title: Internal Consistency and Test-Retest Stability of the Geriatric Depression Scale-Short Form in African American Older Adults.
abstract: The Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) is one of the most widely used self-rated mood questionnaires for older adults. It is highly correlated with clinical diagnoses of depression and has demonstrated validity across different patient populations. However, the reliability of the GDS among African American older adults remains to be firmly established. In a baseline sample of 401 African American adults age 51 and over, the GDS-15 item short form demonstrates good internal consistency (KR20=.71). Stability over a 15-month interval in a retest sample of 51 adults is deemed adequate (r=.68). These findings support the use of the GDS-15 item short form as a reliable mood questionnaire among African American older adults.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic, 4500 San Pablo Road, Jacksonville, FL, USA 32224.
authors.forename: Otto
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Pedraza
authors.forename: Vonetta M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Dotson
authors.forename: Floyd B
authors.initials: FB
authors.lastname: Willis
authors.forename: Neill R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Graff-Radford
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Lucas