Differential social support and life change as contributors to the social class-distress relationship in older adults.

Four hypotheses previously put forth to explain the strong association between social class and mental health in the general population were examined in 1,326 older adults (55 years and older). Respondents were interviewed 3 times at 6-month intervals. Lower class was associated with more past life changes (occurring before Wave 1) and more subsequent life events (occurring between Waves 1 and 3); these changes were predictive of distress, supporting the differential exposure hypothesis. Lower class was associated with weaker social support (embeddedness), which was related to distress, supporting the resource deterrent hypothesis. There was little evidence that people of the lower classes were more vulnerable to stress or that their status was due to their weaker social support; thus, the differential vulnerability and applied buffering hypotheses were not consistently supported. Social support does appear to be a versatile resource for older adults. A significant portion of the class-distress relationship was not accounted for by life change, social support, or the interaction between these factors.