Synonyms
GDS; Mood assessment scale
Description
The Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) is a 30-item self-report measure of depressive symptoms experienced by the respondent during the past week using a yes/no response format. For 20 items a “yes” response indicates depressive symptomatology and for 10 items a “no” response does so. The items are summed (one point per item) to provide a total score ranging from 0 to 30. Administration time typically ranges from 5 to 10 min. Items may be read to visually challenged or reading-impaired respondents, and telephone administration appears to yield valid and reliable results (Burke et al. 1995).
Historical Background
The GDS was developed in two studies (Brink et al. 1982; Yesavage et al. 1983) to minimize misdiagnosis of depression in the elderly by omitting somatic symptoms that may be common among nondepressed elderly (e.g., sleep disturbance, appetite changes). An additional goal was to develop a measure of depressive symptoms that was...
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References and Readings
Almeida, O. P., & Almeida, S. A. (1999). Short versions of the geriatric depression scale: A study of their validity for the diagnosis of a major depressive episode according to ICD-10 and DSM-IV. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 14, 858–865. https://doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1099-1166(199910)14:10%3C858::aid-gps35%3E3.0.co;2-8.
Brink, T. L., Yesavage, J. A., Lum, O., Heersema, P. H., Adey, M., & Rose, T. S. (1982). Screening tests for geriatric depression. Clinical Gerontologist, 1, 37–43. https://doi.org/10.1300/J018v01n01_06.
Burke, W. J., Roccaforte, W. H., Wengel, S. P., Conley, D. M., & Potter, J. F. (1995). The reliability and validity of the geriatric depression rating scale administered by telephone. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 43, 674–679. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-5415.1995.tb07205.x.
Lezak, M. D., Howieson, D. B., & Loring, D. W. (2004). Neuropsychological assessment (4th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
McDowell, I. (2006). Measuring health: A guide to rating scales and questionnaires (3rd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
Pocklington, C., Gilbody, S., Manea, L., & McMillan, D. (2016). The diagnostic accuracy of brief versions of the geriatric depression scale: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.4407.
Roger, P. R., & Johnson-Greene, D. (2009). Comparison of assessment measures for post-stroke depression. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 23, 780–793. https://doi.org/10.1080/13854040802691135.
Rule, B. G., Harvey, H. Z., & Dobbs, A. R. (1989). Reliability of the geriatric depression scale for younger adults. Clinical Gerontologist, 9, 37–43. https://doi.org/10.1300/j018v09n02_05.
Sheikh, J. I., & Yesavage, J. A. (1986). Geriatric depression scale (GDS): Recent evidence and development of a shorter version. Clinical Gerontologist, 5, 165–173. https://doi.org/10.1300/j018v05n01_09.
Strauss, E., Sherman, E. M. S., & Spreen, O. (2006). A compendium of neuropsychological tests (3rd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
Yesavage, J. A., Brink, T. L., Rose, T. S., Lum, O., Huang, V., Adey, M. B., et al. (1983). Development and validation of a geriatric depression rating scale: A preliminary report. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 17, 37–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-3956(82)90033-4.
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Salama, C., Reesman, J.L. (2018). Geriatric Depression Scale. In: Kreutzer, J.S., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_1986
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_1986
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