Gd. Weaver et Le. Gary, STRESSFUL LIFE EVENTS, PSYCHOSOCIAL RESOURCES, AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AMONG OLDER AFRICAN-AMERICAN MEN, The Urban League review, 16(2), 1993, pp. 45-56
Empirical studies focusing on the mental health of older African Ameri
can men are sparse. This article examines the relationship of depressi
ve symptoms to demographic factors, stressful life events, and psychos
ocial coping resources in a sample of 161 African American men 56 year
s of age and over. The multivariate analyses demonstrate a significant
association between depressive symptomatology and household income, s
tressful life events, number of illnesses, mastery over the immediate
environment, and self-rated health. Men who were least at risk for hig
h depressive symptoms had incomes above $25,000, experienced few or no
stressful life events and physical illnesses, and reported high maste
ry and health ratings. Implications of the findings are discussed rela
tive to future research and mental health service needs.