Unpleasant Events Schedule for Older Adults

Description

The Unpleasant Events Schedule for Older Adults is a behavioral self-report instrument developed by J. Hedlund and M. Gilewski to assess unpleasant or potentially non-reinforcing activities and events experienced by older adults. It evaluates both their frequency and the subjective unpleasantness associated with them.

Purpose

The instrument aims to assess exposure to unpleasant experiences in later life and the emotional discomfort they generate. It contains 63 activities and events and represents a shortened version of Lewinsohn’s Unpleasant Events Schedule.

Scoring

Each activity is rated twice:

Frequency during the past month:
0 = Never, 1 = A few times, 2 = Often.

Subjective unpleasantness:
0 = Not unpleasant, 1 = Somewhat unpleasant, 2 = Very unpleasant.

Three scores are calculated: mean frequency, mean subjective unpleasantness, and mean experienced unpleasantness, with the latter based on the product of frequency and unpleasantness ratings.

Reliability and Validity

The instrument has demonstrated a satisfactory factor structure. The original Lewinsohn measure has also shown high internal consistency, adequate test–retest reliability, and good predictive and construct validity.

References

Kleftaras, G. (2000). Interpersonal problem-solving of means-ends thinking, frequency and strength of pleasant and unpleasant activities and symptoms of depression in French older adults. Physical and Occupational Therapy in Geriatrics, 17(4), 43–63.

Lewinsohn, P. M., & Talkington, J. (1979). Studies of the measurement of unpleasant events and relations with depression. Applied Psychological Measurement, 3, 83–101.