Hubley Depression Scale for Older Adults (HDS-OA): Reliability, Validity, and a Comparison to the Geriatric Depression Scale

The GDS is a self-administered screen for depressive symptoms, composed of items that focus on affective and cognitive symptoms that have been experienced over the past week. The measure uses a yes-no response format. The GDS has been shown to be a useful screening tool for depression in older adults due to its high specificity and sensitivity (Katona & Livingston, 2000), but the measure is not based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR; APA, 2000) criteria for depression. Therefore, an accurate and efficient screening measure of depression for older adults is required for use in clinical and research settings.