ABSTRACT
The fastest growing segment of world population is the 65-plus age group. The share of the population over the age of 65 will continue to grow well into the next century. At present, approximately 13 percent of the population of the United States is over age 65. By 2030 that percentage will increase to more than 20 percent1 (Peterson, 1993: 103). This factor by itself indicates a need for personality researchers to understand the growth, development, and changes that occur in the late years. The present study deals with depressive symptomatology, which is considered to be a rather common problem affl icting those aged 65 and older (Butler, Lewis, & Sunderland, 1998). Although levels of depression are highest among old adults who are institutionalized, it has been estimated that approximately 15-20 percent of community-dwelling old adults experience signifi cant depressive symptomatology (Beekman, Copeland, & Prince, 1999; Fry, 1993). Depression increases both health care use and costs (Badger, McNiece, & Gagan, 2000), and leads to functional decline and loss of independence (Espiritu et al., 2001). Moreover, depressive disorders in late adulthood are associated with increased all-cause mortality (e.g., Burvill, 1995; Lebowitz et al., 1997; Penninx et al., 1999) and are often implicated in
the elevated rates of suicide among old adults (for a review, see Heisel, Flett, & Besser, 2002).
