Life stress as a correlate of depression among older adults.

Although there is some evidence that stressful life events are related to depression in the general population, there has been less research on this relationship with random community samples of older adults. The purpose of this study was to examine whether life stress (both stressful life events and chronic life strains) is correlated with depressive symptoms among a representative sample of noninstitutionalized elderly people. The findings indicate that chronic life strains (strains associated with financial and physical health problems) as well as bereavement are highly significant correlates of depression. Issues in the statistical estimation of these effects are also addressed.