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Updated: Aug 9, 2026
06:58
Highlighting and Reducing the Impact of Negative Aging Stereotypes During Older Adults' Cognitive Testing
Published on: January 24, 2020
[A depression inventory for psychogeriatric patients]
1PgD Psychologische expertise voor de verpleeghuiszorg, De Stichtse Hof, Laren.
Tijdschrift Voor Gerontologie En Geriatrie
|June 1, 1997
Summary
A new interview tool effectively assesses mood in elderly patients with cognitive impairment, showing reliable results for depression symptoms and positive feelings. This aids in understanding emotional well-being in dementia care.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Psychiatry
- Psychometrics
Context:
- Cognitively impaired psychogeriatric patients often present diagnostic challenges for mood assessment.
- Existing tools may not adequately capture the nuances of emotional states in this population.
Purpose:
- To develop and validate an interview-based assessment tool for evaluating mood in cognitively impaired psychogeriatric patients.
- To establish the reliability and psychometric properties of this novel depression inventory.
Summary:
- A 15-item interview tool, using single-word prompts related to DSM-III depression criteria, was administered to 197 psychogeriatric day care patients (mean age 77.4).
- Factor analysis identified four components: zest for life, somatic complaints, social contacts/appetite, and insomnia.
- The tool demonstrated good reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.82 for all items, 0.78 for the 'zest for life' subscale) and confirmed the independence of emotional and cognitive variables.
Impact:
- This validated tool offers a reliable method for assessing positive and negative feelings in elderly individuals with cognitive impairments.
- It supports clinical utility in understanding the emotional well-being of psychogeriatric patients, aiding in targeted interventions.
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