Table 1.

Associations between individual stressful life events and depression

	CES-D8 ≥ 4 (N=1,079)	CES-D8 < 4 (N = 7,682)
Stressful life event	n (%)	n (%)	OR [95% CI]
Death of spouse	43 (3.99)	155 (2.02)	2.00 [1.41, 2.84] *
Death of parent	59 (5.47)	277 (3.61)	1.55 [1.17, 2.05] *
Death of parent-in-law	31 (2.87)	207 (2.70)	1.13 [0.78, 1.63]
Heart attack	24 (2.22)	103 (1.34)	1.67 [1.06, 2.65] *
Cancer	24 (2.22)	157 (2.04)	1.06 [0.68, 1.65]
Nursing home stay	8 (0.74)	28 (0.36)	1.71 [0.76,3.84]
Onset of disability	66 (6.12)	109 (1.42)	4.42 [3.22, 6.06] *
Serious injury	54 (5.00)	211 (2.75)	1.87 [1.37, 2.56] *
Retirement	100 (9.27)	764 (9.95)	0.95 [0.76, 1.19]
Job loss	10 (0.93)	63 (0.82)	1.13 [0.58, 2.23]
Marriage	9 (0.83)	45 (0.59)	1.25 [0.60, 2.63]
Divorce	19 (1.76)	38 (0.49)	3.71 [2.10, 6.57] *
Residential move	96 (8.90)	720 (9.37)	0.88 [0.70, 1.11]

Abbreviations: HRS = Heath and Retirement Study, OR = odds ratio, CI = confidence interval, CES-D8 = Centers for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, 8 item version. Stressful life events occurred within the previous 2-year period. Events in bold were included in the composite measured used to test for moderation. Odds ratios compare the odds of depression among individuals who experienced the event to the odds of depression among individuals who did not experience the event.

^*p < .05