Development and validation of a brief Aarhus Prolonged Grief Disorder Scale

The Aarhus Prolonged Grief Disorder Scale (A-PGDs) is a self-report measure of prolonged grief disorder (PGD) as defined in the International Classification of Diseases, 11th revision (ICD-11) and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition, Text revision (DSM-5-TR). To enhance its clinical utility, we developed a brief version in a bereaved community sample (n = 590) and tested its psychometric properties in a subclinical sample (n = 124). Using target exploratory factor analysis, we identified five items unique to PGD in the community sample. Confirmatory factor analysis supported their latent structure in the subclinical sample, and internal reliability was high. In the subclinical sample, 35.5% and 33.1% met criteria for probable ICD-11 and DSM-5-TR PGD, respectively, and convergent validity was supported by strong associations with a structured clinical interview. The A-PGDs-brief is a short, easy-to-use measure of ICD-11 and DSM-5-TR PGD validated against a structured clinical interview.