Correlates of Prolonged Grief Severity in Children

Abstract

Background: The loss of a loved one can profoundly affect a child's emotional and psychological health, with prolonged grief disorder (PGD) as a potential outcome. While it is suggested that children do not grieve alone after the death of a loved one, most studies examining PGD have focused solely on bereaved adults or children in isolation. Consequently, little is known about how grief may be transmitted within families. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted focusing on 54 bereaved parent-child dyads. The study aimed to examine to what extent parental PGD symptoms predicted children’s PGD severity as well exploring the effect of loss-related characteristics, including cause of death (natural vs. unnatural death) and kinship to the deceased (nuclear vs. non-nuclear family member) on children’s PGD severity. Children’s PGD symptoms were assessed using the Traumatic Grief Inventory – Kids – Clinician Administered. Parental PGD symptoms were assessed using the Traumatic Grief Inventory–Self Report Plus. Results: The findings indicated that parental PGD symptoms were significantly predictive of children’s PGD severity. In contrast, the cause of death and kinship to the deceased were not significant predictors of children's PGD severity. Conclusions: Findings provide preliminary evidence for the intergenerational transmission of PGD symptoms within bereaved families, highlighting parental grief as a key influence on children’s grief responses. These results support the use of family-focused interventions that address both parental and child grief following bereavement.