The Even Briefer Assessment Scale for Depression (EBAS DEP) was developed by Allen et al as a rapid screen for depression, primarily in geriatric patients. This is based on a subset of the 21 item Brief Assessment Scale for Depression (BAS DEP).
Design criteria:
(1) must be short (fewer than 10 items)
(2) good internal consistency (Cronbach alpha > 0.8)
(3) some internal logic
(4) simple scoring (1 if present, 0 if absent)
The instrument consists of 8 questions, with responses yes or no.
total score =
= SUM(points for all 8 items)
Interpretation:
• minimum score: 0
• maximum score: 8
• If the CES-D scale is used for comparison, the best cutoff score is >= 4. This gives a diagnostic efficiency of 79%.
• If the criteria of Feighner et al are used, the best cutoff score is >= 5.
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