Computerised life assessment record: measuring stressful life events, 2015-2016

Bifulco, Antonia (2020). Computerised life assessment record: measuring stressful life events, 2015-2016. [Data Collection]. Colchester, Essex: UK Data Archive. 10.5255/UKDA-SN-852774

Stress is a major contributor to illness. It has both objective properties (adverse life events and difficulties) and subjective responses (physical or emotional illness). Objective stressors include unemployment, housing or finance events, as well as inter-personal events for example in partner or parenting roles. Personal context is key to understanding the harmful impacts on health. These latter are psychological (eg depression), or physical (eg cardiovascular disease). A new approach, Computerised Life Assessment Record (CLEAR), using latest online digital technology has been designed to mimic the existing ‘gold standard’ Life Events and Difficulties Schedule to enable a more cost effective measurement approach.

CLEAR has been tested and delivered online using latest web-based data capture technology. Reliability and validity of the CLEAR instrument have been determined and its association with health outcomes in an existing Depression and Case Control sample (DeCC n=250), and new first year undergraduate students (n=125) established. Analysis confirms the comparability of 30 online CLEAR versus LEDS interviews, has tested CLEAR response stability over time and tested stressful events in relation to depression, physical illness and student academic performance. An International Scientific Advisory Board has been offered use of the tool in existing longitudinal health research studies and practice.

Data description (abstract)

This data collection results from the Computerised Life Assessment Record (CLEAR) project that aimed to develop an online measure of life stress that captures objective features of life events across a wide range of classifications, recorded by date and sequence over a 12 month period. This was validated against the face-to-face interview the Life Events and Difficulties Schedule (LEDS).

The data files comprise the derived variables relating to severe life events and long term problems (LTPs) for 325 participants comprising three sampled groups based on an existing national midlife sample, the Depression and Case Control (DeCC): (1) DeCC clinical, (2) DeCC control and (3) students. The target DeCC group were those with clinically assessed recurrent episodes of major depression when last studied 10 years earlier. The control was a matched no-depression control group. Students were mostly first year Psychology undergraduates.

Three categories of date files exist: Main sample analysis data, Reliability data and Validity data. The main sample analysis comprises the life change and psychological characteristics for all 325 respondents. The variables included cover demographic characteristics, summed life events ratings, long term problem ratings, depression, wellbeing, insecurity, anxious and avoidant categories and health characteristics.

Reliability data includes data from a subset of 60 individuals from each group that completed the CLEAR on two occasions, four weeks apart. THis aimed to test whether CLEAR was reliable in terms of test-retest one month apart. This is arranged in three files: demographics, life events and long term problems.

Validity data comprises data from 30 respondents from their LEDS interview and CLEAR. The data is matched on the basis of the event descriptor.

Data creators:

Creator Name	Affiliation	ORCID (as URL)
Bifulco Antonia	Middlesex University

Sponsors:

Economic and Social Research Council

Grant reference:

ES/K00638X/1

Topic classification:

Psychology

Keywords:

life events, depression, education, ill health, ASSESSMENT, STRESS (PSYCHOLOGICAL)

Project title:

Stress online: Developing a reliable and valid interactive online method for measuring stressful life events and difficulties.

Alternative title:

CLEAR online stress data

Grant holders:

Antonia Bifulco, Helen Fisher, Georgina Mayling Hosang, Mathew Taylor, Anne Farmer

Project dates:

From	To
12 January 2014	28 April 2017

Date published:

14 May 2020 07:30

Last modified:

14 May 2020 07:30

Coverage and Methodology

Collection period:

Date from:	Date to:
1 July 2015	31 December 2016

Country:

United Kingdom

Data collection method:

The CLEAR online system includes all life events and difficulties from the original LEDS face-to-face interview. As a general update from the 1980’s measure, CLEAR also comprises new events centred on technological advance (eg cyber-fraud) and geopolitical circumstances (eg asylum experience).

The CLEAR study recruited 328 respondents and included those from an existing sample which was recontacted. The Depression Case-Control (DeCC) study: This case−control study of unipolar depression comprised 598 healthy controls and 1236 patients with recurrent depression. This sample was supplemented by a parallel one (The Genome-based therapeutic drugs for depression (GENDEP) study) consisted of 100 treatment-seeking patients suffering from moderate to severe depression also recruited in the same institution in a similar time frame. These were both midlife samples, recruited nationally and last seen in 2011.

First year undergraduate psychology students were approached to complete the CLEAR. The final group numbers included (i) 75 with a history of recurrent depression (ii) 127 matched controls and (iii) 127 students (mainly first year).

Observation unit:

Individual

Kind of data:

Numeric

Type of data:

UK survey data

Resource language:

English

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Measuring Life Events and Their Association With Clinical Disorder: A Protocol for Development of an Online Approach

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