Prolonged grief disorder in bereaved individuals following unnatural losses: Preliminary findings

Abstract

Background: Previous research has indicated that 10%of naturally bereaved individuals develops prolongedgrief disorder (PGD). Less is known about the preva-lence of PGD following unnatural deaths, such as acci-dents, disasters, suicides or homicides.Objective:Theaim of the current study is to compute the prevalenceof PGD and to determine possible predictors.Method:A literature search and a meta-analysis are currentlybeing performed to calculate the pooled prevalence rateof PGD. Multivariate meta-regression is used toexplore heterogeneity among the studies.Results:Preliminary findings suggest that the prevalence ofPGD following unnatural losses is much higher thanPGD following natural losses. Loss-related variables may be associated with the prevalence rate. Conclusions: This study could provide valuable infor-mation which may help to identify PGD and under-scores the importance of addressing PGD inindividuals affected by loss and trauma.