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One hundred and eighty-seven subjects participated in a study to evaluate the reliability of the weights assigned to individual items in the Schedule of Recent Experiences (SRE). There was a high correlation between this group's responses and the responses originally reported by Holmes and Rahe, in spite of differences in age and education between the respondents. The correlation remained very high when the study was repeated after a 1-year interval. This finding offers support for the usefulness of this instrument in evaluating the relationship between life events and other variables for groups of subjects.

In an investigation of the relation between life events (stressors) and illness, 87 medical students reported on a prospective basis their health and life events history over a three year period. There were a few positive findings, e.g. that subjects who reported more life events during the period also reported more illnesses during that period. Overall, however, the study showed a lack of statistically significant association between life events and illness.

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