scale can be helpful for individuals and health care professionals. However, it is important to keep in mind that the scale has limitations. If you are using the scale, be sure to take into account all of the potential pitfalls.

Remember, the scale should be used to help identify people at an increased risk of developing an illness. It should not be used to make a diagnosis. If you are concerned about your stress level, talk to your doctor or a mental health professional. They can help you develop a plan to reduce your stress and improve your overall health.

How to Use This Tool to Understand and Manage Stress

If you are using the Holmes and Rahe stress scale, there are a few things to keep in mind:

• The scale should be used in conjunction with other information, such as a person’s medical history, to make a more accurate assessment.
• The scale should be used as a tool to help identify people who are at an increased risk for developing an illness. It should not be used to make a diagnosis.
• The scale can be used to help design interventions to reduce stress levels. However, it is important to remember that these interventions should be tailored to the individual.

Where the Scale Falls Short

Despite the potential benefits of the Holmes and Rahe stress scale, there are also some potential pitfalls to using the scale. These include:

The scale does not:

• Take into account all possible stressors
• Take into account how a person copes with stress
• Always accurately predict who will develop an illness

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

1. de Sousa-Pereira N, Bocchi M, Motoori-Fernandes CY, et al. An association between chronic life stressors prior to diagnosis of breast cancer. EXCLI J. 2021;20:1370-1378. doi:10.17179/excli2021-4005

2. Blasco-Fontecilla H, Delgado-Gomez D, Legido-Gil T, de Leon J, Perez-Rodriguez MM, Baca-Garcia E. Can the Holmes-Rahe Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS) be used as a suicide risk scale? An exploratory study. Arch Suicide Res. 2012;16(1):13-28. doi:10.1080/13811118.2012.640616

3. The American Institute of Stress. The Holmes-Rahe Stress Inventory.

4. Wallace D, Cooper NR, Sel A, Russo R. The social readjustment rating scale: Updated and modernised. PLoS One. 2023;18(12):e0295943. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0295943

By Arlin Cuncic, MA

Arlin Cuncic, MA, is the author of The Anxiety Workbook and founder of the website About Social Anxiety. She has a Master’s degree in clinical psychology.

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