Increasingly, psychosocial and life-history questionnaires are being tested to better identify populations likely to get cancer. The Schedule of Recent Experience (SRE) was given to 25 women on the day that they returned for a gynecologic examination. The score obtained from the SRE reflected the life changes the women experienced over the preceding 0 to 6 months, 6 to 12 months, 1 to 2 years, and 2 to 3 years. From the results of the biopsy specimen or Papanicolaou smear, the women were classified as (N) normal (N = 14), (A) abnormal (N = 7), and (M) metaplastic (N = 4). With the exception of the 0 to 6-month score for group M, the median life-change scores of women in groups A and M were consistently higher than those of group N. The cumulative 3-year score for group A was significantly greater (p = 0.05) than that for group N. During the 2 to 3-year time period the life-change scores for all three groups were significantly different (p = 0.046) from each other and the life-change scores for group A were significantly greater (p = 0.025) than those for group N. Additional data showed that there was no significant difference in current age among the groups, in age at initial intercourse, or in the number of marriages and divorces, but that the differences among the mean numbers of sex partners for each group approached statistical significance. Knowledge of these associations, along with knowledge of other known risk factors of cervical cancer, can help to determine populations in need of screening.
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