The following scale gives an estimate of the impact of various changes in a child’s life. Add up the total points for all the items the child has experienced in the past year. A score of 150 or below is average, 150-300 means the child has a better than average chance of showing symptoms of stress, and a score above 300 means the child has a high likelihood of experiencing a change in health and/or behavior.
| Impact | Life Event | |
| 100 | Parent dies | |
| 30 | Theft of personal possessions | |
| 73 | Parent divorce | |
| 29 | Responsibilities change at home | |
| 70 | Parent in jail | |
| 29 | Older sibling leaves home | |
| 65 | Parents separate | |
| 29 | Trouble with grandparents | |
| 63 | Parent travels often | |
| 28 | Outstanding personal achievement | |
| 63 | Family member dies | |
| 26 | Moving | |
| 53 | Personal illness or injury | |
| 25 | Gets or loses a pet | |
| 50 | Parent remarries | |
| 24 | Changes in personal habits | |
| 47 | Parent loses job | |
| 24 | Trouble with teacher | |
| 45 | Parents reconcile | |
| 20 | Change in daycare routine | |
| 45 | Mom goes to work | |
| 20 | Change to a new school | |
| 44 | Change in health of family | |
| 19 | Change in play habits | |
| 40 | Mom pregnant | |
| 19 | Family vacation | |
| 39 | School difficulties | |
| 18 | Change in friendships | |
| 39 | Birth of sibling | |
| 17 | Going to camp | |
| 39 | Changes at school | |
| 16 | Change in sleep habits | |
| 38 | Change in family finances | |
| 15 | Family get-togethers/reunions | |
| 37 | Illness/injury of friend | |
| 15 | Change in eating habits | |
| 37 | Illness/injury of family | |
| 13 | Change in amount of TV viewing | |
| 36 | New extracurricular activity | |
| 12 | Birthday party | |
| 35 | Fighting with sibling | |
| 11 | Punished for being untruthful | |
| 31 | Threatened by violence | |
| Total | ||