Development of the Chinese version of the geriatric mental state schedule.
OBJECTIVE
To test the validity and reliability of the Chinese Geriatric Mental State Schedule (CGMS) in Taiwanese elders.


METHODS
The CGMS has gone through a standardized two-way translation, a pretest phase, and consensus focus group meetings in order to modify relevant culture-related terms of the original English version. The interrater reliability of the CGMS among eight psychiatrists was conducted after a training course was given to them. Diagnoses generated by the CGMS-AGECAT (Automated Geriatric Examination for Computer Assisted Taxonomy) were compared with psychiatric diagnoses according to the DSM-III-R criteria. The sample subjects were aged 65 and over and recruited from a community (n = 36) and an "old age home" (n = 56).


RESULTS
Four of the eight diagnostic categories generated by the CGMS-AGECAT had a generalized kappa value of 1.0, and the figures for the remaining four categories were acceptable: .8 for depressive neurosis, .6 for anxiety disorder, .5 for schizophrenia, and .5 for depressive psychosis (generalized kappa = .5). The overall agreement between the CGMS-AGECAT and independent psychiatric diagnosis (based on the DSM-III-R criteria) was satisfactory.


CONCLUSIONS
The CGMS has been found to be a cross-culturally valid and reliable instrument for use in Taiwan.
Tsang
Hin-Yeung
HY
Department of Psychiatry, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chai Yi, Taiwan. dogtsang@sinamail.com.tw
Chong
Main-Yoon
MY
Cheng
Andrew T A
AT
D000368:Aged; D003704:Dementia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014175:Translating