Trajectories of Prolonged Grief Disorder Severity after Loss during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Due to the presumed high risk for prolonged grief disorder (PGD) in people bereaved during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is crucial to examine how grief develops over time in this population. This is the first study examining longitudinal symptom-profiles of PGD severity in people bereaved during the pandemic. We aimed to identify latent trajectories of DSM-5-TR PGD severity and predictors thereof in Dutch adults bereaved during the pandemic. Latent class growth modeling was employed to identify differential trajectories of PGD severity in 266 people bereaved on average 115 days prior when entering the study. Participants completed a PGD measure online (using the Traumatic Grief Inventory-Self Report-Plus) at three time-intervals six months apart. Associations between class-membership and socio-demographic, loss-related, health-related, and trauma-related characteristics were examined using multinomial logistic regression. Three trajectories were identified: Low/decreasing PGD symptoms (74%), Mild/stable PGD symptoms (18%), and High/decreasing PGD trajectory (8%). Closer kinship to the deceased, poorer self-rated health status, and having a mental disorder increased the likelihood of belonging to the Mild/stable PGD symptoms and High/decreasing PGD trajectories. This study provides insights in longitudinal PGD symptom-profiles in people bereaved during the pandemic. We found that PGD severity either remained low/mild or eventually decreased over time.