The Norwegian traumatic grief inventory-self report plus (TGI-SR+) : a psychometric evaluation in traumatically bereaved people

Background: Prolonged grief disorder (PGD) has been added to the ICD-11 and DSM-5-TR. The Traumatic Grief Inventory-Self Report Plus (TGI-SR+) assesses self-rated PGD intensity as defined in ICD-11 and DSM-5-TR. The TGI-SR + is available in multiple languages, but has not been validated yet in Norwegian.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Norwegian TGI-SR + .

Method: Bereaved adults (N = 307) whose child or sibling died ≥6 months ago due to a sudden or violent loss completed the TGI-SR + and measures for posttraumatic stress, depression, and precursor PGD symptoms. We examined the factor structure and internal consistency of the ICD-11 and DSM-5-TR PGD items. Convergent validity and known-groups validity was evaluated. Probable PGD cases, pair-wise agreement between diagnostic scoring rules for both PGD criteria-sets, and cut-off scores were calculated.

Results: The 1-factor model for ICD-11 and DSM-5-TR PGD showed the best fit and demonstrated good internal consistency. Convergent validity was supported by strong associations between summed ICD-11 and DSM-5-TR PGD scores and summed posttraumatic stress, depression, and precursor prolonged grief scores. Known-groups validity was supported by PGD intensity being related to educational level and time since loss. The perfect pair-wise agreement was reached using the ICD-11 and DSM-5-TR PGD diagnostic scoring rules. The optimal cut-off score for detecting probable PGD cases, when summing all TGI-SR + items, was ≥73.

Conclusions: The Norwegian TGI-SR + seems a valid and reliable instrument to assess ICD-11 and DSM-5-TR PGD intensity after losing a child or sibling under traumatic circumstances.

HIGHLIGHTS

• The TGI-SR + is a self-report instrument assessing ICD-11 and DSM-5-TR prolonged grief disorder intensity.
• The Norwegian TGI-SR + seems to be a valid and reliable instrument to assess prolonged grief disorder intensity.
• Optimal cut-off for detecting probable prolonged grief disorder cases is ≥73 in this traumatically bereaved sample of parents and siblings.