Your GDS-15 score counts how many of your 15 yes-or-no answers point toward depression. Scores of 0 to 4 fall in the normal range, and higher scores in the mild, moderate or severe range. The GDS-15 screens for depressive symptoms in older adults, and its questions ask about the past week.
What do GDS-15 score ranges mean?
The Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing lists four score ranges for the GDS-15. Your result uses the same ranges:
| Score | Range |
|---|---|
| 0-4 | Normal |
| 5-8 | Mild |
| 9-11 | Moderate |
| 12-15 | Severe |
The labels name score ranges, not diagnoses. "Normal" does not prove that depression is absent. "Severe" does not by itself confirm severe depression or choose a treatment.
What does a score near 5 mean?
Guidance differs on where follow-up should start. The ranges above put a score of 5 in the mild range. But one of the scale's authors advises that people scoring higher than 5 should be interviewed carefully. The Hartford Institute's follow-up advice also starts above 5.
So a step from 4 to 5, or 5 to 6, does not separate depression from no depression. A one-point difference is one changed answer. Mood, interest, how long symptoms have lasted, daily functioning, health and personal context matter more.
How is the GDS-15 scored?
Each answer that matches the depression key adds one point. For most questions, "yes" scores the point. Five positively worded questions work the other way, so "no" scores the point. Your result is one total from 0 to 15, with no separate section scores.
The questions cover satisfaction with life, interests, mood, energy, outlook, staying at home and memory worries. They include fewer questions about physical symptoms than many other depression screens.
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.
Does the GDS-15 ask about suicide or self-harm?
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.
Can GDS-15 scores be compared over time?
Yes, if each score comes from the same form with every question answered. 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 that treatment worked or failed. No two-point change rule has been verified for every person and setting, and there is no single repeat schedule. Review the pattern alongside symptoms and daily life.
What should I do next?
Ask for help at any score if mood, interest, energy or daily functioning is a concern. Depression is not a normal or inevitable part of aging.
A doctor can look at what else might be going on. Depression can overlap with grief, illness, medicine side effects, memory changes, isolation and major life events. A score alone cannot separate these possibilities.
Another person's observations may add context, but they are not the same as the older adult's own answers. Bring the total to the appointment, and the answers if you have them.