Geriatric Depression Scale

Title of Assessment 

• Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS)

Author(s) 

• J. A. Yesavage 

Year of Publication/Publisher 

• 1982

• J. A. Yesavage

Identify Type of Assessment 

• standardized

• questionnaire

• norm-referenced

Cost (identify source) & How to Access Assessment (include link if possible) 

• Free

• Long-form

  • https://integrationacademy.ahrq.gov/sites/default/files/2020-07/Update%20Geriatric%20Depression%20Scale-30.pdf 

• short-form

  • https://geriatrictoolkit.missouri.edu/cog/GDS_SHORT_FORM.PDF 

Population (who it is appropriate for [age, diagnosis, etc.])  

• 65+

• brain injury, Parkinson's disease, neurocognitive disorders, stroke recovery, and older adult and geriatric non-specific patient populations.

• any geriatric individual who may be at risk for depression or experiencing signs and symptoms of depression 

Appropriate Settings (potential practice settings appropriate to administer assessment in) 

• primary care, long-term acute care, rehabilitation hospitals, community-based settings, home health 

Purpose of Assessment & Function(s)/Area(s) Assessed  

•  This assessment provides insight and assesses an individual's level of depression and the ideation of suicide in elderly individuals of varying diagnoses. 

Administration (time to administer, group/individual, if there are subtests, can they be completed individually, are there specific instructions to ensure standardization, etc.) \

• all questions selected from a pool of 100 questions

• GDS-L= 5-10 minutes. 30 yes/no questions that are self-reported by the individual taking the assessment

• GDS-S= 5-7 minutes. 15 yes/no questions that are self-reported by the individual taking the assessment

User Qualifications  

• no qualifications or training required 

Materials Required  

•   online database to take assessment (phone, computer, etc.

Scoring Procedure (how is assessment scored and what does score indicate)  

• Individuals receive a single point for every “incorrect” response they give based on the scoring charts. When taking the 30-question GDS-L, a score of 11 or above indicates depression. These scores are categorized as: 

1. Normal= <10

2. Mild= 10-19

3. Moderate-Severe= 20-30

• GDS-15: <5= normal, >5= mild, >10= moderate-severe

Psychometrics/Standardization (norms, reliability/validity studies) 

• The GDS has a high degree of reliability and validity when its values are compared to the criteria found in the DSM-5

Strengths & Weaknesses of Assessment  

•  strength

  • free and easily accessible

  • translated to many languages

  • no required materials 

• weaknesses

  • participants may not be truthful in their responses

References 

• Durmaz, B., Soysal, P., Ellidokuz, H., & Isik, A. T. (2018, September). Validity and reliability of Geriatric Depression scale-15 (short form) in Turkish older adults. Northern clinics of Istanbul. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6323561/ 

• The Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). HIGN. (n.d.). https://hign.org/consultgeri/try-this-series/geriatric-depression-scale-gds 

• Geriatric depression scale. Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. (n.d.). https://www.sralab.org/rehabilitation-measures/geriatric-depression-scale