I N THE YEAR 2020, there are likely to be about 43 million elderly Americans, approximately 2.5 million of whom will be in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) (Khachaturian, 1984). Recent studies indicate that there are high prevalence rates of depression in LTCFs. There has been a tendency to view depression as a result of biological, genetic, or social influences. There is a dearth of information on the institutionalized elderly and their personality characteristics, their views, and their attitudes. How these factors affect depression is unknown. Kobasa (1979) proposed that persons who experience high degrees of stress and who do not become ill have a personality characteristic, which was termed by the investigator. According to Kobasa, the hardy person is characterized by commitment, control, and challenge, three factors that deter the development of depression (Kobasa, Maddi, & Courington, 1981). To address the concerns about the broad use of the term in relation to health, Pollock (1986) proposed the health-related hardiness construct. There are two major differences between this construct and the general understanding of hardiness. First, the three characteristics of hardiness have been defined from the perspective of health. Second, the presence rather than the absence of these characteristics is measured (Pollock & Duffy, 1990). Health-related control is defined as the sense of mastery or self-confidence needed to appropriately appraise and interpret health stressors. Commitment involves the motivation and competence to effectively cope with the threat of a health stressor. Finally, challenge refers to the reappraisal of a health stressor as potentially beneficial and as an opportunity for growth (Pollock, 1989). Three recent studies have discussed the effect of hardiness on adaptation to health problems. Lee (1983) found that those adults who possessed the hardiness characteristic remained active and adjusted to the difficulties of living with cancer. Contrada (1985) determined that those high in hardiness had a lower diastolic pressure than those low in hardiness during a sensorimotor task. Solomon, Temoshok, O'Leary, and Zich (1987) noted that lower hardiness scores were significantly related to higher lymphocyte counts in acquired immune deficiency syndrome patients. The relationship of hardiness and depression has not been explored. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between hardiness and depression in the institutionalized elderly.