Reporting of Stressful Life Events by Hypertensive and Non-Hypertensive Individuals: A Comparative Analysis

Hypertension is a significant global public health issue widely prevalent around the world. High blood pressure (BP) is a major risk factor for chronic disease, stroke and coronary heart disease. The aim of the study was to compare the reported experience of stressful life events among hypertensive and non-hypertensive individuals in reference to their gender. Presumptive stressful life event scale developed by Singh (1984) was administered on 200 individuals (100 hypertensive and 100 non-hypertensive) selected purposively. The findings revealed that hypertensives reported significantly higher number of undesirable stressful life events and higher stress. Moreover, hypertensives experienced higher stress through various stressful life situations in comparison to non-hypertensives. Furthermore, the difference in reporting stressful life events between hypertensive and non-hypertensive individuals, in relation to gender, was statistically non-significant (p > 0.05). Keywords: Hypertension, Stressful life event, Undesirable event, non-hypertensive.