Factor structure of the Chinese version of the Geriatric Depression Scale

Janita Chau, Colin R. Martin*, David, R. Thompson , Anne M. Chang, Jean Woo

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

68 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Depression is common in patients following stroke and has been found to be related to the degree of functional disability, recovery and engagement in rehabilitation. Consequently, screening for depression is crucial in this group in order to facilitate the delivery of appropriate psychological support. The current study sought to determine key psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) in this group. Three versions of the GDS were evaluated, these being the 30-item original measure (GDS-30), the short-form version comprising 15 items (GDS-SF) and a recently developed innovative four-item version (GDS-4). Confirmatory factor analysis revealed the GDS-30 and GDS-SF to offer an acceptable fit to data suggesting utility of these measures for screening. However, the GDS-4 offered a poor fit to the data, suggesting this measure was an inadequate measure of depression in this clinical group. Further, though GDS-30 and GDS-SF measures revealed good internal consistency, the performance of the GDS-4 was marginal. However, all GDS-derived measures demonstrated excellent convergent and divergent validity. It is concluded that the GDS-30 is a useful and appropriate screening instrument in this group. Further, the GDS-SF shows promise in terms of development as a multidimensional measure of depression that may have predictive and outcome monitoring potential. The psychometric shortcomings of the GDS-4 strongly suggest that this measure is unsuitable for screening in this clinical group.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)48-59
Number of pages12
JournalPsychology, Health and Medicine
Volume11
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 01 Feb 2006

Keywords

  • Chinese
  • Depression
  • Psychometrics
  • Stroke

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Clinical Psychology
  • Applied Psychology
  • Psychiatry and Mental health

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