Is prolonged grief distinct from bereavement-related posttraumatic stress?

Abstract

Prolonged grief disorder (PGD) (previously called complicated grief (CG)) is proposed as a distinct post loss syndrome, with its own core symptoms. A key issue concerning the diagnostic validity of PGD is whether it can reliably be distinguished from related psychiatric outcomes following bereavement. This study therefore sought to determine whether the core symptoms of PGD could be distinguished from those of bereavement-related anxiety, depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Data were derived from a community sample of 223 bereaved adults in Croatia. PGD symptomatology was measured using the Revised Inventory of Complicated Grief. Depression and anxiety symptoms were measured using the Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventories, respectively. The intrusion and avoidance symptoms of PTSD were assessed using the Revised Impact of Event Scale. The distinctiveness of the five symptom clusters was examined using principal component analysis (PCA). Symptoms of prolonged grief, depression, anxiety, PTSD-intrusion, and PTSD-avoidance clustered together into five distinct factors. These results support the phenomenological distinctiveness of prolonged grief symptoms, from those of bereavement-related anxiety, depression and, for the first time, PTSD.