Measuring Depressive Mood in Hospitalized Geriatric Patients: Reliability and Validity of the Depression Adjective Check List (DACL)

The aim of this study is to establish the psychometric properties of the state form of the Depression Adjective Check List (DACL) with hospitalized geriatric patients. A Hebrew version of the DACL, along with the Geriatric Depression Scale (S-GDS), the Canteril's Self-Anchoring Striving Scale and Happiness Scale, were administered to 111 subjects (43 men and 68 women) between the age group of 66-95 years. Subjects were divided into three sub-groups: hospitalized patients in the acute geriatric ward, hospitalized patients in the rehabilitation department and community dwelling elderly. Results reveal reliability (alphas and test-retest) and validity (concurrent) estimates indicate that the psychometric characteristics of the DACL are adequate for use with hospitalized geriatric patients.