Reliability, validity, and temporal stability of the geriatric depression scale in hospitalized elderly.

The reliability, validity, and temporal stability of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) were studied in sixty-nine elderly patients who had their broken hips surgically repaired. The GDS demonstrated internal consistency reliability and concurrent validity with the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. In addition, the GDS was stable across the hospital stay and thus appeared to be less influenced by the patients' acute health status.