Jon Hendricks is Dean at the University Honors College and Professor of Sociology at Oregon State University.

• SECTION I: PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH IN THE LATER YEARSLife Events, Social Support, and Immune Response in Elderly Individuals William Alex McIntosh, Howard B. Kaplan, Karen S. Kubena, and Wendall A. Landmann Associations among Healthy Habits, Age, Gender, and Education in a Sample of Retirees J. Paul Leigh and James F. Fries Self-Efficacy and Depressive Symptomatology in Older Adults: An Exploratory Study Jennifer Davis-Berman Depression, Dementia, and Social Supports Sally R. Esser and Peter P. Vitaliano Social Interaction and Depression in Elderly Individuals Ken J. Rotenberg and Jocelyn Hamel SECTION II: HEALTH AND SOCIAL CONTEXT Employment, Social Networks, and Health in the Retirement Years Michál E. Mor-Barak, Andrew E. Scharlach, Lourdes Birba, and Jacque Sokolov Rural versus Urban Differences in Health Dependence among the Elderly Population John A. KroutSocial Dimensions of Mental Illness among Rural Elderly Populations Jon Hendricks and Howard B. Turner Subjective Well-Being among the Rural Elderly Population Jay Meddin and Alan Vaux Seniors' Assessment of their Health and Life Satisfaction: The Case for Contextual Evaluation G. Elaine Stolar, Michael I. MacEntee, and Patricia Hill Effects of Bereavement/Loss and Pre-Event Status on Subsequent Physical Health in Older Adults Stanley A. Murrell, Samuel Himmelfarb, and James F. Phifer SECTION III: HEALTH CARE SYSTEM AND UTILIZATION PATTERNSRace, Gender, and the Effect of Social Supports on the Use of Health Services by Elderly Individuals Martha A. Nelson Implications of a Mental Health Intervention for Elderly Mentally Ill Residents of Residential Care Facilities Leonard E. Gottesman, Ellen Peskin, Kathleen Kennedy, and Jana Mossey Contributors