The GDS-15 adds 15 Yes-or-No answers about the past week into a total from 0 to 15. It screens for depressive symptoms in older adults. The result cannot diagnose depression, rule it out, explain the symptoms, or decide what care a person needs.
The quick answer
Survey Doctor displays the ranges reproduced by the Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing:
| Score | Current display label | What the total shows |
|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | Normal | Fewer answers matched the depression key |
| 5-8 | Mild | More answers matched the key |
| 9-11 | Moderate | A higher count of keyed answers |
| 12-15 | Severe | The highest current score range |
The labels name score ranges, not diagnoses. “Normal” does not prove depression is absent. “Severe” does not by itself confirm severe depression or select treatment.
Bands are not diagnoses.
The lower boundary is not a verdict
Published guidance is inconsistent around the first follow-up boundary. The displayed ranges begin at 5, while the Stanford author guidance and some follow-up text say scores higher than 5 warrant a fuller interview.
Survey Doctor starts its next range at 5. That product boundary should not be read as a diagnostic line between 4 and 5, or between 5 and 6. A one-point difference is one changed answer. Mood, interest, duration, daily functioning, health, and personal context matter more.
The boundary is disputed.
One point cannot decide.
How the total is built
Each answer that matches the questionnaire's depression key adds one point. Five positively worded questions use the opposite Yes-or-No key. Survey Doctor has the key built into the stored answer values, so it adds the values once and returns one total.
All 15 answers are required in the current Survey Doctor form. The platform does not estimate a score from missing answers or produce separate section totals.
What the questions can and cannot show
The questions cover satisfaction, interests, mood, energy, outlook, staying home, and memory concerns. They contain fewer physical-symptom questions than many other depression screens.
The questionnaire is brief.
The total cannot identify the cause. Depression can overlap with grief, illness, medication effects, memory changes, isolation, and major life events. Depression is not a normal or inevitable part of aging, but a score alone cannot separate these possibilities.
Context still matters.
For a side-by-side look at this form and another common depression screen, see GDS-15 versus PHQ-9. The two questionnaires use different questions and score ranges. Do not convert one total into the other.
A safety limit to know
The GDS-15 does not directly ask about suicide or self-harm. Questions about hopelessness or outlook are important, but they are not substitutes for a direct safety assessment.
Ask about safety directly.
If you are thinking about suicide or self-harm, seek support based on those thoughts. Do not wait for a GDS-15 result or rely on its total.
If you need help now. In the US, Call 988 or text 988. Call 911 if you are in immediate danger. Outside the US, contact your local emergency number or find support in your country.
What a manually entered score leaves unknown
Survey Doctor can store a whole-number GDS-15 total from 0 to 15 without collecting the 15 answers. That score-only record cannot prove which form was used, whether every question was answered, or which responses contributed points.
It also cannot reveal suicide or self-harm thoughts. The questionnaire does not ask directly about them, and manual entry supplies even less item-level information.
The total has no answer.
Using scores over time
A lower later total means fewer answers matched the depression key that time. A higher total means more answers matched it. The difference does not prove treatment success or failure.
Change needs context.
There is no verified universal two-point change rule or one repeat schedule for every person and setting. Compare the same form under the same completion rule, then review the pattern with symptoms and daily life.
Ask for help at any score when mood, interest, energy, or functioning is concerning. Another person's observations may add context, but they are not equivalent to the older adult's own answers.
Symptoms deserve attention.
The bottom line
The GDS-15 summarizes 15 answers from the past week. Its ranges can flag depressive symptoms that deserve more questions, but they cannot diagnose depression or direct treatment.
Use the score as a conversation starter. Use direct support for any suicide or self-harm concern.