The Hayes and Lohse Depression Scale

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to test the psychometric properties (validity and reliability) of the Hayes and Lohse Depression Scale (HLDS). This scale was developed from the Hayes and Lohse Non-verbal Depression Scale (NVDS) that was constructed to test for depression in nursing home residents who were not able to answer questions about their feelings and behaviors. The development of the original scale and the current scale are described. Construct validity was tested by determining the expected theoretical relationship of depression with other concepts such as loneliness, grief, social support, life satisfaction, and positive and negative affect in a convenience sample of 73 cognitively intact elders who lived in urban senior apartment buildings. The findings indicated that the HLDS has construct validity. When added to the demographic variables, the measures of affect (loneliness, despair, anger/hostility, social isolation, loss of control, social support, life satisfaction, and positive/negative affect) accounted for 48% additional variance in predicting depression on the HLDS.