Inventory of Complicated Grief

What it measures

Measures symptoms of complicated/prolonged grief disorder — persistent, disabling grief that extends beyond expected bereavement. Captures yearning, disbelief, bitterness, difficulties accepting the loss, and feeling that life is meaningless without the deceased. Cut-off score identifies those at risk for clinical-level prolonged grief.

Response format

Likert (0–4, never to always); total 0–76

Representative items

• I feel myself longing and yearning for the person who died.
• I have trouble accepting the death.
• I feel that life is meaningless without the person who died.
• I feel bitter over the person's death.
• I feel that a part of me died along with the deceased.

Usage notes & scoring

Score >=25 identifies clinically significant prolonged grief disorder. Freely available from Holly Prigerson. The scale has been updated for DSM-5 and ICD-11 (now Prolonged Grief Disorder). Often paired with PHQ-9 as comorbid depression is common.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Prigerson, H.G., et al. (1995). Inventory of complicated grief: A scale to measure maladaptive symptoms of loss. Psychiatry Research, 59(1–2), 65–79.

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