Geriatric Depression Scale 

• Title/Author(s):
  Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS)
  Developed by: J.A. Yesavage, T.L. Brink, Rose TL, Lum O, Huang V, Adey M, and Leirer VO. 
  
  

• Year of Development & Publisher:
  
  

  • Developed in 1982.
    
    

  • Originally published in Journal of Psychiatric Research.
    
    

  • Versions include a 30-item original and shorter adaptations (e.g., GDS-15).
    
    

Assessment Details

• Identify TWO Types:
  
  

  • Self-report questionnaire
    
    

  • Screening tool (criterion-referenced)
    
    

• Cost & How to Access:
  
  

  • Cost:
    
    

    • Free for clinical, research, and educational use (public domain).
      
      

  • Access:
    
    

    • Printable versions available through organizations like the Stanford Geriatric Education Center and other health systems.
      
      

• Population & Setting:
  
  

  • Population:
    
    

    • Primarily older adults (ages 60+), including those in community, hospital, or long-term care settings.
      
      

    • Can also be used in medically ill, neurologically impaired, or outpatient mental health clients.
      
      

  • Setting:
    
    

    • Primary care, geriatric clinics, inpatient rehab, skilled nursing facilities, home health, outpatient therapy.
      
      

• Purpose & Areas Assessed:
  
  

  • Purpose:
    
    

    • To screen for depression in older adults by identifying symptoms of dysphoria, hopelessness, decreased energy, and withdrawal.
      
      

  • Areas Assessed:
    
    

    • Mood
      
      

    • Motivation
      
      

    • Hopelessness
      
      

    • Cognitive-emotional symptoms (e.g., worthlessness, helplessness)
      
      

Administration & Scoring

• Administration:
  
  

  • Time Required:
    
    

    • GDS-30: Approximately 10–15 minutes
      
      

    • GDS-15: Approximately 5–7 minutes
      
      

  • Format:
    
    

    • Self-administered or verbally administered if literacy or visual deficits are present.
      
      

    • Simple Yes/No format (no Likert scales).
      
      

• User Qualifications:
  
  

  • Administered by healthcare professionals, including occupational therapists, nurses, psychologists, and physicians.
    
    

• Materials Required:
  
  

  • GDS questionnaire form (30-item, 15-item, or shorter versions).
    
    

• Scoring:
  
  

  • GDS-30:
    
    

    • 0–9: Normal
      
      

    • 10–19: Mild depression
      
      

    • 20–30: Severe depression
      
      

  • GDS-15:
    
    

    • 0–4: Normal
      
      

    • 5–8: Mild depression
      
      

    • 9–11: Moderate depression
      
      

    • 12–15: Severe depression
      
      

  • Higher scores indicate greater depressive symptom severity.
    
    

Psychometrics/Standardization

• Reliability:
  
  

  • Excellent internal consistency:
    
    

    • Cronbach’s alpha ranges from 0.80 to 0.94 for different versions.
      
      

  • Test-retest reliability is also high, especially over short time periods (Yesavage et al., 1982).
    
    

• Validity:
  
  

  • Concurrent validity with clinical diagnosis of major depression has been consistently strong.
    
    

  • GDS-15 sensitivity for depression detection: approximately 92%; specificity around 89% (Almeida & Almeida, 1999).
    
    

• Norms:
  
  

  • Widely validated across different languages, cultures, and medical conditions (including Parkinson’s disease, dementia, stroke populations).
    
    

Critical Thinking Sections

Strengths

• Very simple Yes/No format — Ideal for older adults, including those with mild cognitive impairment.
  
  

• Quick to administer and score — Useful in busy clinical settings.
  
  

• Highly validated — Reliable across multiple studies, settings, and populations.
  
  

• Free to use — No licensing costs for research or clinical practice.
  
  

• Multiple versions — Allows flexibility (full 30-item vs. quick 15-item screen).
  
  

Weaknesses

• Self-report bias — Some clients may underreport depressive symptoms due to stigma or cognitive impairment.
  
  

• Limited assessment of somatic symptoms — Focuses more on emotional/cognitive symptoms rather than physical aspects of depression.
  
  

• Less accurate in severe cognitive impairment — Use caution in moderate to severe dementia.
  
  

• Does not diagnose — A positive screen must be followed up with clinical interview and diagnostic evaluation.