Gender and ethnicity differences in psychological well-being.

Are there significant gender and racial differences in disorder among older adults? This chapter has shown that the answer to this question is not straightforward. There are at least two reasons why a definitive answer cannot be provided at this time. First, researchers confront formidable problems in the measurement of psychological and psychiatric disorder. Measures must be developed that are appropriate for use with older women and minority group members. Moreover, investigators must make an effort to assess a complete range of specific types of disorder in the same study. As such studies are conducted, it is likely that no one group will emerge with consistently higher rates of disorder. Instead, we may find that disorder is simply manifest in different ways across the various social-status groups. Researchers must also adopt a conceptual framework that is capable of directing our thinking beyond simple models that merely assess the direct effects of race and gender on disorder. Variables such as gender and race must be recognized as relatively crude proxy measures for the experiences confronting elderly women and nonwhites. The life-stress perspective represents a useful conceptual scheme that can focus attention on those specific experiences in lower-status life that create psychological and psychiatric disorder.