Measuring symptoms of grief and bereavement

As part of an effort to develop an instrument to measure grief, a 58-item questionnaire was completed by 211 subjects who had lost a loved one because of death. The results demonstrated wide individual variations in specific symptoms and in their intensity and duration. Long after the immediate grief period, most bereaved individuals continued to feel upset, empty, or tearful; many experienced anniversary reactions and/or physical symptoms; and some had persistent identification phenomena. Although the acute dysphoria peaked between 1 and 2 years, several grief-related feelings, symptoms, and behaviors continued indefinitely. The relevance of present work and directions for future studies are discussed.