The Aarhus Bereavement Study

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

Survey: Completion of surveys with diagnostic measurements (e.g., PGD, depression, anxiety, PTSD).

Study summary

Psychological distress is a natural reaction following the death of a loved one. Nevertheless, research has shown that for a significant minority of bereaved individuals the grieving process is disturbed. These individuals experience an intense grief reaction that persists across time characterized by longing for the deceased or persistent preoccupation with the deceased. It has been suggested that this intense, persistent grief reaction meets criteria to be considered a distinct mental disorder. Prolonged grief disorder (PGD) has been proposed to capture this condition and will be included in the forthcoming ICD-11. The proposed project aims to prepare healthcare services to use the diagnosis of prolonged grief disorder (PGD) by determining the frequency of PDG in a population sample of bereaved spouses and their adult children. It will also identify early predictors of PGD and trajectories of natural and prolonged grief as well as investigate the specificity of PGD in relation to other common loss-related reactions. Thus, the project will provide a prognostic tool to identify individuals with high versus low risk of developing PGD.

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• Prolonged grief — 2, 6, 11, 18, and 26 months post-loss
  Changes in prolonged grief symptoms measured using the Prolonged Grief Disorder-13 (PG-13; Prigerson et al., 2009)
• Complicated grief — 2, 6, 11, 18, and 26 months post-loss
  Changes in complicated grief symptoms measured using the Inventory of Complicated Grief Revised (ICG-R; Prigerson \& Jacobs, 2001)

Trial sites (1)

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