Prolonged Grief in Families: Grief Dynamics and Risk Factors in Parent-Child Dyads

Abstract

Introduction: The loss of a significant other can lead to prolonged grief disorder (PGD). While most research has examined PGD in adults or children separately, little is known about how PGD is experienced and expressed within parent-child dyads. This study investigates the extent (1) to which parents accurately can estimate their child's PGD severity, (2) whether parental PGD symptoms can predict their child's PGD symptoms and (3) how child age and gender relate to PGD severity.

Methods: This cross-sectional study analysed data from 44 bereaved parent-child dyads. Parents completed the Traumatic Grief Inventory – Kids – Clinical Administered (TGI-K- CA) to provide estimated ratings of their child's PGD symptoms. Children could also complete the TGI-K-CA as a self-report measure. Parents could fill-out the Traumatic Grief Inventory – Self Reported Plus (TGI-SR+) to assess their own PGD symptoms. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the associations.

Results: Parent-reported child PGD symptoms significantly predicted child's self-reported PGD symptoms, indicating high parent-child agreement. Additionally, higher parental PGD severity was associated with higher parent-reported child PGD symptoms. While parents perceived older children to exhibit higher PGD symptoms, children's own reports showed no significant associations with age or gender.

Conclusion: The study's main findings suggest that higher parental PGD symptoms are associated with increased PGD symptoms in children, pointing to potential grief transmission within families. The strong agreement between parent and child reports suggest that parents can be reliable observers. These results highlight the interplay of grief within families and underscores the importance of taking a family perspective in assessing and treating PGD in children.