they indeed affect health among older adults and whether they have different implications for health across racial and ethnic groups.

Basic research is needed on all these potential disease pathways for the effects of acute and chronic stress, as well as on how these mechanisms mediate between such stressors as racism and low status and health outcomes for various racial and ethnic groups. The discovery of differences in such mechanisms, in their linkages to social factors or in their effects on health, would provide evidence of their involvement in differences. Besides longitudinal studies, laboratory experiments and ambulatory studies of physiological activity in the natural environment would be informative. For instance, exploring the biological concomitants of group differences in neighborhood environments and occupational experiences might provide a better understanding of their differential effects across groups.