Is COVID-19 loss more associated with prolonged grief disorder than other losses?

İnci F., VAROL B., Kamışlı S., Terzioğlu C., Bağcaz A., KILIÇ C.

Death Studies, cilt.50, sa.1, ss.46-52, 2026 (SSCI, Scopus)

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 50 Sayı: 1
  • Basım Tarihi: 2026
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1080/07481187.2024.2406343
  • Dergi Adı: Death Studies
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Periodicals Index Online, Abstracts in Social Gerontology, Agricultural & Environmental Science Database, CINAHL, EBSCO Education Source, Education Abstracts, Educational research abstracts (ERA), EMBASE, MEDLINE, MLA - Modern Language Association Database, Psycinfo, Religion and Philosophy Collection, Violence & Abuse Abstracts, MLA International Bibliography, Social Sciences Abstracts, Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCO), Social Science Premium Collection (ProQuest), Biomedical Reference Collection: Corporate Edition (EBSCO), Education Collection (ProQuest), Education Source Ultimate (EBSCO), Health Research Premium Collection (ProQuest), Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection (EBSCO), Sociology Source Ultimate (EBSCO)
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.46-52
  • Sağlık Bilimleri Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

The COVID-19 pandemic raised fears about a rise in prolonged grief rates. To determine if these fears are justified, we examined an online sample of 329 Turkish adults for their level of prolonged grief symptoms (as well as probable Prolonged Grief Disorder-PGD) and associated factors in relation to losses during the pandemic. Respondents completed measures of prolonged grief, post-traumatic stress disorder, and depression. Overall, 10% of participants reported symptoms indicating a probable PGD diagnosis. Surprisingly, loss due to COVID-19 or disruption of the natural mourning process did not relate to higher levels of prolonged grief. Our findings suggest that although levels of prolonged grief (and rates of PGD) may have increased during the pandemic, prolonged grief (or PGD) during this time is likely not linked to losses due to COVID-19 or to disruptions in the normal grieving process.