Abstract
Background Complicated grief (CG), variously called pathological or traumatic grief, is a debilitating syndrome that is not currently included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, ( DSM-IV) nomenclature. One issue that remains under debate is whether this condition can be clearly distinguished from other psychiatric disorders, such as major depression and posttraumatic stress disorder, with which CG frequently coexists. Methods Using a structured clinical interview for CG and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV, trained experienced raters conducted careful diagnostic assessments of individuals seeking treatment of bereavement-related distress. All study participants met criteria for a current CG syndrome. Liberal criteria were used to diagnose DSM-IV disorders, making no attempt to decide if symptoms could be explained by grief. Results Of 206 who met the criteria for CG, 25% had no evidence of a current DSM-IV Axis I disorder. When present, psychiatric comorbidity was associated with significantly greater severity of grief; however, even after adjustment for the presence of comorbidity, severity of CG symptoms was associated with greater work and social impairment. Limitations It is likely that our study underestimated the rate of CG without comorbidity because fewer DSM diagnoses would have been made if a judgment about grief had been taken into consideration. Conclusions Our data provide further support for the need to identify CG as a psychiatric disorder.
Highlights
The syndrome of complicated grief (CG), variously called pathological or traumatic grief, is chronic and debilitating, results in substantial distress and impairment [1,2,3], worsens quality of life [4], and has been linked to excess medical morbidity [5,6] and suicidality [5,7,8,9]
Complicated grief (CG) symptoms have been shown to contribute to impairment beyond that associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depression [2,3,4]
To examine whether the severity of CG contributes to work and social impairment above and beyond the presence of current comorbid anxiety disorders and/or major depressive disorder (MDD), we examined the prediction of Work and Social Adjustment Scale (WSAS) score by Inventory of Complicated Grief (ICG) score in a linear regression including covariates for MDD and anxiety disorders
Summary
The syndrome of complicated grief (CG), variously called pathological or traumatic grief, is chronic and debilitating, results in substantial distress and impairment [1,2,3], worsens quality of life [4], and has been linked to excess medical morbidity [5,6] and suicidality [5,7,8,9]. Complicated grief (CG), variously called pathological or traumatic grief, is a debilitating syndrome that is not currently included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, (DSM-IV) nomenclature. Liberal criteria were used to diagnose DSM-IV disorders, making no attempt to decide if symptoms could be explained by grief.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
