"a state of tension, strain, or pressure" (Selye, 1974, p. 312). It is a "normal reaction resulting from the interaction between an individual and the environment" (Selye, 1974, p. 312). In any individual life, or in any organizational environment, stress may produce either positive or negative results. Those actions or conditions which induce stress are referred to as stressors. Stressors are defined as conditions and factors which induce stressful physical and psychological reactions on the part of individuals exposed to them (MacBride, 1984). A weighted level of stress experience was defined as the Life Change Units (LCU) score an individual received on the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (Rabkin and Struening, 1976). An LCU is defined as an event which occurs in the life of an individual either positive or negative, such as divorce, the birth of a child, and so forth. Rabkin and Struening (1976) developed weighted levels for each separate LCU for use in the application of the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS).
...