The National Archive of Grief Support Studies
The National Archive of Grief Support Studies(NAGSS) database provides bibliographical information and summaries of recent articles selected for their relevance to grief and bereavement service providers. The articles that are summarized are selected from scholarly, peer-reviewed journals and are intended to highlight key concepts as well as provide a brief statement of implications for service providers. Bibliographical information may be used to obtain the original article.
Examination of Proposed Criteria for Complicated Grief in People Confronted with Violent or Non-Violent Loss
Authors:
Boelen, Paul A.
van den Bout, Jan
Source:
Death Studies: 2007. Volume 31, pp. 155-164.
Summary
This article summarizes a study performed in the Netherlands to determine whether the proposed criteria used in the revised Inventory of Complicated Grief (ICG-R) are useful in identifying caseness for complicated grief. The study included 1,052 male and female participants who had experienced the death of a first degree relative. These participants completed the ICG-R and other questionnaires through the internet. The authors concluded that the ICG-R was successful in distinguishing between bereaved individuals with complicated grief and those who were not experiencing complicated grief. The authors also noted that items that could best help in distinguishing between complicated grief and non-complicated grief were those that related to the participant’s ability to see meaningfulness in the future and to find a purposefulness in life.
Key words: trauma, complicated, prolonged, Internet, purpose, meaning
Service Provider Implications
This article offers support for the use of the criteria developed in the 1990s to assess the presence of complicated grief. The study performed validates the usefulness of using the revised Inventory of Complicated Grief (ICG-R) to assess complicated grief in the bereaved.
