A preliminary study of the diagnostic accuracy of the Gerontological Personality disorders Scale (GPS)

Background There is still a lack of diagnostic instruments that are specifically developed to diagnose personality disorders in the elderly. Objective To develop a reliable and valid screening instrument to assess personality disorders in older adults. Method The draft version of the screening instrument (52 items) consists of two sections: one for patients and one for informants. The diagnostic accuracy of the instrument has been assessed in the Netherlands in 159 elderly patients in an ambulatory department of geriatric psychiatry and 96 informants. Results In the patient section, sixteen items had a reasonable score for both sensitivity and specificity (approx. 70%). The internal consistency was moderate for habitual behavior (HAB; 7 items) and good for biographical information (BIO; 9 items). The test and retest reliability was moderate for HAB and excellent for BIO. The informant section, on the other hand, had a low score for sensitivity (45%) and a good score for specificity (78%). Conclusion A specific instrument has been developed to diagnose personality disorders in older adults. However, further research is necessary to improve the diagnostic accuracy of the Gerontological Personality disorders Scale (GPS). Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.