Abstract
Because significant others have a unique perspective on a patient's behavior, they can provide information useful in geriatric psychopharmacology. The Geriatric Evaluation of Relative's Rating Instrument (GERRI) is a rating scale for significant others to be used in elderly outpatients who show symptoms of mental decline. This scale covers cognitive and social functioning, mood, and somatic functioning. Items are short sentences designed to assess the frequency of typical behavioral disturbances and complaints. Inter-rater reliability, internal consistency of the scale, and validity are discussed.