STRESS IN THE LIFE-COURSE A LIFE-HISTORY APPROACH

This article examines the relationship between stress and distress in the life course, emphasizing the time elapsed between the event and me asurement of psychological distress. Stressors are conceptualized as e ither distal or proximal based on how recently they occurred. Distal s tressors are further classified as status changes or undesirable life changes. Using a life history calendar approach, we examine stressors occurring over a 15-year period We explore whether distal stressors af fect current depressive symptomatology above and beyond the effect of more recent stressors and how these stressors vary in frequency and ef fect over 3 empirically defined age groups. While some events decrease in frequency over age, others occur consistently across age groups. M ost important, distal stressors significantly impact current depressiv e symptomatology, independent of proximal stressors. Types of distal s tressors affecting depression vary over age, indicating that the stage of life at which a stressor occurs is a significant determinant of th e stressor's effect on depression.