ABSTRACT
The Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) is commonly used to measure depression in the elderly. However, there have been no reports of the underlying structure of the GDS. To this end, the GDS was administered to 326 community-dwelling elderly subjects, and the data were subjected to a factor analysis. A five-factor solution was selected and, after a varimax rotation, the factors that emerged could be described as: (1) sad mood, (2) lack of energy, (3) positive mood, (4) agitation, and (5) social withdrawal. This solution accounted for 42.9% of the variance. Knowledge of the factor structure should aid both clinicians and researchers in the interpretation of responses on the GDS.
Subject(s)
Depressive Disorder/diagnosis , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales/statistics & numerical data , Activities of Daily Living/psychology , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Depressive Disorder/psychology , Diagnosis, Differential , Female , Humans , Male , Psychometrics , Quality of LifeABSTRACT
The effects of stimulant drug on information processing in elderly adults was studied. In Experiment 1, the effect of methylphenidate (MP) was examined in 8 young and 8 elderly women using a task (SERS) in which stimulus and response complexities were varied. MP speeded processing in the young but not in the elderly women. A second experiment was then conducted to isolate the age-stimulant effects. In Experiment 2, the effects of MP and 10 mg of d-amphetamine (DAMP) were studied in 12 young and 12 elderly men on different types of information processing. Stimulants changed performance on a continuous performance task in both groups. Both stimulants speeded processing on SERS in young, but not in elderly men. MP, however, speeded processing in both groups on a response processing task. The findings suggest that stimulants act on response processing and there appear to be several such processes. Some of these stages decline with age whereas others do not.
