Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Psychology, Clinical-Community

Date of Defense

2-12-2025

Graduate Advisor

Ann Steffen, Ph.D., ABPP

Committee

Erin Emery-Tiburcio, Ph.D., ABPP

Kamila White, Ph.D.

Emily Gerstein, Ph.D.

Abstract

Because the US population is rapidly aging, generalist clinicians will increasingly be called upon to provide mental health services to older adults. Unfortunately, most generalist clinicians do not possess the specialized knowledge to provide clinical services to this population and will require training. Professional training efforts are currently hindered by the lack of psychometrically supported scales of clinical disorders specific to aging. Without such scales, it is difficult to evaluate the impact of continuing education programs. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the psychometric properties and scale dimensionality of the Later Life Depression Knowledge Questionnaire (LLD-KQ), a 25-item measure assessing clinical knowledge of later life depression. Psychologists (N = 800) selected from license registries in California and Texas were mailed a survey packet, to be completed via mail or online. Of the 772 delivered packets, 250 participants (32.4%) returned surveys with usable data. The LLD-KQ demonstrated adequate internal consistency, convergent validity, and divergent validity. Scale dimensionality showed support for a three-factor model, although the difference between the three-factor model and single-factor model was minimal. The LLD-KQ may be used in dissemination science and practice to evaluate improved knowledge from participation in post-licensure education courses as well as to assess current clinical knowledge of later life depression.

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