The purpose of this study was to test two hypotheses. The first specifies that negative social interaction exerts a deleterious effect on changes in functional disability over time. The second proposes that the adverse effects of negative interaction on health will be especially evident among respondents with less education. Data from a nationwide longitudinal survey provide support for Hypothesis 2, but not Hypothesis 1. A set of supplementary analyses was performed to explore why less educated elders may be at risk. These additional analyses reveal that levels of exposure to negative interaction are not greater among older adults with less education, nor is negative interaction more stable in this group. Instead, the most likely explanation for why less educated elders may be at risk may involve differential vulnerability to negative interaction that may be due to depleted individual coping resources.