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Fall-off in the reporting of life events

  • Depressive Disorders
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Summary

A recent paper by Schmid et al. (1981) suggests that there is a very marked fall-off in the reporting of events in the 21 weeks before interview when using the Bedford College life-event instrument. A general review of other research suggests that fall-off is in fact remarkably slight in this period and also that the instrument is effective under certain circumstances for even longer periods of time. The probable reasons for the results obtained by Schmid and his colleagues are discussed in the light of the investigator rather than respondent-based nature of the instrument.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, Bedford College, University of London, England

    George W. Brown & Tirril Harris

Authors
  1. George W. Brown
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  2. Tirril Harris
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Brown, G.W., Harris, T. Fall-off in the reporting of life events. Soc Psychiatry 17, 23–28 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00583889

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00583889

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