The association of life events and mental health impairment in a community population of older adults (N=986) was investigated. Data, collected in 1972 and analyzed during 1979, examined the relationship between the two variables while controlling for age, sex, race, social resources (a measure of social support), economlc resources, and physical health. Subjects completed a questionnaire which included a modified form of the Duke-OARS Multidimensional Functional Assessment Questionnaire and an abbreviated version of the Holmes and Rahe Schedule of Recent Events. Findings indicated that increased life events were associated with health seeking behavior even when physical and mental health functioning were controlled. The associations between increased life events and both mental health functioning and health seeking behavior were small, suggesting that life events, as measured by the modified Schedule of Recent Events, were not important risk factors for elderly living in the community. (Author)