The Even Briefer Assessment Scale for Depression (EBAS DEP): Its suitability for the elderly in geriatric care in English- and German-speaking countries

Objectives. To determine the psychometric properties of the Even Briefer As sessment Scale for Depression (EBAS DEP) developed by Alien et al. (1994) a mong samples of the German elderly and compare the results with those from English-speaking countries. Design. Depression scale scores from elderly persons in residential and ger ontopsychiatric care were assessed for internal consistency using Cronbach' s alpha and validity (Feighner Criteria of Depression and Center for Epidem iologic Studies Depression Scale). Subjects. Eight hundred and fifty-two elderly persons aged 65 years and ove r, in residential and gerontopsychiatric care. Materials. The eight-item Even Briefer Assessment Scale for Depression (EBA S DEP) derived from the 21-item Brief Assessment Scale (BAS DEP). Results. The analysis of the reliability of the German EBAS DEP yielded, as did that of the English version, a satisfactorily high internal consistenc y (0.73 and higher). Based on a subset of 71 subjects, the validity of the scale was tested by independent psychiatric experts using the Feighner Crit eria of Depression. The EBAS DEP (cutoff 3/4) had a sensitivity and specifi city for a diagnosis of depression of 93.3% and 85.3%, respectively. Simila r results were reported by Alien et al., but at a lower cutoff (2/3). In ag reement with the English findings, the receiver operating curve (ROC) stati stics revealed that the EBAS DEP is a screening instrument which is as effi cient as the longer BAS DEP. Conclusion. The EBAS DEP is an instrument well suited for use in screening the depressed elderly in different care settings in English- and German-spe aking countries. Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.