Department of Child and Adolescent Studies, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Clin Psychol Psychother. 2012 Nov-Dec;19(6):540-51. doi: 10.1002/cpp.765. Epub 2011 Jul 19.
A significant minority of bereaved adults develops prolonged grief disorder (PGD), a syndrome encompassing debilitating symptoms of grief distinct from depression and anxiety. Few studies have examined the phenomenology and correlates of PGD among children and adolescents. In part, this is due to the lack of a psychometrically sound questionnaire to assess PGD symptoms in these groups. Based on an adult measure of PGD, we developed two questionnaires of PGD symptoms for children and adolescents named the Inventory of Prolonged Grief for Children (IPG-C) and Inventory of Prolonged Grief for Adolescents (IPG-A), respectively. Psychometric properties of these measures were examined in three samples, including mostly parentally bereaved children (aged 8-12 years, total sample n = 169) and adolescents (aged 13-18 years, total sample n = 153). First, findings showed that items of the IPG-C and IPG-A represented one underlying dimension. Second, the internal consistency and temporal stability of both questionnaires were adequate. Third, findings supported the concurrent validity (e.g., significant correlations with measures of depression and post-traumatic stress-disorder [PTSD]), convergent and divergent validity (stronger correlations with similar questionnaires of 'traumatic grief' than with two dissimilar questionnaires of 'ongoing presence' and 'positive memories') and incremental validity (significant correlations with an index of functional impairment, even when controlling for concomitant depression and PTSD) of the IPG-C and IPG-A. This report provides further evidence of the clinical significance of PGD symptoms among children and adolescents and promising psychometric properties of questionnaires that can be used to assess these symptoms.
The Inventory of Prolonged Grief for Children (IPG-C) and Inventory of Prolonged Grief for Adolescents (IPG-A) were developed to be able to assess symptoms of Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) among children and adolescents. In different samples, the internal consistency, temporal stability, and concurrent and construct validity of these questionnaires were found to be adequate. The IPG-C and the IPG-A can be used in research examining causes and consequences of PGD, and the effectiveness of bereavement interventions for children and adolescents. This study provides further evidence of the existence and clinical significance of PGD symptoms among children and adolescents and supports the inclusion of a new category for bereavement-related disorders in DSM-5.
相当一部分丧亲的成年人会发展出持续性悲伤障碍（PGD），这是一种综合征，包含与抑郁和焦虑不同的、使人衰弱的悲伤症状。很少有研究检查过儿童和青少年的 PGD 的现象学和相关性。部分原因是缺乏一种心理测量学上健全的问卷来评估这些群体的 PGD 症状。基于成人 PGD 量表，我们为儿童和青少年分别开发了两个 PGD 症状问卷，分别命名为儿童持续性悲伤量表（Inventory of Prolonged Grief for Children，IPG-C）和青少年持续性悲伤量表（Inventory of Prolonged Grief for Adolescents，IPG-A）。这两个量表的心理测量特性在三个样本中进行了检验，其中包括主要由父母丧亲的儿童（8-12 岁，总样本 n=169）和青少年（13-18 岁，总样本 n=153）。首先，研究结果表明，IPG-C 和 IPG-A 的项目代表一个潜在的维度。其次，两个问卷的内部一致性和时间稳定性都足够。第三，研究结果支持了其同时效度（例如，与抑郁和创伤后应激障碍量表的显著相关）、聚合和区分效度（与“创伤性悲伤”的相似问卷相关性较强，与“持续存在”和“积极记忆”的两个不同问卷相关性较弱）和增量效度（与功能障碍指数的显著相关，即使在控制同时存在的抑郁和创伤后应激障碍的情况下）。本报告进一步证明了儿童和青少年持续性悲伤障碍症状的临床意义，以及可以用来评估这些症状的问卷具有良好的心理测量特性。
儿童持续性悲伤量表（IPG-C）和青少年持续性悲伤量表（IPG-A）是为了能够评估儿童和青少年持续性悲伤障碍（PGD）的症状而开发的。在不同的样本中，这些问卷的内部一致性、时间稳定性、同时和结构效度被发现是足够的。IPG-C 和 IPG-A 可用于研究 PGD 的原因和后果，以及儿童和青少年丧亲干预的效果。本研究进一步证明了儿童和青少年持续性悲伤障碍症状的存在和临床意义，并支持在 DSM-5 中增加一个与丧亲相关障碍的新类别。
