Weiss et al. assessed the suitability of six depression scales for people aged 75 or older, a group in which depression is often atypical. None of the scales studied, including the GDS, measured two-week persistence of symptoms as required by DSM-III. The GDS contains more items characteristic of depression in elderly people than other scales, but it nonetheless omits several relevant themes (29).
Cappeliez found that scores on the GDS were unrelated to a social desirability response set (30).