Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) Short Form

Choose the best answer for how you have felt over the past week:

1. Are you basically satisfied with your life? YES/NO
2. Have you dropped many of your activities and interests? YES/NO
3. Do you feel that your life is empty? YES/NO
4. Do you often get bored? YES/NO
5. Are you in good spirits most of the time? YES/NO
6. Are you afraid that something bad is going to happen to you? YES/NO
7. Do you feel happy most of the time? YES/NO
8. Do you often feel helpless? YES/NO
9. Do you prefer to stay at home, rather than going out and doing new things? YES/NO
10. Do you feel you have more problems with memory than most? YES/NO
11. Do you think it is wonderful to be alive now? YES/NO
12. Do you feel pretty worthless the way you are now? YES/NO
13. Do you feel full of energy? YES/NO
14. Do you feel that your situation is hopeless? YES/NO
15. Do you think that most people are better off than you are? YES/NO

Answers in bold indicate depression, and each answer counts as one point. For clinical purposes, a score greater than 5 suggests depression and warrants a followup interview. Scores greater than 10 are almost always depression.

Source: Sheikh, J.I., and Yesavage, J.A. Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS): Recent evidence and development of a shorter version. Clinical Gerontologist 1986, 5(1-2):165-173.

References

1. Brink, T.L.; Yesavage, J.A.; Lum, O.; et al. Screening tests for geriatric depression. Clinical Gerontologist 1982, 1:37-44.
2. Yesavage, J.A.; Brink, T.L.; Rose, T.L.; et al. Development and validation of a geriatric depression screening scale: A preliminary report. Journal of Psychiatric Research 1983, 17:37-49.