Companion animal bereavement: A psychometric evaluation of the German Pet Bereavement Questionnaire

The Pet Bereavement Questionnaire (PBQ) assesses grief after the death of a companion animal. A German translation is lacking. Participants (N = 301, aged 18-63 years, 77% women) responded to an online survey containing the German version of the PBQ, further measures of grief severity, symptoms of depression and attachment to animals. A confirmatory factor analysis failed to replicate the original three-factor structure. An exploratory factor analysis yielded a two-factor structure with the subscales separation distress and (self-)blame. Internal consistencies were good to excellent. The PBQ correlated stronger with symptoms of grief than with symptoms of depression. Attachment to animals was positively associated with grief intensity, especially when the relationship to the deceased animal was a substitute for human relationships. The results suggest that the German version of the PBQ is reliable and valid. Its factor structure seems to vary with cultural and other sample characteristics, highlighting the need for future research.