DEVELOPMENT OF THE BEHAVIORAL OBSERVATION OF DEPRESSION IN THE ELDERLY SCALES (THE BODES) AND VALIDATION OF A VISUAL ANALOGUE SCALE OF DEPRESSION WITH ELDERLY NURSING HOME RESIDENTS.
Contributors: Pennsylvania State University.
Published: 1990
Number of pages: 269
Subjects: Psychology, Clinical.; Psychology, Psychometrics.; Gerontology.
Description: The assessment of clinical depression in geriatric populations is a complex, multidimensional task complicated both by clinical phenomena specific to older individuals, especially nursing home residents, and by methodological problems in the assessment process. Documentation of observable depressive symptoms by a knowledgeable informant and self-report of depression via a visual analogue scale are promising new sources of information to be tapped within a comprehensive, multimethod evaluation of geriatric depression.

A behaviorally anchored rating scale format which originated in industrial-organizational psychology was employed by 32 nursing aides to develop the Behavioral Observation of Depression in the Elderly Scales (BODES). Following extensive training, this measure was used by 30 different nursing aides, across two shifts for seven days, to rate the depressive symptoms of 59 elderly nursing home residents. To assess its convergent validity, BODES results were compared to residents' scores on the self-report Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) and the interviewer-rated Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). Known-groups validity was assessed by comparing BODES scores for subjects who did and did not have diagnoses of depression on their medical charts, and who were taking either anti-depressant medication or no psychotropic medication. Results of a one-item Visual Analogue Scale of Depression (VASD) were also compared to these markers of convergent and known-groups validity.

The BODES demonstrated high interrater reliability and good internal consistency, but variable test-retest reliability across days and shifts. It exhibited moderate convergent validity with the GDS and MADRS, but consistently poor known-groups validity. Thus, the current BODES does not adequately meet the need for a valid and reliable measure of geriatric depression. However, given its promise of some positive psychometric properties, the BODES or a similar behaviorally based format does seem worthy of additional developmental efforts. Moderately high convergent validity was demonstrated for the VASD. It accurately discriminated subjects taking differing psychotropic medications, but discriminated poorly between diagnostic groups. Pending replication of its sound psychometric properties when given independently, the VASD could serve as a useful, brief, easily administered alternative self-report scale of depression for elderly clients.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-04, Section: B, page: 2313.

Thesis (PH.D.)--THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY, 1990.

School code: 0176.